Rüdiger Wolfrum

Rüdiger Wolfrum ( born December 13, 1941 in Berlin ) is a German legal scholar. From 2005 to 2008 he was President of the International Tribunal. He was a student of the Bonn university teacher Karl Josef Partsch ( 1914-1996 ).

Life

After graduation and military service Wolfrum studied from 1964 to 1969 Law at the Rheinische Friedrich- Wilhelms- University of Bonn and at the Eberhard -Karls- University of Tübingen. He was on 18 January 1969, the first legal state exam. When promoted to Doctor of Law on 29 June 1973 and the clerkship, which he completed on 29 June 1973 with the bar exam, he worked from 1 October 1973 to 31 July 1978 as a research assistant at the Institute of International Law the University of Bonn. In the period from August 1, 1977 to July 31, 1979, he held a research fellowship at the Center for Oceans Law and Policy of the University of Virginia. On 28 November 1980 he habilitated and he was awarded the venia legendi of Public Law including international law.

On May 6, 1982 to November 30, 1982 Wolfrum was Professor of Public Law and International Law at the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz. Subsequently, he was up to the April 30, 1993 Professor of Public Law and International Law and Director of the Institute of International Law at the University of Kiel. Since 1 May 1993, he is Professor of International Law at the University of Heidelberg. At the same time he was director of the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law in Heidelberg, which he directed until his retirement on 31 December 2012 together with Armin Bogdandy. Since January 2013 he is one of three directors of the Max Planck Endowment for International Peace and the rule of law.

August 1, 1996 Wolfrum was elected on the proposal of the Foreign Office as Judge at the International Tribunal in Hamburg, where he served continuously since then. The last re-elected on 13 June 2008. From October 2005 to October 2008, he was in succession that coming from Grenada Dolliver Nelson President of the Court. His successor is elected José Luis Jesus from Cape Verde.

Wolfrum worked as a consultant in connection with the preparation of basic rule of law constitutional and legislative projects in the past in many countries. He is currently training in Afghanistan and Sudan from the high judges; also it is used as a mediator in the peace process in Darfur. He has honorary doctorates from the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow (12 February 1999) and the Shihutug Law College in Ulaanbaatar (6 December 1999) and on 3 October 2002 obtained the appointment as honorary professor at the Law Faculty of the University of Hamburg.

Wolfrum 2003 member of the Learned Academy Leopoldina since.

Awards

• 2008: Great Federal Cross of Merit

Publications (selection )

• The protection of the environment through international courts and tribunals. In: Andreas Fischer- Lescano (ed.): Peace in freedom - in honor of Michael Bothe 's 70th birthday. Nomos, Baden -Baden 2008, ISBN 978-3-8329-3667-9, p 807
• Kosovo - some thoughts on its future status. In: Sienho Yee (eds.): Multiculturalism and international law - essays in honor of Edward McWhinney. Nijhoff, Leiden 2009, ISBN 978-90-04-17471-9, p 561