Henry Cattan

Henry Cattan
Born	1906 Jerusalem
Occupation	jurist and writer
Nationality	Palestinian

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.^[1][2]

Biography

Cattan was born in early 1906 in Jerusalem, Ottoman Empire Palestine. He was educated at the University of Paris and the University of London.^[2]

After qualifying as a barrister, Cattan established a legal practice in Jerusalem in 1932.^[3] He lectured at the Jerusalem Law School^[1] from 1932 to 1942,^[3] 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.^[3] 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.^[2] 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.^[3]

Cattan testified before the Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry in 1946.^[3] Cattan was a member of the delegation which represented the Arab Higher Committee before the United Nations General Assembly^[1] in 1947 and 1948.

Cattan died on April 17, 1992 in Paris.^[2]

Selected publications

• Palestine, the Arabs, and Israel (1969)
• The Palestine Question (1988)
• Palestine: The Road to Peace
• Palestine and International Law
• The Status of Jerusalem (1981) Archived 2021-06-24 at the Wayback Machine

References

1. Quigley, John (16 December 2021). The Legality of a Jewish State: A Century of Debate over Rights in Palestine. Cambridge University Press. p. 85. ISBN 978-1-316-51924-0. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
2. "Henry Cattan; Obituary". The Times. 25 May 1992. ProQuest 319060594. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
3. The Palestine Yearbook of International Law. Al-Shaybani Society of International Law. 1992. p. 16. Retrieved 6 February 2024.