Tobias Michael Carel Asser (; 28 April 1838 – 29 July 1913) was a Dutch

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

and legal scholar. In 1911, he won the Nobel Peace Prize (together with Alfred Fried) for his work in the field of private international law, and in particular for his achievements establishing the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH).

Life

Tobias Michael Carel Asser was born on 28 April 1838 in Amsterdam in the Netherlands. He was the son of Carel Daniel Asser (1813–1885) and grandson of

Carel Asser Carel is a given name, and may refer to: Arts * Carel Blotkamp, Dutch artist and art historian * Carel de Moor, Dutch etcher and painter * Carel Fabritius, Dutch painter and one of Rembrandt's most gifted pupils * Carel van Mander, Flemish painter ...

(1780–1836). He studied law at the University of Amsterdam and

Leiden University Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a Public university, public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William the Silent, William, Prince o ...

and was a law professor at the University of Amsterdam. Asser co-founded the ''Revue de Droit International et de Législation Comparée'' with

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 ...

and Gustave Rolin-Jaequemyns. He also co-founded the Institut de Droit International in 1873. In 1880 he became a member of the

Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences ( nl, Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen, abbreviated: KNAW) is an organization dedicated to the advancement of science and literature in the Netherlands. The academy is housed ...

The Hague Conference on Private International Law

Asser was a leading legal mind in the area of private international law and firmly believed that sound legal frameworks that govern private cross-border relationships would promote peace and stability. In 1893, Asser initiated the convocation of the First Diplomatic Session of the HCCH, the preeminent global organisation in the area of private international law. The participating States were Austria-Hungary, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Spain, and Switzerland. Asser was elected the Session's President, and subsequently re-elected at the Second to Fourth Session which took place in 1894, 1900 and 1904 respectively. Under his leadership, the HCCH developed some multilateral treaties, the Hague Conventions, that unified the rules of private international law in the areas o
Marriage (1902)Divorce (1902)Guardianship (1902)Civil Procedure (1905)Effects of Marriage (1905)
an
Deprivation of Civil Rights (1905)
In 1911, Asser received the Nobel Prize for Peace. In his Award Ceremony Speech on 10 December 1911, Chairman of the Nobel Committee Jørgen Gunnarsson Løvland emphasised specifically Asser's work in the field of private international law, and his achievements in establishing the HCCH, as reasons for receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, describing Asser as "a successor to or reviver of The Netherlands' pioneer work in international law in the seventeenth century", the

Hugo Grotius Hugo Grotius (; 10 April 1583 – 28 August 1645), also known as Huig de Groot () and Hugo de Groot (), was a Dutch humanist, diplomat, lawyer, theologian, jurist, poet and playwright. A teenage intellectual prodigy, he was born in Delft ...

of his time.

The Hague Peace Conferences

He was a delegate of the Netherlands to both Hague Peace Conferences in 1899 and 1907.

The Permanent Court of Arbitration

In 1902, he sat on the first arbitration panel to hear an international controversy brought by two states under the auspice of the Permanent Court of Arbitration, which was established as a result of the Hague Peace Conference of 1899 (the

Pious Fund of the Californias The Pious Fund of the Californias ( es, Fondo Piadoso de las Californias) is a fund, originating in 1697, to sponsor the Roman Catholic Jesuit Spanish missions in Baja California, and Franciscan Spanish missions in Alta California in the Vicer ...

Case). He also took a hand in the establishment of what would become The Hague Academy of International Law, though he did not live to see its foundation in 1923. Asser died on 29 July 1913 in The Hague.

Namesake

A research institute in the fields of Private and Public International Law, European Law and International Commercial Arbitration is named after Tobias Michael Carel Asser. This is the T.M.C. Asser Instituut, based in The Hague, Netherlands.

References

External links

Tobias Michael Carel Asser
biography in the

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Asser, Tobias 1838 births 1913 deaths Nobel Peace Prize laureates Dutch Nobel laureates 19th-century Dutch lawyers 20th-century Dutch lawyers Dutch Jews Dutch legal scholars The Hague Academy of International Law people Asser, T.M.C. Jewish scientists Leiden University alumni Members of the Institut de Droit International Members of the Permanent Court of Arbitration Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences Members of the Royal Academy of Belgium Delegates to the Hague Peace Conferences Lawyers from Amsterdam University of Amsterdam alumni University of Amsterdam faculty Dutch judges of international courts and tribunals