Renault, Louis, << reh NOH, lwee >> (1843-1918), was a French jurist (expert in law), university professor, educator, and pacifist. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for peace in 1907 for his work on peace conferences. Renault shared the prize with the Italian pacifist Ernesto Moneta (see Moneta, Ernesto Teodoro ).
Louis Renault was born in Autun, France. He studied literature at the University of Dijon and law at the University of Paris. He returned to Dijon to be a lecturer in Roman and commercial law, and then went back to Paris to lecture in criminal law. In 1874, he was asked to become a professor of international law and, despite his initial reluctance, he continued in the field with such distinction that by 1881 he was offered the chair of international law. He wrote several books, including Introduction a l’Etude de Droit International (Introduction to the Study of International Law, 1879) and, with Charles Lyon-Caen, Traite de Droit Commercial (Treatise on Commercial Law, 1889-1899).
Much of Renault’s work before 1890 centered on the problems of ownership rights in art and literature. In 1890, however, Renault became an adviser on legal matters to the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In this capacity, he advised the ministry on international law and represented France at many international conferences.
In 1914, Renault was appointed to the panel of the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague, in the Netherlands, and became president of the Academy of International Law at The Hague, which was created in 1914.
