When Röling Waves Advanced Towards the Shores of International Law: lecture about the influence of Röling’s work on international law

Lecture by Prof. Nico Schrijver

Organized by the Peace Palace Library

  • Date: Wednesday 22 June, 2011
  • Time: 17.30-19.30 (lecture starts at 18.00)
  • Location: Peace Palace Library, Historic Reading Room
  • Free entrance

About Prof. Nico Schrijver

Professor Nico Schrijver is Chair of Public International Law at Leiden University, and Academic Director at the Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies, Leiden University/Campus The Hague. He is also President of the Netherlands Society of International Law, and Member of the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. He appeared before the International Court of Justice and the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, and as legal counsel in law of the sea cases before special ad hoc tribunals, and as expert in proceedings before the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), and before the Inter-American Court for Human Rights. He has working experience in the UN system, including as legal officer for the Office of the Legal Counsel, United Nations. He is Chairperson of the Committee on the International Law of Sustainable Development of the International Law Association (previously General Rapporteur) and Co-Chair (with Dr. Kamal Hossain) of the ILA Study Group on UN Reform. He was also a student and research assistant of Prof. Röling.

About Prof. Bert Röling

Bert Röling (1906-1985) studied law at the University of Nijmegen. In 1933, he defended his dissertation on the legislation regarding the so-called professional and habitual criminals (‘De wetgeving tegen de zoogenaamde beroeps- en gewoontemisdadigers’), cum laude, at Utrecht University. In 1934, Röling founded the Institute of Criminology, often called the cradle of the postwar ‘Utrecht School’. Since 1936, Röling gained practical experience in criminal law as deputy judge in the District Court of Utrecht. A conflict with the Germans led to his transfer, in 1941, to Middelburg. Four years later he returned to Utrecht, and became judge at the Court of Utrecht. In 1946, he also became professor of Dutch-Indian criminal law and criminal procedure in Utrecht. But as soon as he was appointed, he was asked to serve as judge on the bench of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East. From 1946 to 1948 Röling lived and worked in Tokyo and played a prominent role in the work of the tribunal. During his stay in Tokyo, Röling was appointed professor of criminal law and criminal procedure at the University of Groningen. After his return to the Netherlands he was also, from 1949 to 1951, judge at the Special Court of Appeals. Röling’s research interest and teaching at Groningen turned increasingly towards international law. In 1953, he became a member of the Advisory Committee for International Law Studies of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. From 1949 to 1957 he was a member of the Dutch delegation to the United Nations, where he got involved in the work of the Special Commission on the Definition of Aggression.

Registration

If you wish to attend the lecture, we kindly ask you to register in advance. To enter the premises of the Peace Palace, you are required to bring a valid ID (passport, driving license), and show this to the security at the gate of the Palace. They will show you the way to the Library. For registration and for more information, please contact Mr. Otto Spijkers of the Peace Palace Library at o.spijkers@ppl.nl.

About the Peace Palace Library Lecture Series

The Peace Palace Library Lecture Series is a lecture series on issues of general international law. Each year, approximately four lectures will be organized. All lectures are held in the Peace Palace Library. The evening starts with a small reception in the library’s new reading room. The lecture itself takes place in the historical reading room. There will be plenty of time for questions afterwards. The Peace Palace Library Lecture Series are open to everyone. They are especially interesting for researchers and students, as well as diplomats, international civil servants, journalists and other professionals working in the field of public international law.

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