Ernest Nys (March 27, 1851,
Kortrijk
Kortrijk ( , ; vls, Kortryk or ''Kortrik''; french: Courtrai ; la, Cortoriacum), sometimes known in English as Courtrai or Courtray ( ), is a Belgian City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Regio ...
,
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
– September 4, 1920,
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
, Belgium) was a Belgian lawyer and a professor of Public International Law at the University of Brussels. He also served as a member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration.
Life
Ernest Nys was born in 1851 in Kortrijk, Belgium and studied law at the Universities of
Ghent
Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded in ...
,
Heidelberg
Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...
,
Leipzig
Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...
and
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
. He then worked as a lawyer in
Antwerp
Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504, and Brussels. He succeeded Alphonse Rivier as Professor of International Law at the
University of Brussels University of Brussels may refer to several institutions in Brussels, Belgium: Current institutions
* Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), a French-speaking university established as a separate entity in 1970
*Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), a D ...
, following the death of Professor Rivier in 1898. Nys also acted as dean from 1898 to 1900.
In 1909, Nys helped the anarchist
Peter Kropotkin
Pyotr Alexeyevich Kropotkin (; russian: link=no, Пётр Алексе́евич Кропо́ткин ; 9 December 1842 – 8 February 1921) was a Russian anarchist, socialist, revolutionary, historian, scientist, philosopher, and activis ...
with the research for the book, "The Great French Revolution, 1789-1793," particularly the seemingly unusual relationship between revolutionists of renown and freemasonry, writing that revolutionaries were drawn to it "by its humanitarian tendencies, its firm belief in the dignity of man, and by its principles of liberty, equality and fraternity."
In the first half of the 20th century Nys was appointed member of the King's Leopold ''Conseil Supérieur de l'État Indépendent du Congo'', namely the governing body of the Belgian monarchy private and industrial interests on the Republic of Congo.
Nys was a member of the
Permanent Court of Arbitration
The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) is a non-UN intergovernmental organization located in The Hague, Netherlands. Unlike a judicial court in the traditional sense, the PCA provides services of arbitral tribunal to resolve disputes that arise ...
in
The Hague
The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...
. He was particularly interested in the historical development of international law and translated works of English legal scholars
James Lorimer and
John Westlake John Westlake may refer to:
* John Westlake (law scholar)
John Westlake (4 February 1828 – 14 April 1913) was an English law scholar.
Biography
He was born at Lostwithiel, Cornwall, the son of a Cornish wool-stapler. He was educated at Lostw ...
. He died in 1920 in Brussels.
Awards
Nys was a member of the
Institut de Droit International
The Institute of International Law ( French: Institut de Droit International) is an organization devoted to the study and development of international law, whose membership comprises the world's leading public international lawyers. The organizat ...
from 1892 to his death. He was nominated for the
Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Chemi ...
from 1906 through 1916 and again in 1919 for his commitment to
international arbitration. He was awarded honorary doctorates at the
University of Oxford
, mottoeng = The Lord is my light
, established =
, endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019)
, budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20)
, chancellor ...
, the
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...
, and the
University of Glasgow
, image = UofG Coat of Arms.png
, image_size = 150px
, caption = Coat of arms
Flag
, latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis
, motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita
, ...
(
LL.D
Legum Doctor (Latin: “teacher of the laws”) (LL.D.) or, in English, Doctor of Laws, is a doctorate-level academic degree in law or an honorary degree, depending on the jurisdiction. The double “L” in the abbreviation refers to the earl ...
1901).
He was an honorary member of the
American Society of International Law
The American Society of International Law (ASIL), founded in 1906, was chartered by the United States Congress in 1950 to foster the study of international law, and to promote the establishment and maintenance of international relations on the ba ...
.
Works
''The Papacy Considered in Relation to International Law''London, 1879
* ''Les origins du droit international'' (The Origins of International Law), Brussel and Paris 1894
* ''Les politiques et le droit international theories de siècle France jusqu'au XVIII'' (Political theory and international law in France until the 18th century ), Paris 1899
''Researches in the History of Economics'' London 1899
* ''The Independent State of the Congo and International Law'' Brussel 1903
* ''Idées modern: droit international et franc-maçonnerie'' (Modern ideas: International law and Freemasonry), Brussel 1908
References
*
*
Manfred Lachs
Manfred H. Lachs (April 21, 1914 in Stanislav, Austrian Galicia – January 14, 1993 in The Hague) was a Polish diplomat, Judge of the International Court of Justice, and jurist who greatly influenced the development of international law after Wor ...
: ''The Teacher in International Law: Teachings and Teaching.'' Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, Den Haag 1982, , S. 80/81
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nys, Ernest
1851 births
1920 deaths
Belgian jurists
International law scholars
Members of the Institut de Droit International
Members of the Permanent Court of Arbitration
Belgian judges of international courts and tribunals
Corresponding Fellows of the British Academy