Yoram Dinstein (יורם דינשטיין; born January 2, 1936) is an Israeli scholar and Professor Emeritus at

Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) ( he, אוּנִיבֶרְסִיטַת תֵּל אָבִיב, ''Universitat Tel Aviv'') is a public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Locate ...

. He is a specialist on

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 a prominent authority on the

laws of war The law of war is the component of international law that regulates the conditions for initiating war (''jus ad bellum'') and the conduct of warring parties (''jus in bello''). Laws of war define sovereignty and nationhood, states and territor ...

. He served as President of Tel Aviv University from 1991 to 1998.

Biography

Yoram Dinstein was born in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

in 1936. He received his legal education from

Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Dr. Chaim Weiz ...

, where he graduated summa cum laude, and

New York University Law School New York University School of Law (NYU Law) is the law school of New York University, a private research university in New York City. Established in 1835, it is the oldest law school in New York City and the oldest surviving law school in New ...

Legal and academic career

Dinstein was appointed an instructor at the Hebrew University in 1964. From 1966 to 1970, he was a member of the Israeli delegation to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

and the Israeli Consul-General 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 ...

. Dinstein was Dean of the Faculty Law at

from 1978 to 1980. From 1980 to 1985 he was the Rector of Tel Aviv University (1980–85), and he served as its president from 1991 to 1998 (following

Moshe Many use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) --> , death_place = , death_cause = , body_discovered = , resting_place = , resting_place_coordinates = ...

, and succeeded by

Itamar Rabinovich Itamar Rabinovich ( he, איתמר רבינוביץ; born 1942) is the president of the Israel Institute (Washington and Jerusalem). He was Israel's Ambassador to the United States in the 1990s and former chief negotiator with Syria between 1993 ...

). He served twice as the

Charles H. Stockton Professor of International Law The Charles H. Stockton Chair of International Law at the United States Naval War College has its origins in the Naval War College's oldest civilian academic post. The first civilian academic at the College, James R. Soley was appointed in 1885 to ...

at the

U.S. Naval War College The Naval War College (NWC or NAVWARCOL) is the staff college and "Home of Thought" for the United States Navy at Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island. The NWC educates and develops leaders, supports defining the future Navy and associat ...

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, ...

, from 1999 to 2000 and again from 2002 to 2003. He was also a Humboldt Fellow at the

Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law The Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law (Max Planck Institute for International Law, MPIL) is a legal research institute located in Heidelberg, Germany. It is operated by the Max Planck Society. The institute was ...

Heidelberg, Germany 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 ...

, a Meltzer Visiting Professor of Law at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

, and a visiting Professor of Law at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

. Dinstein is President of Israel's national branch of the

International Law Association The International Law Association (ILA) is a non-profit organisation based in Great Britain that — according to its constitution — promotes "the study, clarification and development of international law" and "the furtherance of international ...

and of the Israel

United Nations Association A United Nations Association (UNA) is a non-governmental organization that exist in various countries to enhance the relationship between the people of member states and the United Nations to raise public awareness of the UN and its work, to promot ...

. He served as Chairman of the Israel national branch of

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...

and as a member of the Executive Council of the

American Society of International Law The American Society of International Law (ASIL), founded in 1906, was chartered by the United States Congress in 1950 to foster the study of international law, and to promote the establishment and maintenance of international relations on the ba ...

. He is a member of the Council of the San Remo

International Institute of Humanitarian Law The International Institute of Humanitarian Law (IIHL) is an independent, “non-profit, humanitarian association having social values as its objectives”, founded in 1970 in Sanremo, Italy. Its headquarters are situated in Villa Ormond, while a ...

. He is the founder and Editor of the ''Israel Yearbook on Human Rights'' (40 volumes of which have been issued – in English – since 1971). During his time at

, Israeli government funded its operation, and Dinstein regularly was in contact with the Israeli Foreign Ministry and received instructions from it. Documents reveal how Israel made Amnesty's local branch a front for the Foreign Ministry in the 70s
Uri Blau, Mar. 18, 2017, ''

Haaretz ''Haaretz'' ( , originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , ) is an Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel, and is now published in both Hebrew and English in the Berliner f ...

'', Dinstein has written on

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

laws of armed conflict International humanitarian law (IHL), also referred to as the laws of armed conflict, is the law that regulates the conduct of war (''jus in bello''). It is a branch of international law that seeks to limit the effects of armed conflict by prot ...

Selected published works

Books

*
The Conduct of Hostilities Under the Law of International Armed Conflict
', '',

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press A university press is an academic publishing hou ...

(2nd ed., 2010) *
The International Law of Belligerent Occupation
',

, (2009) *
War, Aggression and Self-Defence
',

, (4th ed., 2005) (5th ed., 2011) *
War crimes in international law
', co-editor with Mala Tabory, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, (1996) *
Freedom of Religion and the Protection of Religious Minorities
', The Jacob Blaustein Institute for the Advancement of Human Rights (1991) *
The Release of Prisoners of War
',

International Committee of the Red Cross The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC; french: Comité international de la Croix-Rouge) is a humanitarian organization which is based in Geneva, Switzerland, and it is also a three-time Nobel Prize Laureate. State parties (signato ...

(1984) *
Models of Autonomy
', Transaction Publishers, (1981) *
The Laws of War at Sea
', (1980) *
The Defence of "Obedience to Superior Orders" in International Law
', A. W. Sijthoff (1965)

Articles

"Air and Missile Warfare Under International Humanitarian Law"
'' The Military Law and the Law of War Review.'' (2013)
"Comments on Protocol I}
''

International Review of the Red Cross The ''International Review of the Red Cross'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed international humanitarian law journal published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the International Committee of the Red Cross. The journal provides a "forum for ...

'' (2010)
"War, Aggression and Self-Defence"
''Commonwealth Law Bulletin'', Volume 32, Issue 4 (December 2006)
"Comments on War"
''Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy'' (2003)
"The Parameters and Context of International Criminal Law"
''Touro Journal of Transnational Law'' (1988)
"International Criminal Law"
''

The Israel Law Review The ''Israel Law Review'' is the oldest Israeli law journal published in English. In ''Great American Lawyers, an Encyclopaedia'', it is referred to as being among "the most prestigious of scholarly journals". The journal focuses on Israeli law a ...

'' (1985)
"Oil pollution by ships and freedom of the high seas"
''Journal of Maritime Law & Com.'' (1971)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dinstein, Yoram New York University School of Law alumni Tel Aviv University faculty Israeli Jews Israeli lawyers Living people Naval War College faculty New York University faculty University of Toronto faculty Amnesty International people Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law people Deans of law schools in Israel International law scholars Israeli academic administrators 1936 births Presidents of universities in Israel Charles H. Stockton Professors of International Law Members of the Institut de Droit International