Philip Jessup

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Philip C. Jessup (January 5, 1897 - January 31, 1986) was a diplomat, scholar, and jurist from New York City.

Philip C. Jessup was a gradute of Hamilton College.

Jessup served as assistant secretary-general of the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) conference in 1943 and the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference (the "Bretton Woods" conference) in 1944. He was a member of the American delegation to the San Francisco United Nations charter conference in 1945. He was also the United States representative on the fifteen-man United Nations committee of jurists that had drafted the International Court of Justice statute. Continuing as a technical expert and advisor to various important UN commissions, Jessup prepared the State Department's "White Paper" on China. Written at the time when the Chinese Communists were overrunning the mainland of China, this report praised the Communist forces and condemned the Kuomintang forces. Because of Jessup's role in the drafting of the "White Paper" and his chairmanship of the Institute for Pacific Relations, an organization that included Communist sympathizers, The Senate Internal Security Subcommittee found in 1954 that:

The IPR has been considered by the American Communists and by Soviet officials as an instrument of Communist policy, propaganda and military intelligence. . . A small core of officials and staff members carried the main burden of IPR activities and directed its administration and policies. Members of the small core of officials and staff members who controlled the IPR were either Communists or pro-Communists.

Jessup became a primary target of Senator McCarthy. Jessup was cleared of all charges by the Loyalty Board of the State Department (an external tribunal) and the Tydings Committee.

President Truman appointed Jessup as United States delegate to the United Nations in 1951. When the appointment came before the Senate, however, it was not approved because of the SISS report. President Truman circumvented the Senate action by assigning Jessup to the United Nations on an "interim appointment."

Shortly after the Kennedy administration took office, the State Department approved the appointment of Jessup as U.S. candidate for the International Court of Justice, a post that did not need Senate confirmation. He served from 1961 until 1970.

An international law moot court competition, the Philip C. Jessup Cup, is named in his honour. It is held annually in Washington D.C. and is attended by law students from around the world.