Christian Tomuschat (born 23 July 1936 in Stettin,

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

(now Szczecin,

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

)) is a German jurist. He is emeritus professor of

public 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 ...

and

European law European Union law is a system of rules operating within the member states of the European Union (EU). Since the founding of the European Coal and Steel Community following World War II, the EU has developed the aim to "promote peace, its valu ...

at the

Humboldt University Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiati ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

and is a former member of the

UN Human Rights Committee The United Nations Human Rights Committee is a treaty body composed of 18 experts, established by a 1966 human rights treaty, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). The Committee meets for three four-week sessions per y ...

and the UN's

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 ...

Career

After his graduation in 1955 in Stuttgart, he studied law in

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

and Montpellier, and earned his doctorate in 1970. From 1972 to 1995, he held the Chair of Public Law at the

University of Bonn The Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (german: Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn) is a public research university located in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the ( en, Rhine ...

. In 1994 he chaired the UN-sponsored

Historical Clarification Commission In 1994 Guatemala's Commission for Historical Clarification - La Comisión para el Esclarecimiento Histórico (CEH) - was created as a response to the thousands of atrocities and human rights violations committed during the decades long civil war th ...

(CEH), after the conclusion of peace accords between the Guatemalan government and the guerrillas in December 1996, which worked to investigate

human rights abuses Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...

committed during the

Guatemalan Civil War The Guatemalan Civil War was a civil war in Guatemala fought from 1960 to 1996 between the government of Guatemala and various leftist rebel groups. The government forces have been condemned for committing genocide against the Maya population of ...

and published its final report on 25 February 1999. Since 1995 he has been a member of the

Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences The Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities (german: Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften), abbreviated BBAW, is the official academic society for the natural sciences and humanities for the German states of Berlin a ...

and, since April 2003, an honorary Doctor of Law at the

University of Zurich The University of Zürich (UZH, german: Universität Zürich) is a public research university located in the city of Zürich, Switzerland. It is the largest university in Switzerland, with its 28,000 enrolled students. It was founded in 1833 f ...

. Since April 1995, he holds the Chair of Public and European Law at the Humboldt University in Berlin. In May 2006, he was awarded the Order

Pour le Mérite The ' (; , ) is an order of merit (german: Verdienstorden) established in 1740 by King Frederick II of Prussia. The was awarded as both a military and civil honour and ranked, along with the Order of the Black Eagle, the Order of the Red Eag ...

and, in October 2007, he was awarded the Grand Cross of Merit with Star. In 2003, he was commissioned by Daimler-Chrysler (now

Daimler AG The Mercedes-Benz Group AG (previously named Daimler-Benz, DaimlerChrysler and Daimler) is a German multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is one of the world's leading car manufactu ...

) to investigate human rights abuses the company allegedly aided during the Argentine military's

Dirty War The Dirty War ( es, Guerra sucia) is the name used by the military junta or civic-military dictatorship of Argentina ( es, dictadura cívico-militar de Argentina, links=no) for the period of state terrorism in Argentina from 1974 to 1983 as ...

against suspected opponents, in particular the disappearances of fourteen union members at its Mercedes-Benz factory. He issued a report noting that “MBA ercedes-Benz Argentinahas supplied information from company personnel files, including passport photographs, to the state secret service at its request" that put labor leaders in danger, and eventually their murders. Ultimately, he found the activities of its

Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to as Mercedes and sometimes as Benz, is a German luxury and commercial vehicle automotive brand established in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a Mercedes-Benz Group subsidiary established in 2019) is headquartere ...

subsidiary did not rise to the level of incitement to kidnapping and murder. Plaintiffs criticized the report as "corporate whitewashing" and some pointed out they had not been interviewed. In December 2008, with

bringing proceedings against

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

in 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 ...

, Tomuschat was appointed co-agent representing

. The case ('' Jurisdictional Immunities of the State'') alleges that Italy has violated the principle of sovereign immunity by allowing civil claims by victims of Nazi crimes against Germany to proceed in Italian courts. In 2013, he was elected president of the

Court of Conciliation and Arbitration A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordanc ...

for the

Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the world's largest regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization with observer status at the United Nations. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, pro ...

(OSCE), for a six-year term.

Lectures

''What is General International Law?''
in th

Selected works

* ''Flexibility in International Dispute Settlement'' (Brill, 2020) (with Marcelo Kohen). * ''Grundgesetz und Völkerrecht'', in:

Robertson-von Trotha, Caroline Y. Caroline Y. Robertson-von Trotha (born 22 February 1951 in Glasgow, Scotland) is a Scottish sociologist and cultural scientist, working in Germany. Biography and career After the unexpected death of her father Robertson-von Trotha left Oba ...

(ed.): 60 Jahre Grundgesetz. Interdisziplinäre Perspektiven (= Kulturwissenschaft interdisziplinär/Interdisciplinary Studies on Culture and Society, Vol. 4), Baden-Baden 2009

References

External links

Literature by and about Christian Tomuschat in the catalogue of the German National Library

HU-Berlin – Department of Public Law, International and European Law
– Final report of the CEH in English
Application to the International Court of Justice appointing Tomuschat co-agent
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tomuschat, Christian 1936 births Living people Lawyers from Szczecin Jurists from North Rhine-Westphalia People from the Province of Pomerania Heidelberg University alumni Academic staff of the University of Bonn United Nations Human Rights Committee members Academic staff of the Humboldt University of Berlin International Law Commission officials Knights Commander of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (civil class) German officials of the United Nations

Career

Lectures

Selected works

References

Further reading

External links