The law of maritime prize

The publication of the 11th volume of "International Law in Historical Perspective" occurs more than three years after the death of Professor J.H.W. Verzijl on 21 May 1987. The series was started in 1968, and by 1979 ten volumes had appeared, establishing the work as a classic in its field. At the age of 91, Verzijl began work on the final part of his series, setting out, in two projected volumes, to analyze the history of the law of prize before 1914 and to give a survey of the developments after 1939. When he died in 1987, about 60 percent of the first volume was ready, with many sections unwritten, and others only available in a first pencil-written manuscript, without accompanying references. "The Law of Maritime Prize" reaches back to Verzijl's 1917 and 1924 publications on the same subject. English case law provides the main part of the work, although the case law of France, the US and many other countries and their legislations, are surveyed in detail. The publication of "The Law of Maritime Prize", therfore, marks the completion of one of the great manuals of international law. A comprehensive index volume to the entire series is also planned.