Henri Donnedieu de Vabres (8 July 1880 – 14 February 1952) was a French

jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyses and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal qualification in law and often a legal practitioner. In the Uni ...

who took part in the

Nuremberg trials The Nuremberg trials were held by the Allies of World War II, Allies against representatives of the defeated Nazi Germany, for plotting and carrying out invasions of other countries, and other crimes, in World War II. Between 1939 and 1945 ...

after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He was the primary French judge during the proceedings, with

Robert Falco Robert Falco (26 February 1882 – 14 January 1960) was a French judge at the Nuremberg trials, who later sat in the Cour de Cassation. Biography Falco was born in Paris into a Jewish family. His great-grandfather was decorated by Louis Philippe ...

as his alternate. Donnedieu was born in

Nîmes Nîmes ( , ; oc, Nimes ; Latin: ''Nemausus'') is the prefecture of the Gard department in the Occitanie region of Southern France. Located between the Mediterranean Sea and Cévennes, the commune of Nîmes has an estimated population of 148,5 ...

. Prior to the war, he had campaigned for the concept of an

International Criminal Court The International Criminal Court (ICC or ICCt) is an intergovernmental organization and international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute individuals ...

while serving as a professor of Criminal Law at 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 ...

. He also became director of the Paris Institute of Criminology. Later in 1947, he would again submit his idea before the

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

' Committee on the Progressive Development of International Law and its Codification. In 1935 Donnedieu accepted an invitation to Berlin from

Hans Frank Hans Michael Frank (23 May 1900 – 16 October 1946) was a German politician and lawyer who served as head of the General Government in Nazi-occupied Poland during the Second World War. Frank was an early member of the German Workers' Party ...

, Hitler's personal lawyer and later Governor-General of occupied Poland. They debated the idea of an international criminal court. During the trials, Donnedieu was noted for protesting against the charges of ''Conspiracy to Wage War'' as he felt it was too broad to be served in such a monumental trial. As a corollary of this view, he strongly protested against the conviction of Colonel-General

Alfred Jodl Alfred Josef Ferdinand Jodl (; 10 May 1890 – 16 October 1946) was a German ''Generaloberst'' who served as the chief of the Operations Staff of the '' Oberkommando der Wehrmacht'' – the German Armed Forces High Command – throughout World ...

, stating that it was a miscarriage of justice for the professional soldier to be convicted - when he held no allegiance to Nazism. Jodl was later exonerated posthumously by a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

court, citing Donnedieu's statement. On 28 February 1953, a West German denazification court declared Jodl not guilty of breaking international law. This not guilty declaration was revoked on 3 September 1953, by the Minister of Political Liberation for Bavaria. His trial secretary was

Yves Beigbeder Yves may refer to: * Yves, Charente-Maritime, a commune of the Charente-Maritime department in France * Yves (given name), including a list of people with the name * ''Yves'' (single album), a single album by Loona * ''Yves'' (film), a 2019 Fren ...

. Donnedieu was also the one to suggest that a

firing squad Execution by firing squad, in the past sometimes called fusillading (from the French ''fusil'', rifle), is a method of capital punishment, particularly common in the military and in times of war. Some reasons for its use are that firearms are us ...

might be a more honourable way to execute those found guilty - though that was strongly contested by

Francis Biddle Francis Beverley Biddle (May 9, 1886 – October 4, 1968) was an American lawyer and judge who was the United States Attorney General during World War II. He also served as the primary American judge during the postwar Nuremberg Trials as well a ...

and

Iona Nikitchenko Major-General Iona Timofeevich Nikitchenko (Russian: Иона Тимофеевич Никитченко) (June 28, 1895 – April 22, 1967) was a judge of the Supreme Court of the Soviet Union. Early life and career Iona was born to a peasant f ...

. Along with Lemkin (the Academic who devised the term "

genocide Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the Latin ...

" in his 1944 book ''Axis Rule in Occupied Europe'') and Vespasian V. Pella, he was consulted by

John Peters Humphrey John Peters Humphrey (April 30, 1905 – March 14, 1995) was a Canadian legal scholar, jurist, and human rights advocate. He is most famous as the principal author of the first draft of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Childhood, ...

to prepare the United Nations Secretariat Draft for the Convention on the Prevention of Genocide. Donnedieu died in Paris in 1952. His grandson

Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres (born 13 March 1954 in Neuilly-sur-Seine), often known as RDDV, is a French politician, France's Minister of Culture from 2004 to 2007. He is a member of the UMP center-right party, and the grandson of Henri Donnedieu ...

served as

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Minister of Culture A culture minister or a heritage minister is a common cabinet position in governments. The culture minister is typically responsible for cultural policy, which often includes arts policy (direct and indirect support to artists and arts organizati ...

from 2004 to 2007.

External links

* * Philippe Sands, East West Street (2016) {{DEFAULTSORT:Donnedieu De Vabres, Henri 1880 births 1952 deaths People from Nîmes French jurists Directors of the Paris Institute of Criminology Judges of the International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg French judges of international courts and tribunals