Janusz Kochanowski
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Janusz Bogumił Kochanowski (18 April 1940 – 10 April 2010) was a Polish lawyer, diplomat, and the Commissioner for Civil Rights Protection of the Republic of Poland (
Polish Ombudsman The Polish Ombudsman ( pl, Rzecznik Praw Obywatelskich, literally Advocate for Citizens' Rights, now referring to itself in English as the "Commissioner for Human Rights" and earlier as the "Human Rights Defender," often abbreviated ''RPO'') is a ...
).


Life and career

Janusz Kochanowski was born in
Częstochowa Częstochowa ( , ; german: Tschenstochau, Czenstochau; la, Czanstochova) is a city in southern Poland on the Warta River with 214,342 inhabitants, making it the thirteenth-largest city in Poland. It is situated in the Silesian Voivodeship (admin ...
in Poland on 18 April 1940. He was married to a Polish philologist, Ewa and had two children: Marta, a lawyer, and Mateusz, a law student. He graduated from the Faculty of Law at the
University of Warsaw The University of Warsaw ( pl, Uniwersytet Warszawski, la, Universitas Varsoviensis) is a public university in Warsaw, Poland. Established in 1816, it is the largest institution of higher learning in the country offering 37 different fields of ...
and completed his court training in the Voivodeship Court in the capital city of
Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
between 1964 and 1966. He wrote his doctoral thesis on "The Subjective Boundaries of Criminal Liability" and obtained his doctoral degree in 1980. Kochanowski was a lecturer in the Faculty of Law at the University of Warsaw from 1966 to 1990 and from 1997 to 2005. He served as an expert for the Senate Commission for
Human Rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, 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 ce ...
and the Rule of Law from 1989 to 1991. Subsequently, he was the Consul-General for the Polish Republic in London from 1991 to 1995. Between 1996 and 1997, he was a visiting fellow at the
Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
. From 1995, Kochanowski was a member of the District Council of Legal Advisers in Warsaw and, from 1980 to 1991, he was a member of the independent self-governing trade union Solidarity. Between 1989 and 2003, he was a founder member, secretary and honorary member of the Rotary Club of Warsaw. Furthermore, he was a member of the following institutions: The London Diplomatic Association from 1991 to 1995; The
Consular Corps Consular corps (from french: Corps consulaire and commonly abbreviated ''CC'') is a concept analogous to diplomatic corps, but concerning the staff, estates and work of a consulate. "While ambassadors and diplomatic staff are devoted to bette ...
in London from 1991 to 1995; The London European Society and European Luncheon Club from 1993 to 1997; The European Atlantic Group in London from 1993 to 1997; The Polish "Ognisko" Hearth"Club in London from 1991 to 1995; The Oxford and
Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
Club in London from 1997 to 1999; The British-Polish Legal Association in London, of which he is an honorary life member; Transparency International, for whom he was a board member; The Polish Council of the European Movement. He was also a founder-member of the Association for National Remembrance, a member of the International Adviser Journal of Criminal Law and Philosophy and a member of the European advisory committee for
Caselex {{No footnotes, article, date=September 2008 Caselex is a unique legal information service opening up national case law and other important decisions (like those of competition authorities) with a European connotation to legal professions. As such ...
. In 1998, Kochanowski became a member of the team formed to assess the creation of a Civil Service in Poland and was the author of the report prepared at that time. In 2000-2001, he was a member of the team at the Ministry of Justice preparing an amendment of the
Penal Code A criminal code (or penal code) is a document that compiles all, or a significant amount of a particular jurisdiction's criminal law. Typically a criminal code will contain offences that are recognised in the jurisdiction, penalties that might ...
. From 2000 to 2006, he was the chairman of the "Ius et Lex" foundation, whose aim is to support scientific and educational initiatives concerning
Polish law The Polish law or legal system in Poland has been developing since the History of Poland (966–1385), first centuries of Polish history, over 1,000 years ago. The public law, public and private law, private laws of Poland are Codification (law), ...
and to realise the guidelines of the state of law. Most recently the foundation prepared, under Kochanowski's leadership, a programme for the reform of the administration of justice. From 2003 to 2004, he was the founder and first chairman of the Agreement of the Self-government of the Legal Professions and Legal Organisations, whose aim is to unify the activities of the representatives of all legal professions in order to reform the administration of Polish justice, to repair the system of the binding law and to raise the professional and moral standards of the legal professions. In 2003-2005, he led a
think-tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmental org ...
which was devoted to an analysis of the problems of the state and to the preparation of a reform programme and whose work would be summed up in a volume of cases entitled "Repairing the Republic". He was listed on the flight manifest of the
Tupolev Tu-154 The Tupolev Tu-154 (russian: Tyполев Ту-154; NATO reporting name: "Careless") is a three-engined, medium-range, narrow-body airliner designed in the mid-1960s and manufactured by Tupolev. A workhorse of Soviet and (subsequently) Russian ...
of the 36th Special Aviation Regiment carrying the
President of Poland The president of Poland ( pl, Prezydent RP), officially the president of the Republic of Poland ( pl, Prezydent Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej), is the head of state of Poland. Their rights and obligations are determined in the Constitution of Polan ...
Lech Kaczyński Lech Aleksander Kaczyński (; 18 June 194910 April 2010) was a Polish politician who served as the city mayor of Warsaw from 2002 until 2005, and as President of Poland from 2005 until his death in 2010. Before his tenure as president, he prev ...
which crashed near
Smolensk-North Smolensk North Airport (russian: военный аэродром "Смоленск-Северный", "Smolensk North Military Aerodrome") is a decommissioned military airbase in Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located 4 km north of the city of ...
airport near Pechersk near
Smolensk Smolensk ( rus, Смоленск, p=smɐˈlʲensk, a=smolensk_ru.ogg) is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest c ...
,
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
, on 10 April 2010, killing all aboard. Kochanowski's body was identified two days later.Ombudsman’s body identified
thenews.pl. 12.04.2010 10:20.


Academic publications and honours

Kochanowski was the editor-in-chief of the "Ius et Lex" magazine and the instigator and editor of a series of classics on the
philosophy of law Philosophy of law is a branch of philosophy that examines the nature of law and law's relationship to other systems of norms, especially ethics and political philosophy. It asks questions like "What is law?", "What are the criteria for legal vali ...
, which includes such books as: Etyka i Rządy Prawa Ethics and the Rule of Law"by David Lyons; Autorytet prawa The Authority of Law"by
Joseph Raz Joseph Raz (; he, יוסף רז; born Zaltsman; 21 March 19392 May 2022) was an Israeli legal, moral and political philosopher. He was an advocate of legal positivism and is known for his conception of perfectionist liberalism. Raz spent mos ...
; Prawo naturalne i uprawnienia naturalne Natural Law and Natural Rights"by
John Finnis John Mitchell Finnis, , (born 28 July 1940) is an Australian legal philosopher, jurist and scholar specializing in jurisprudence and the philosophy of law. He is the Biolchini Family Professor of Law, emeritus, at Notre Dame Law School and a P ...
and Moralność prawa The Morality of Law"by
Lon L. Fuller Lon Luvois Fuller (June 15, 1902 – April 8, 1978) was an American legal philosopher, who criticized legal positivism and defended a secular and procedural form of natural law theory. Fuller was a professor of Law at Harvard University for many ...
. All of these books were designed to effect changes in the understanding and application of the law in Poland. He was also the editor of a special edition published this year in the United States of America by American Behavioral Scientist and entitled "International Terrorism Through Polish Eyes". During his academic career, Kochanowski was several times visiting fellow at the
Max-Planck-Institute The Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science (german: Max-Planck-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Wissenschaften e. V.; abbreviated MPG) is a formally independent non-governmental and non-profit association of Germany, German research ins ...
für Ausländisches und Internationales Strafrecht in Freiburg, the
University of Augsburg The University of Augsburg (german: Universität Augsburg) is a university located in the Universitätsviertel section of Augsburg, Germany. It was founded in 1970 and is organized in 8 Faculties. The University of Augsburg is a relatively you ...
, Jesus College at the
University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...
, numerous colleges at the
University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
, including Wolfson College,
Robinson College Robinson College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1977, it is one of the newest Oxbridge colleges and is unique in having been intended, from its inception, for both undergraduate and graduate students of bo ...
, where he became elected senior member, Clare Hall, where he became a life member, and Peterhouse College. In 2001, he was invited to be a visiting fellow at the
British Academy The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars span ...
. Kochanowski was the author of over 100 works on penal, administrative and
constitutional law Constitutional law is a body of law which defines the role, powers, and structure of different entities within a State (polity), state, namely, the executive (government), executive, the parliament or legislature, and the judiciary; as well as th ...
as well as international relations. These include three
monographs A monograph is a specialist work of writing (in contrast to reference works) or exhibition on a single subject or an aspect of a subject, often by a single author or artist, and usually on a scholarly subject. In library cataloging, ''monograph ...
: Subiektywne granice sprawstwa i odpowiedzialności karnej The Subjective Boundaries of Perpetration and Penal Liability"(1985), Zagadnienia odpowiedzialności za przestępstwa drogowe i przeciwko bezpieczeństwu w komunikacji Questions of Liability for Road Traffic Offences and Offences against Safety in Communications"(1990); Redukcja odpowiedzialności karnej The Reduction of Penal Liability"(2000). He is the author or co-author of several commentaries, including Przestępstwa i wykroczenia drogowego Road Traffic Offences and Misdemeanours"(1991) and the established classic commentaries to the Highway Code. Many of these works were published in German and English, including Über die Wandlung der strafrechtlichen Verantwortung und die sich verringernde Rolle dieser Verantwortung im gesellschaftlichen Leben "Zeitschrift für Rechtsvergleichung" (1978), Zur Problematik der Verkündung von Strafgesetzen in Polen, "Jahrbuch für Ostrecht" (1986), "Reasonable Man" Standards in Continental Law, ("The Journal of Legislative Studies" 1995),
Penal Law Criminal law is the body of law that relates to crime. It prescribes conduct perceived as threatening, harmful, or otherwise endangering to the property, health, safety, and moral welfare of people inclusive of one's self. Most criminal law i ...
in Confrontation with the Nightmares of the Past and Challenges of the Present Day (Penal law in relation to the change in the
political system In political science, a political system means the type of political organization that can be recognized, observed or otherwise declared by a state. It defines the process for making official government decisions. It usually comprizes the govern ...
in Poland between 1990 and 2000). ("Managerial Law" Volume 44 Number 5, 2002). Kochanowski was the author of several works for the
Polish Parliament The parliament of Poland is the bicameral legislature of Poland. It is composed of an upper house (the Senate) and a lower house (the Sejm). Both houses are accommodated in the ''Sejm'' complex in Warsaw. The Constitution of Poland does not ref ...
and Government, including: Projekt ustawy o służbie zagranicznej A Bill Concerning the Foreign Services"(1998), commissioned by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs; Raport o tworzeniu służby cywilnej w latach 1996 - 97 A Report about the Creation of a Civil Service 1996-1997" prepared within the framework of a commission formed by the Prime Minister; Analizy i oceny kodeksu karnego z 1997 na tle innych polskich kodyfikacji karnych Analyses and Assessments of the 1997 Penal Code against the Background of Other Polish Penal Codifications"(1999), commissioned by the Polish Parliament's Bureau for Studies and Expert Appraisements, as well as many other export appraisements for the Parliament. On 16 April 2010, Kochanowski was
posthumously Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award - an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication – material published after the author's death * ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1987 * ''Posthumous'' (E ...
awarded the Commander's Cross with Star of the
Order of Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta ( pl, Order Odrodzenia Polski, en, Order of Restored Poland) is a Polish state decoration, state Order (decoration), order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on al ...
and on 20 April he was buried with full military honours in the family grave at the cemetery in Czestochowa.


References


External links


Janusz Kochanowski
- ''biography at the Polish Ombudsman official site'' *
Janusz Kochanowski
- ''Personal website'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Kochanowski, Janusz Lawyers from Warsaw Polish diplomats 1940 births 2010 deaths Fellows of Clare Hall, Cambridge Fellows of Peterhouse, Cambridge Fellows of Robinson College, Cambridge Fellows of Wolfson College, Cambridge People from Częstochowa Commanders with Star of the Order of Polonia Restituta Ombudsmen in Poland University of Warsaw alumni Victims of the Smolensk air disaster