Michael Bothe (born June 11, 1938) is a German legal scholar. The focus of his work is international law, in particular peacekeeping law, arms control, humanitarian law, international environmental law and comparative constitutional law.

Life and work

Bothe was born in Berlin in 1938 and studied law and international relations at the universities of Heidelberg, Hamburg and Geneva. In 1961 he passed the first state examination in Heidelberg and the second state examination five years later in Stuttgart. In 1966, he obtained a diploma from the

Graduate Institute of International Studies Graduate may refer to: Education * The subject of a graduation, i.e. someone awarded an academic degree ** Alumnus, a former student who has either attended or graduated from an institution * High school graduate, someone who has completed hi ...

in Geneva. The following year, he received his doctorate in law from the

University of Heidelberg } Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, ...

with a thesis on the armed forces of international organizations. From 1964 to 1979, he was a research assistant at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law in Heidelberg. In 1974, he obtained his

habilitation Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in many European countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excellence in research, teaching and further education, usually including a ...

at the

. From 1974 to 1977 during the international diplomatic conference in Geneva on the first two additional protocols to the

Geneva Conventions 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 Conven ...

, he was a member of the delegation of the German Red Cross. From 1977 to 1979, he was an adjunct professor at the University of Heidelberg, then until 1983 a full professor at the

University of Hanover Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz University Hannover (german: Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Universität), also known as the University of Hannover, is a public research university located in Hanover, Germany. Founded on 2 May 1831 as Higher Vocational Sc ...

. In 1983, he became the chair for public, international and European law at the

Johann Wolfgang Goethe University Goethe University (german: link=no, Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main) is a university located in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It was founded in 1914 as a citizens' university, which means it was founded and funded by the wealt ...

in Frankfurt, where he also served as dean of the law department from 1993 to 1994 and where he worked until his retirement in 2003. He was also visiting professor at various foreign universities and in 1994 head of the research center 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 ...

. Bothe headed the Expert Committee on Humanitarian International Law of the German Red Cross starting in 1995 and was chairman of the German Society for International Law from 2001 to 2005. He was also a member of the International Humanitarian Fact-Finding Commission from 2001 to 2011 and was its president starting in 2007. From 2002 to 2006, he was a research group leader at the Hessian Foundation for Peace and Conflict Research.

Awards

*1974 – Giuseppe Ciardi Prize (in the field of military law and international humanitarian law) *1987 – Elizabeth Haub Prize (in the field of environmental law) *2017 –

Henry Dunant Medal The Henry Dunant Medal is the highest award of the Red Cross Movement. It is named after Henry Dunant, the founder of the Red Cross Movement. The medal is presented every two years by the Standing Commission of the Red Cross and Red Crescent. This ...

Works (selected)

* Michael Bothe, Kay Hailbronner, Eckart Klein, Wolfgang Graf Vitzthum (Hrsg.): Völkerrecht. Walter de Gruyter, Berlin 1997, . * Michael Bothe, Allan Rosas, Natalino Ronzitti: The New Chemical Weapons Convention – Implementation and Prospects. Brill Academic Publishers, Leiden und Boston 1999, . * Michael Bothe, Horst Fischer, Christopher J. Greenwood, Dieter Fleck (Hrsg.): The Handbook of Humanitarian Law in Armed Conflicts. Oxford University Press, Oxford 2000, .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bothe, Michael 1938 births Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies alumni Living people