Albert Blaustein
| Albert Blaustein | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 12, 1921 New York City |
| Died | August 21, 1994 |
| Alma mater | University of Michigan |
| Occupation | Lawyer, Legal advisor |
Albert Paul Blaustein (October 12, 1921 – 1994) was an American Civil Rights and human rights lawyer and constitutional consultant who helped draft the Fijian and Liberian constitutions, as well as being called in as a consultant for the constitutions of for Zimbabwe, Bangladesh, Cambodia and Peru. To a lesser extent, he was involved in the constitutions of Poland, South Africa, Hungary, Romania, Niger, Uganda and Trinidad and Tobago. He was the editor of the 20-volume encyclopaedia Constitutions of the Countries of the World.
Biography
Blaustein was born in New York City to lawyer Allen Blaustein and Rose Brickman, and often operated under the pseudonym Allen DeGraeff.[1] He attended the University of Michigan, where he worked on The Michigan Daily newspaper, graduating in 1941. He went on to obtain more honors from the Columbia University in 1948, and in the same year he was admitted to the New York State Bar. From 1948 to 1955 he was assistant professor of law at New York Law School, as well as, a consultant for the National Trial Lawyers Association before moving to Rutgers University until 1959, when he became law librarian.[2]
From 1959 until 1968 Blaustein worked in the London School of Economics, the Constitution Associates foreign advisory board and the US Department of Education and the US Commission on Civil Rights from 1962 - 1963. Between 1971 and 1972 he acted as a legal consultant to various African nations and to the United States Senate. He worked with the Civil Rights Reviewing Authority, National Committee for American Foreign Policy, New Jersey Division on Civil Rights and also helped found Law day.[2] Blaustein later worked to develop the Russian court system and constitution,[3] and in 1966 served as the expert witness on legal aspects of population control for the US Senate.
During his life he served 14 years in the US Army Reserves retiring with the rank of major, and served from 1942 until 1946 in the Judge Advocate General's Corps. He had three children, Mark Allen, Eric Barry and Dana Beth.[2]
Written work
- Framing the Modern Constitution: A Checklist 1994
- Human Rights in the World's Constitutions 1993
- Discrimination Against Women: A Global Survey of the Economic, Educational, Social and Political Status of Women 1990
- Constitutions That Made History 1988
- Resolving Language Conflicts: A Study of the World's Constitution 1986
- Independence Documents of the World 1977
- The Arab Oil Weapon 1977
- Civil Rights and the Black American: A Documentary History 1976
- Desegregation and the law: The meaning and effect of the school segregation cases 1957
- The American lawyer: A summary of the "Survey of the legal profession 1954[4]
