# Alexander Pearce Higgins

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Alexander_Pearce_Higgins
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Alexander_Pearce_Higgins.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Pearce_Higgins
> Source revision: 1117734669
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

**Alexander Pearce Higgins** (24 April 1865 – 2 April 1935) was a British international law scholar. He was [Whewell Professor of International Law](/source/Whewell_Professor_of_International_Law) at the [University of Cambridge](/source/University_of_Cambridge) (1920–1935), President of the [Institut de Droit International](/source/Institut_de_Droit_International) (1929–1931),[1] and a member of the [Permanent Court of Arbitration](/source/Permanent_Court_of_Arbitration) (1930–1935).[2][3]

## Education

The son of Alexander H. Higgins of Worcester, Pearce Higgins was educated at the [King's School, Worcester](/source/King's_School,_Worcester) (1876–82[4]) and [Downing College, Cambridge](/source/Downing_College,_Cambridge) (matriculated 1888, [Winchester Prize](/source/Winchester_Reading_Prize) 1891, graduated [BA](/source/Bachelor_of_Arts) and [LL.B.](/source/Bachelor_of_Laws) 1891, [MA](/source/Master_of_Arts_(Oxford,_Cambridge,_and_Dublin)) 1895, [LL.M.](/source/Master_of_Laws) 1898, [LL.D.](/source/Doctor_of_Laws) 1904[5]).

Before going up to Cambridge, Pearce Higgins had been articled to the Worcester solicitor Samuel Southall,[4] and had already passed the Solicitors Final Examination of the [Law Society](/source/Law_Society_of_England_and_Wales).[3] He was admitted as a solicitor in 1899, [called to the bar](/source/Call_to_the_bar) at [Lincoln's Inn](/source/Lincoln's_Inn) in 1908 and made [King's Counsel](/source/King's_Counsel) in 1919.[5]

## Career

Teaching public international law at Cambridge from 1902,[6] Pearce Higgins was named a lecturer at the [London School of Economics](/source/London_School_of_Economics) in 1908 (replacing [L. F. L. Oppenheim](/source/L._F._L._Oppenheim)[7]). A specialist in maritime law, he also taught at the [Royal Naval War College](/source/Royal_Naval_War_College) and the [Royal Naval College, Greenwich](/source/Royal_Naval_College,_Greenwich). During [World War I](/source/World_War_I), he served as an adviser in international law and [prize law](/source/Prize_law) to [Sir John Mellor](/source/Sir_John_Mellor,_1st_Baronet), the Procurator General and Treasury Solicitor (head of the government legal service).[1][5]

He was appointed Professor of International Law at the LSE in 1919, continuing at the LSE until 1923.[8] He was appointed [Whewell Professor of International Law](/source/Whewell_Professor_of_International_Law) at the [University of Cambridge](/source/University_of_Cambridge) in 1920 (again succeeding Oppenheim[7]), and a fellow of [Trinity College, Cambridge](/source/Trinity_College,_Cambridge) in 1926. He was also Professor of International Law at [The Hague Academy of International Law](/source/The_Hague_Academy_of_International_Law).[5]

Pearce Higgins was an Associate of the [Institut de Droit International](/source/Institut_de_Droit_International) from 1922, a Member from 1924, and President from 1929 to 1931.[6] He became a member of the [Permanent Court of Arbitration](/source/Permanent_Court_of_Arbitration) at [The Hague](/source/The_Hague) in 1930.[1]

## References

1. ["Alexander Pearce Higgins"](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alexander-Pearce-Higgins). *Encyclopædia Britannica*. Retrieved 2 May 2019.

1. "Professor Higgins". *[The Times](/source/The_Times)*. 3 April 1935. p. 16.

1. MacNair, Arnold (1935). "Professor Pearce Higgins". *British Yearbook of International Law*. **16**: 1–4. – via HeinOnline.

1. Craze, Michael (1972). *King's School, Worcester, 1541–1971*. Worcester: Ebenezer Baylis & Son. p. 239.

1. ["Notice biographique: Alexander Pearce Higgins"](https://books.google.com/books?id=D_Dkjc7_37kC&q=%22Pearce+Higgins%22+%22London+School+of+Economics%22&pg=PA3). *Recueil Des Cours, Collected Courses 1929*. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. December 1968. ISBN 9028606726.

1. ["A Case Study on Jurisprudence as a Source of International Law: Oppenheim's Influence"](https://books.google.com/books?id=0w-ufigE4nUC&q=%22Pearce+Higgins%22+%22Oppenheim%22&pg=PA93). *Time, History and International Law*. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. 2007. p. 93. ISBN 978-9004154810.

1. Rawlings, Richard (ed.) (1997). ["9: The Reformation in International Law"](https://books.google.com/books?id=AtuuLAiU9HIC&q=%22Pearce+Higgins%22+%22London+School+of+Economics%22&pg=PA210). *Recueil Des Cours, Collected Courses 1929*. Clarendon Press. p. 210. ISBN 9780198262282.

## External links

- Hall, William Edward (1917). [*A Treatise on International Law*](https://archive.org/details/interntreatiseon00hallrich/page/n3). 7th ed. Higgins, A. Pearce (ed.). Oxford and London: Clarendon Press and Henry Frowde. Retrieved 6 February 2019. – via Internet Archive.

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Alexander Pearce Higgins](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Pearce_Higgins) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Pearce_Higgins?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.