C. Wilfred Jenks (7 March 1909 – 9 October 1973) was an international lawyer and director-general of the
International Labour Organization
The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and o ...
(1970–1973).
[Elihu Lauterpacht, "Jenks, Clarence Wilfred (1909–1973)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, (2004, Oxford University Press, accessed 24 Aug 2011.]
Early life and education
Clarence Wilfred Jenks was born 7 March 1909 in Bootle, Lancashire. His father, a merchant navy officer, drowned when Jenks was eleven and he assumed responsibility with his mother for the family.
[
Jenks was educated in state schools in Liverpool and, in 1926, he won an open scholarship to ]Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge
Gonville and Caius College, often referred to simply as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and one of t ...
and, in 1930, was president of the Cambridge Union
The Cambridge Union Society, also known as the Cambridge Union, is a debating and free speech society in Cambridge, England, and the largest society in the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1815, it is the oldest continuously running debati ...
. He was treasurer, British Universities League of Nations Society and chair, Cambridge University League of Nations Union. He twice won a scholarship to 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 high ...
in Geneva.[ He took a double first in history (1929) and law (1931) winning the Cecil Peace Prize in 1928 for a study on international arbitration.][International Labour Organisation, Director-General's Office]
"C. Wilfred Jenks"
9 February 2006 accessed 24 August 2011.
ILO
Upon finishing his studies at Cambridge, Jenks joined the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in Geneva as a legal adviser in the Legal Division. He became Assistant Director-General, Deputy Director-General, principal Deputy Director-General and Director-General. As Director-General, he was preceded by David A. Morse and succeeded by Francis Blanchard.
In 1936, he was called to the English bar by Gray's Inn
The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and W ...
.[
In 1944, with acting Director ]Edward J. Phelan
Edward Joseph Phelan (25 July 1888 – 15 September 1967), frequently E. J. Phelan, was the first appointed international civil servant and fourth Director-General of the International Labour Office, serving from 1941 to 1948, during most of which ...
, he drafted the Declaration of Philadelphia
The Declaration of Philadelphia (10 May 1944) restated the traditional objectives of the International Labour Organization (ILO) and then branched out in two new directions: the centrality of human rights to social policy, and the need for intern ...
which restated the ILO's aims and purposes, envisioning the ILO as the master economic agency among the specialised international bodies.[Norman F. Dufty]
"Organizational Growth and Goal Structure: The Case of the ILO"
(1972) 26 (3) ''International Organization'' 479 accessed 24 August 2011[ He was part of the ILO delegation at a number of international conferences including:
* ]United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference
The Bretton Woods Conference, formally known as the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference, was the gathering of 730 delegates from all 44 Allied nations at the Mount Washington Hotel, situated in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, United ...
at Bretton Woods, 1944[
* ]San Francisco conference
The United Nations Conference on International Organization (UNCIO), commonly known as the San Francisco Conference, was a convention of delegates from 50 Allied nations that took place from 25 April 1945 to 26 June 1945 in San Francisco, Calif ...
which established the United Nations, 1945[
* International Conference on Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy, 1955 and 1958][
* United Nations Conference on Law of the Sea, 1958 and 1960][
* United Nations Conference on Diplomatic Intercourse and Immunities, 1961][
* United Nations Conference on Law of Treaties, 1968][
Jenks carried for many years the main responsibility for the ILO's work in international labour standards and human rights.][
]
International legal scholar
Jenks was "one of the most prominent and prolific writers on international law of his time. His ... "Some constitutional problems of international organization" ... was for long the unrivalled source of instruction on that subject for professionals and academics alike."[
Jenks was Professor, Hague Academy of International Law in 1950, 1955 and 1966.][ He was Storrs Lecturer in Jurisprudence, ]Yale University
Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...
, 1965.[
]
Personal and family life
In 1949, Jenks married Jane Louise Broverman of New York. They had two sons.[
On 9 October 1973 Jenks was attending a session of the ]Institut de Droit International
The Institute of International Law (French: Institut de Droit International) is an organization devoted to the study and development of international law, whose membership comprises the world's leading public international lawyers. The organizati ...
in Rome when he had a fatal heart attack. He was buried in Geneva.[
]
Awards and honours
C. Wilfred Jenks was awarded the following honours:["C(larence) Wilfred Jenks", Contemporary Authors Online (2002) via Gale Biography In Context (database online) accessed 24 August 2011.]
1928 Cecil Peace Prize
1959 American Society of International Law award
1967 Hon LLD, University of Edinburgh
1971 Hon LLD, University of Delhi
1971 Hon LLD, Seoul National University
1971 Hon LLD, University of La Plata
1972 Hon LLD, University of Costa Rica
Jenks was an honorary fellow of Gonville and Caius College, University of Cambridge and an honorary professor of Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos de Lima and University of Lima.[
]
Publications
* (editor) The International Labour Code, 1939: A Systematic Arrangement of the Conventions and Recommendations Adopted by the International Labour conference, 1919-1939 (1941, 1952 revised edition: The International Labour Code, 1951: A Systematic Arrangement of the Conventions and Recommendations Adopted by the International Labour Conference, 1919-1951)
* (editor) Constitutional Provisions Concerning Social and Economic Policy: An International Collection of Texts Covering 450 Countries and Other Governments (1944)
* The headquarters of international institutions : a study of their location and status (1945)
* The international protection of trade union freedom (1957)
* The common law of mankind (1958)
* Human Rights and International Labour Standards (1960)
* International immunities (1961)
* The proper law of international organisations (1962)
* Law, freedom and welfare (1963)
* International law in a changing world (1963; with others)
* The prospects of international adjudication (1964)
* Space law (1965)
* Sovereignty within the law (1965; with Arnold Larson and others)
* Law in the world community (1967)
* A new world of law? A study of the creative imagination in international law (1969)
* Britain and the International Labor Office (1969)
* The world beyond the charter in historical perspective: a tentative synthesis of four stages of world organization (London, 1969)
* Social justice in the law of nations: the ILO impact after fifty years (1970)
* Orthodoxy and Innovation in the Law of Nations, Oxford University Press (1971)
* The International Labour Organisation in the U.N. family (1971)
* Social security as a world problem (Wellington, New Zealand, 1972)
* Prosperity for welfare: social purpose in economic growth and change (1973)
* Social policy in a changing world (selected lectures) (1976).
Contributor to British Yearbook of International Law and to legal journals.
Bibliography
* Fiti Sinclair, Guy (2020).
C. Wilfred Jenks and the Futures of International Organizations Law
. European Journal of International Law
The ''European Journal of International Law'' is a quarterly law journal covering international law in a combination of theoretical and practical approaches. It also provides coverage of the relationship between international law and European Unio ...
.
References
External links
www.ilo.org
biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jenks, C. Wilfred
Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge
Presidents of the Cambridge Union
Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies alumni
International law scholars
Labour law scholars
International Labour Organization people
1909 births
1973 deaths
British officials of the United Nations