As can be seen from earlier chapters, the position of the individual in international law was long a matter of major concern to Hersch. From the earliest days of his research in Vienna, he rejected the view that States alone are subjects of international law. In due course, his thinking developed into a direct and deep involvement in what became the most important facet of the decline of absolute State sovereignty, namely, the international protection of the rights of man. In the present chapter, this aspect of his work will be set out as a whole; to approach it simply in chronological terms interspersed with other matters would lead to an unacceptably fragmented presentation.

In April 1942, Hersch received from the American Jewish Committee (AJC), one of the foremost American Jewish organisations, an invitation to write a book on the international law of human rights. The arrangement was concluded in May 1942 when the Committee agreed to pay him a fee of $2,500, plus $800 for secretarial and other expenses. The Committee foresaw that it would take Hersch about a year to complete the study but urged him to do so as soon as possible because the same subject was currently being examined by the American Law Institute and the American Bar Association. From the beginning, it was made clear that the study should not be limited to the substantive content of a Bill of Rights but should extend to discussion of the means of enforcing such rights.