Baron Joseph (Josse) Marie Honoré Charles Mertens de Wilmars (22 June 1912 – 1 August 2002) was a Belgian jurist who became a member of the

European Court of Justice The European Court of Justice (ECJ, french: Cour de Justice européenne), formally just the Court of Justice, is the supreme court of the European Union in matters of European Union law. As a part of the Court of Justice of the European Un ...

and then its sixth President.

Biography

Mertens de Wilmars was born in

Sint-Niklaas Sint-Niklaas (; french: Saint-Nicolas, ) is a Belgian city and municipality located in the Flemish province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Sint-Niklaas proper and the towns of Belsele, Nieuwkerken-Waas, and . Sint-Nikl ...

, into a family of brewers. One of his brothers was the psychiatrist

Charles Mertens de Wilmars Charles Mertens de Wilmars (Leuven, 21 November 1921 – 1994) was a Belgium, Belgian psychiatrist. He graduated as a Doctor of Medicine in 1948, and became a licensed psychologist in 1949. He was taught neurology by Paul van Gehuchten and ex ...

. He gained a degree in law in 1934, and practiced in

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

, specialising in administrative law. He was an officer in the Belgian Army in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, and spent most of the war as a

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of wa ...

. After the war, he was a member of the Belgian Catholic alliance, and was a member of the Belgian parliament from 1951 to 1962. He was in favour of European unity, and attended the

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...

the Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

in 1948. He also taught administrative law at the High Institute for Administrative Sciences in Antwerp from 1946 to 1967, and was an associate professor in law at the

Catholic University of Leuven University of Leuven or University of Louvain (french: Université de Louvain, link=no; nl, Universiteit Leuven, link=no) may refer to: * Old University of Leuven (1425–1797) * State University of Leuven (1817–1835) * Catholic University of ...

from 1971. He became a member of the

in 1967, and served as its sixth President from 1980 to 1984. He died in Antwerp.

External links

European Court of Justice
Official site
Obituary
5 September 2002

(German)
Josse Mertens de Wilmars
i
ODIS – Online Database for Intermediary Structures
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mertens De Wilmars, Josse 1912 births 2002 deaths 20th-century Belgian judges Presidents of the European Court of Justice People from Sint-Niklaas Grand Crosses 1st class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Belgian judges of international courts and tribunals Belgian prisoners of war in World War II Belgian Army officers

Biography

See also

External links