Jiří Toman (5 November 1938 – 20 April 2020) was a Czech-born Swiss jurist and professor. He was an expert in the field of

international law International law, also known as public international law and the law of nations, is the set of Rule of law, rules, norms, Customary law, legal customs and standards that State (polity), states and other actors feel an obligation to, and generall ...

. From 1992 to 1998, he directed the Henry-Dunant Institute in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

, which he had joined in 1969. From 1998 to 2018, Toman was a professor at the

Santa Clara University School of Law The Santa Clara University School of Law (Santa Clara Law) is the law school of Santa Clara University, a Jesuit university in Santa Clara, California, United States, in the Silicon Valley region. The School of Law was founded in 1911. Santa Cla ...

Biography

Toman studied law at

Charles University Charles University (CUNI; , UK; ; ), or historically as the University of Prague (), is the largest university in the Czech Republic. It is one of the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest universities in the world in conti ...

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

from 1956 to 1961, where he obtained a doctoral degree in 1966. He also studied at the

Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies The Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (, abbreviated IHEID), commonly referred to as Geneva Graduate Institute, is a graduate-level research university in Geneva, Switzerland dedicated to international relations, dev ...

from 1965 to 1970, where he obtained a doctorate in political science in 1981. His thesis was on the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

and the law of armed conflict. From 1969 to 1972, Toman was a research fellow at the Henry-Dunant Institute. He was a research director from 1972 to 1979, assistant director from 1979 to 1992, and director from 1992 to 1998. He was a consultant to several

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

bodies in the 1980s, notably for

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

from 1983 to 1988. Toman often taught at universities, teaching at several in Prague from 1962 to 1970. From 1977 to 1980, he was a lecturer at the

University of Franche-Comté The Marie and Louis Pasteur University (UMLP), formerly known as University of Franche-Comté, is a pluridisciplinary public French university located in Besançon, Franche-Comté, with decentralized campuses in Belfort, Montbéliard, Vesoul and ...

Besançon Besançon (, ; , ; archaic ; ) is the capital of the Departments of France, department of Doubs in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. The city is located in Eastern France, close to the Jura Mountains and the border with Switzerland. Capi ...

, where he taught international humanitarian law. He was a visiting professor at the

University of Santa Clara Santa Clara University is a private university, private Jesuit university in Santa Clara, California, United States. Established in 1851, Santa Clara University is the oldest operating institution of higher learning in California. The university' ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

from 1982 to 1989, and at

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

in 1984. He taught at the Santa Clara University School of Law from 1998 to 2018. He was then a visiting professor at

Danube University Krems The University for Continuing Education Krems () is an Austrian university specializing in further education for working professionals. It is located in Krems an der Donau, Lower Austria. Name The Austrian Ministry of Education, Science and Res ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

. In 1995, Toman was one of twelve jurists selected by the

United Nations Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...

and presented to the

President of the United Nations General Assembly The president of the United Nations General Assembly is a position voted by representatives in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on a yearly basis. The president is the chair and presiding officer of the General Assembly. Election ...

for the election of judges to the

International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR; ; ) was an international court, international ''ad-hoc'' court established in November 1994 by the United Nations Security Council in United Nations Security Council Resolution 955, Resolutio ...

. Toman's research and teachings on international law focused on humanitarian rights and international organizations. Jiří Toman died of

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

in Geneva on 20 April 2020, at the age of 81.

Distinctions

*Knight of Honor of the

Order of Saint George (House of Habsburg) The Order of Saint George (; ) is an Austrian chivalric order founded by the Habsburg emperor Frederick III and Pope Paul II in 1469. Established as a military order to advocate the Christian faith, its original implicit goal was to combat the ...

Publications

*''Index of the Geneva Convention for the Protection of War Victims of 12 August 1949'' (1973) *''The protection of cultural property in the event of armed conflict : commentary on the Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and its Protocol, signed on 14 May 1954 in The Hague, and on other instruments of international law concerning such protection'' (1996) *''La Russie et la Croix-Rouge, 1917-1945 : la Croix-Rouge dans un état révolutionnaire et l'action du CICR en Russie après la Révolution d'octobre 1917'' (1997) *''Les biens culturels en temps de guerre : quel progrès en faveur de leur protection ? Commentaire article-par-article du Deuxième Protocole de 1999 relatif à la Convention de La Haye de 1954 pour la protection des biens culturels en cas de conflit armé'' (2015)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Toman, Jiri 1938 births 2020 deaths People from Prague Swiss jurists Swiss people of Czech descent Charles University alumni Santa Clara University School of Law faculty Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Switzerland Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies alumni