Green Haywood Hackworth (Prestonsburg, Kentucky, January 23, 1883 – Washington, DC, June 24, 1973) was an American jurist who served as the first U.S. judge on the International Court of Justice, as President of the International Court of Justice, as the longest running Legal Adviser to the US Department of State (1925 -1946) and as a member of Secretary of State Cordell Hull's inner circle of advisers. Hackworth was instrumental in the development of plans for the post World War II world order and was a key member of the U.S. delegation to the Dumbarton Oaks Conference (1944). He served as a member of the Advisory Committee on Postwar Foreign Policy (1942), as a member of Post War Programs Committee (1944) and as Chairman of the Committee of Jurists that drafted the initial statutes for the International Court of Justice (1945). Hackworth also represented the U.S. Delegation on Committee IV at the United Nations Conference on International Organization where the articles in the United Nations Charter pertaining to the International Court of Justice were finalized.
Early life and education
Green Haywood Hackworth was born in Prestonburg Kentucky and his youth was spent in the area of the Big Sandy River. He received a B.A. degree from Valparaiso University, a Doctor of Law degree from the University of Kentucky and an L.L.B degree from George Washington University. In 1916, after completion of his legal studies, Hackworth secured a job as a law clerk with the U.S. Department of State and in 1918 was promoted to Assistant Solicitor within the department. Although a Democrat, Hackworth was chosen in 1925 by republican U.S. Secretary of State Charles Evans Hughes, for nomination by the President and subsequent approval by the Senate to become Solicitor of the Dept. of State.
Legal Adviser to the U.S. Department of State
As the longest running Legal Adviser of the Department of State, Hackworth was relied upon for legal advice by five successive U.S. Secretaries of States: Charles Evans Hughes, Frank B. Kellogg, Henry L. Stimson, Cordell Hull and Edward Stettinius Jr. Hackworth was noted for being a skilled legal draftsman concerning the area of treaty provisions and was a perforce in matters involving the U.S. and its foreign relations from the period of U.S. neutrality to the country's entry into World War II. He provided advice to the U.S. President, the U.S. Secretary of State, members of congress and other departments within the U.S. State Department. As Legal Adviser to the Department of State, Hackworth represented the U.S Government before the International Joint Commission formed by the United States and Canada under the Boundary Waters treaty of 1909. He was a U.S. delegate in 1930 to the First Conference for the Codification of International Law, held at the Hague under the auspices of the League of Nations. Hackworth participated in the 8th Conference of American States (1939) held in Lima, in the 8th Scientific Congress of American States (1940) and in the Inter - American Maritime Conference (1941). Following the outbreak of war in Europe, Hackworth served as Adviser to Secretary of State Hull at the 2nd Meeting of foreign Ministers of the American Republics (1941) held in Havana.
World War Two
On Sunday Dec. 7 Hackworth was in conclave with Secretary of State Hull at the state department prior to the scheduled meeting with Japanese ambassadors Kichisaburo Nomura and Saburo Kurusu when President Roosevelt called at 1:30PM and informed Hull of the attack by Japan on Pearl Harbor. Hull consulted with Hackworth and Josheph Ballentine, a state department expert on the Far East, on whether or not to see the waiting Japanese diplomats. After seeing and then dismissing the diplomats, Hull met with President Roosevelt and then later again with Hackworth where the two discussed drafting a proclamation of war between Japan and the United States. As the war progressed, Hackworth advised Secretary Hull, President Roosevelt, Judge Samuel Rosenman, and numerous agencies within the government. His role was to consider past legal developments in the laws of war, the laws of neutrality, laws of belligerency and the effect of these laws on the U.S. and other countries. In 1943, Hackworth served as an adviser to Secretary of State Hull at the Moscow Conference and in 1945 he served as Adviser to Secretary of State Edward Stettinius at the Conference of American States on Problems of War and Peace held in Mexico City.