Manfred Lachs (21 April 1914 – 14 January 1993) was a Polish diplomat and jurist who served as a Judge of the International Court of Justice and greatly influenced the development of

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 ...

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 opposing ...

Life

Lachs was born to a Jewish family. Lachs attended the Jagiellonian University in

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

where he earned a doctorate in Laws (1937). Right after his studies, he started working for the Consular Academy of

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

and afterwards in the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) is a public university, public research university located in London, England and a constituent college of the federal University of London. Founded in 1895 by Fabian Society members Sidn ...

. Lachs was drafted in the army and throughout his military service he was advisor to the Polish government. During the

Second World War 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 opposi ...

, Lachs escaped to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, and served as secretary to

Ignacy Schwarzbart Ignacy Izaak Schwarzbart (13 November 1888 in Chrzanów – 26 April 1961 in New York City) was a prominent Polish Zionist, and one of Jewish representatives on the Polish National Council of the Polish Government-in-Exile during the Second World ...

, who was one of the two

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

representatives on the National Council of the

Polish government-in-exile The Polish government-in-exile, officially known as the Government of the Republic of Poland in exile ( pl, Rząd Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej na uchodźstwie), was the government in exile of Poland formed in the aftermath of the Invasion of Pola ...

. Lachs' family, which remained in Poland, were murdered in

the Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...

. Lachs was devoted towards ensuring the prosecution of the perpetrators of the Holocaust and of crimes in Poland. Before his career turned toward international law, he filled many judiciary posts in the Polish government such as Poland's Foreign Affairs director of the Department of treaties and legal jurisdiction (1947–1960) and prime minister's special advisor (1960–1967). He was the first Chair of the Legal Subcommittee of the UN Committee for the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (1959-1967). During negotiations over the Paris Peace Treaties of 1947, Lachs stood for his country as a delegate. He later became a professor of international law at the

University of Warsaw The University of Warsaw ( pl, Uniwersytet Warszawski, la, Universitas Varsoviensis) is a public university in Warsaw, Poland. Established in 1816, it is the largest institution of higher learning in the country offering 37 different fields o ...

(1952–1993), and served as a member of the Polish delegation of the general assembly 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 ...

. It is said that Lachs' legal brilliance is what insulated him from anti-Semitic purges in Poland. Afterwards, Lachs became a judge on 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 ...

, and eventually became one of the longest-serving judges there, working from 1967 until 1993, and presiding it from 1973 to 1976. He wrote ''The Law of Outer Space: An Experience in Contemporary Law Making'' in 1972, and the ''Teacher in International Law'' in 1982. The

International Institute of Social Studies The International Institute of Social Studies (ISS) of Erasmus University Rotterdam is an independent and international graduate school of policy-oriented critical social science. ISS was established in 1952 by Dutch universities and the Neth ...

(ISS) awarded its Honorary Fellowship 1982. Member Honoris Causa of The Mexican Academy of International Law.

Manfred Lachs Moot Court Competition

After his death, the Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Competition was named in his honour by the

International Institute of Space Law The International Astronautical Federation (IAF) is an international space advocacy organization based in Paris, and founded in 1951 as a non-governmental organization to establish a dialogue between scientists around the world and to lay t ...

References

* *
Profile at The International Institute of Social Studies
(ISS)

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lachs, Manfred 1914 births 1993 deaths Jews from Galicia (Eastern Europe) Polish diplomats Alumni of the London School of Economics International law scholars Diplomats from Ivano-Frankivsk Presidents of the International Court of Justice 20th-century Polish judges Polish judges of United Nations courts and tribunals Polish Jews International Court of Justice judges Recipients of the Medal of the 10th Anniversary of the People's Republic of Poland