Vespasian V. Pella (4/17 January 1897, in
Bucharest
Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...
–
24 August 1952, in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
) was a
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
n legal expert.
Legal career and opinions
During the interwar period, he promoted the notion of
international criminal proceedings against heads of state found guilty of crimes against humanity by the establishment of a special international tribunal for that purpose. In 1938 he served as President of the Committee on Legal Questions 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 ...
.
He was elected a corresponding member of the
Romanian Academy
The Romanian Academy ( ro, Academia Română ) is a cultural forum founded in Bucharest, Romania, in 1866. It covers the scientific, artistic and literary domains. The academy has 181 active members who are elected for life.
According to its byl ...
in 1943.
In 1944 he was appointed Romanian Ambassador to Switzerland, and in that capacity saved several Romanian Jews from deportation to Nazi occupied Poland.
In 1948, he took part in formulating the
br>
He kept advocating the idea of establishing an international criminal court and, in 1950, presented his proposals to that effect to the
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 ...
(UN document A/CN.4/39), which deliberated over the issue in its meetings of 5 to 6 July 1950.
''Yearbook of the ILC 1950'', vol. 1, p. 165
/ref>
Works
Books
* ''La criminalité collective des états et le droit pénal de l'avenir'', Bucarest : Imprimerie de l'état, 1925
* "Vers l'unification du droit pénal par la création d'un Institut international auprès de la Société des Nations", (1928) 3 ''Études Crimin.'' 49-56
* ''La Guerre-Crime et les Criminels de Guerre'', Paris, 1946
* ''The International Association of Penal Law and the Safeguarding of Peace'', Paris, 1947
Articles
* "Towards an International Criminal Court" ''American Journal of International Law'', Vol. 44, 1950, p. 37
References
External links
Article mentioning Pella
Benjamin B. Ferencz, The Draft Code of Offences Against the Peace and Security of Mankind
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pella, Vespasian
1897 births
1960 deaths
Lawyers from Bucharest
Ambassadors of Romania to Switzerland
Corresponding members of the Romanian Academy
Romanian expatriates in the United States
Diplomats from Bucharest