Henry Cattan

{{Short description|Palestinian jurist and writer}} {{Infobox writer  | image = | imagesize = | name = Henry Cattan | caption = | pseudonym = | birth_name = | birth_date = 1906 | birth_place = Jerusalem | death_date = {{death date and age|1992|4|17|1906|mf=yes}} | death_place = | occupation = jurist and writer | nationality = Palestinian | notableworks = | awards = }}

'''Henry Cattan''' (1906 – April 17, 1992) was a Palestinian jurist and writer who wrote extensively on legal issues of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict during the 1900s and was a prominent advocate for the state of Palestine.<ref name="quigley" /><ref name="times" />

==Life== Cattan was born in early 1906  in Jerusalem, Ottoman Empire Mutasarrifate of Jerusalem, Palestine Region. He was educated at the University of Paris and the University of London.<ref name="times">{{cite news |title=Henry Cattan; Obituary |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/319060594 |access-date=6 February 2024 |agency=The Times |date=25 May 1992| id={{ProQuest|319060594}} }}</ref>

After qualifying as a barrister, Cattan established a legal practice in Jerusalem in 1932.<ref name="yearbook" /> He lectured at the Jerusalem Law School<ref name="quigley">{{cite book |last1=Quigley |first1=John |title=The Legality of a Jewish State: A Century of Debate over Rights in Palestine |date=16 December 2021 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-316-51924-0 |page=85 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ICZTEAAAQBAJ |access-date=6 February 2024 |language=en}}</ref> from 1932 to 1942,<ref name="yearbook" /> practising law in Palestine and Syria, and was a member of the Palestine Law Council until 1948.

In 1948, Cattan became a refugee during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. He established a new practice in Damascus, Syria, and later in Beirut, Lebanon. Upon the move to Lebanon, Cattan specialized in oil and gas law.<ref name="yearbook" /> ARAMCO and the Trans-Arabian Pipe Line Company had him on retainer for several years to consult on legal issues surrounding the companies' expansion into the Middle East.<ref name="times" /> Cattan later wrote two books on the subject in 1967: ''The Law of Oil Concessions in the Middle East and North Africa'' and ''The Evolution of Oil Concessions in the Middle East and North Africa''.<ref name="yearbook" /> Cattan testified before the Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry in 1946.<ref name="yearbook">{{cite book |title=The Palestine Yearbook of International Law |date=1992 |publisher=Al-Shaybani Society of International Law |page=16 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7QkxAQAAIAAJ |access-date=6 February 2024 |language=en}}</ref> Cattan was a member of the delegation which represented the Arab Higher Committee before the United Nations General Assembly<ref name="quigley" /> in 1947 and 1948.

Cattan died on April 17, 1992 in Paris.<ref name="times" />

==Selected publications== * ''Palestine, the Arabs, and Israel'' (1969) * ''The Palestine Question'' (1988) * ''Palestine: The Road to Peace'' * ''Palestine and International Law'' *[https://www.paljourneys.org/sites/default/files/The_Status_of_Jerusalem-Henry_Cattan.pdf The Status of Jerusalem (1981)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624204312/https://www.paljourneys.org/sites/default/files/The_Status_of_Jerusalem-Henry_Cattan.pdf |date=2021-06-24 }}

==References== {{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cattan, Henry}} Category:1906 births Category:1992 deaths Category:Alumni of the University of London Category:Mandatory Palestine expatriates in France Category:Mandatory Palestine expatriates in the United Kingdom Category:Palestinian writers Category:People from Jerusalem Category:University of Paris alumni