Georges Scelle (19 March 1878 Avranches (Manche) – 8 January 1961) was an international jurist and member of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

International Law Commission The International Law Commission (ILC) is a body of experts responsible for helping develop and codify international law. It is composed of 34 individuals recognized for their expertise and qualifications in international law, who are elected by t ...

. Scelle attended the Law Faculty and the ''

École Libre des Sciences Politiques , motto_lang = fr , mottoeng = Roots of the Future , type = Public research university''Grande école'' , established = , founder = Émile Boutmy , accreditation ...

'' in Paris, where he was awarded a prize for his

thesis A thesis ( : theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: ...

, "''La traite négrière aux Indes de Castille''", written under the supervision of Antoine Pillet. Scelle was Professor at the Law Faculty of

Dijon Dijon (, , ) (dated) * it, Digione * la, Diviō or * lmo, Digion is the prefecture of the Côte-d'Or department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in northeastern France. the commune had a population of 156,920. The earlies ...

for 20 years (

Public International Law International law (also known as public international law and the law of nations) is the set of rules, norms, and standards generally recognized as binding between states. It establishes normative guidelines and a common conceptual framework for ...

and Industrial Relations Law). Published the first volume of the '' Précis de droit des gens'' shortly before joining the

University of Paris , image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of Arms , latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis , motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin) , mottoeng = Here and a ...

(1933) where he taught Public International Law until his retirement in 1948. He exerted a considerable influence on the generation which dominated both French public service and academic law circles from the 1930s until today. Influential academics or diplomats such as Georges Berlia, Lazare Kopelmanas, Guy de Lacharrière,

Georges Burdeau Georges Burdeau (1905-1988) was a French constitutionalist Constitutionalism is "a compound of ideas, attitudes, and patterns of behavior elaborating the principle that the authority of government derives from and is limited by a body of f ...

, Charles Rousseau and René-Jean Dupuy had Georges Scelle as teacher.

Other positions

* Technical adviser to the French delegation at the 5th session of the Assembly of the

League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...

in 1924 * French Delegate at the last session of that Assembly of the League of Nations in 1946. * Member of the Commission of Enquiry on International Labour Conventions (From 1922 to 1958) * Member and vice-president of the Administrative Tribunal of the

International Labour Organization The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and o ...

. * Member associé 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 organizati ...

'' from 1929. * 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 aris ...

from 1950 * Counsel for France and Peru before the

International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice (ICJ; french: Cour internationale de justice, links=no; ), sometimes known as the World Court, is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN). It settles disputes between states in accordanc ...

in the Admission (1948) and Asylum (Colombia v. Peru - 1950) cases. * Member of the International Law Commission from its inception (elected on 3 November 1948). * The first "Secrétaire de la présidence" and then Secretary General of

The Hague Academy of International Law The Hague Academy of International Law (french: Académie de droit international de La Haye) is a center for high-level education in both public and private international law housed in the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands. Courses are taugh ...

(1935 to 1958)

Legal philosophy

Scelle supported the codification of the

laws of war The law of war is the component of international law that regulates the conditions for initiating war (''jus ad bellum'') and the conduct of warring parties (''jus in bello''). Laws of war define sovereignty and nationhood, states and territor ...

in an international convention. In this regard, he believed that even UN forces "did not stand above all law", and was in favor of subjecting them as well to the provisions of the

Geneva convention upright=1.15, Original document in single pages, 1864 The Geneva Conventions are four treaties, and three additional protocols, that establish international legal standards for humanitarian treatment in war. The singular term ''Geneva Conve ...

.''Yearbook of the ILC, 1950'', vol. 1, p. 148

Notes

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Scelle, Georges 1878 births 1961 deaths French jurists The Hague Academy of International Law people International Law Commission officials Members of the Institut de Droit International Members of the Permanent Court of Arbitration French officials of the United Nations French judges of international courts and tribunals 20th-century jurists