Janusz symonds — Wikipedia

Janusz Ignacy Symonides (born the 5 mars 1938 in Brześć (then in Poland) and died the April 23, 2020 in Warsaw ^{[ first ]} ) is a Polish lawyer, diplomat and professor.

Professor at the Faculty of Law of the University of Warsaw, his publications relate mainly to several areas: Human Rights ^{[ 2 ]} , sea law, international law theory, international and universal organizations, European security policy and disarmament issues, education for peace.

Born March 5, 1938 in Brest-sur-le-Boug in Poland, Janusz Symonides graduated from the Lycée de Torun with distinction in 1954. In 1959, he obtained a master’s degree in the main school of Foreign Affairs in Warsaw. In 1963, his doctorate in law from Nicolas-Copernic de Torun university opened the way to a remarkable academic career. At the age of 29, he was empowered in international law at Adam-Mickiewicz University of Poznań while from 1969 to 1973, he was one of the youngest vice-rectors of Nicolas-Copernic University Torun and director of the Institute of Legal and Constitutional Sciences. In 1973, he became an associate professor and in 1980 full professor. In 1973 – 1980, he was vice -president of the Polish Committee for European Security and Chairman of the Council of the Society of Friendship with the Peoples to the National Committee of the Unity Front. He was one of the representatives of Poland during the work on the Convention on the Law of the Sea of ​​Montego Bay. He was a member of the Legal Advisory Committee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, expert in the human dimension of the OSCE and conciliator of the Montego Bay Convention. From 1980 to 1987, he was director of the Polish Institute for International Affairs (PISM) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and lecturer at the Institute of International Relations of the Faculty of Political Science and International Studies of the University from Warsaw. In 1987, he stopped being director of PISM and taught as a guest teacher at the Est-Ouest Security Institute (New York).

After an exceptional career as an university and national expert, Professor Symonides joined UNESCO in 1989 as director of the Division of Human Rights, Democracy, Peace and Tolerance of the ‘era. He served one UNESCO until his retirement in 2000, leaving behind an impressive heritage. The change in political landscape with the fall of the Berlin Wall led to the emergence of human rights as a common reference point for the international community. Indeed, the 1990s saw a series of revolutionary developments with the adoption of new normative instruments and the creation of new mechanisms and a larger space for the promotion of human dignity. Professor Symonides’ strategic, meticulousness, carefulness and intellectual authority have greatly contributed to UNESCO’s leading position. It was the soul behind the development of new important normative instruments – such as the declaration of principles on tolerance (1995) and the Declaration on the responsibilities of generations present towards future generations (1997). It was a driving force supporting the role of one leader of UNESCO with the High Commission for Human Rights then newly created for the implementation of the United Nations Decade for Education for the Rights of the Rights ‘Man (1995-2004) and also the organization of the organization to a one-year commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Thanks to its energy and recognition in university circles, the UNESCO community of Chairs dedicated to human rights, democracy, peace and tolerance – a new type of institution affiliated with UNESCO launched In 1992 – became one of the strongest partners in the organization. Finally and above all, he supervised the production of numerous well -known publications, including the manual in three volumes on human rights (“concepts and standards; new dimensions and challenges”; and “International protection, surveillance, application: International protection, surveillance, application “) and the tool” a human rights guide “. Unesco remained in his heart during his retirement. He continued to contribute to the work of UNESCO, stressing his participation in the group of experts who developed the Venice Declaration on the right to take advantage of the advantages of scientific progress and its application and its membership of the UNESCO Prix jury / Bilbao for the promotion of a human rights culture, awarded for the last time in 2012.

After leaving UNESCO, he returned to Poland and became a lecturer at the Institute of International Relations of the University of Warsaw and head of the Department of International and Community Law of the Institute of International Relations of the University Nicolaus Copernicus until 2010. He has been a guest speaker in many universities including a professor of international law and sea law at the Romanian University of Vlad ţepeşa, lecturer at the Faculty of Human Sciences of the Polish Social Academy of Sciences. In 1999, he received a doctorate Honorary of the University of Windsor.

He continued to contribute to the work of the international organs on human rights and was also an expert for the mechanism for the human dimension of the OSCE, 2003-2006; Arbitrator and conciliator of the Convention on the Law of the Sea, 2004-2020; Polish member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration, 2005-2017; Member of the Arbitral Tribunal for the Arctic Sunrise (Netherlands v. Russia), 2014-2017, Ad hoc judge of the European Court of Human Rights, 2018-2020.

Professor Symonides is the author of more than 600 publications, including 40 books and manuals, on human rights, sea law, international law and international relations. He has also been a member of numerous editorial committees and scientific advice, and has participated in more than 250 conferences, seminars and international symposiums and has given conferences in many countries and institutions such as the Academy of International Law of The Hague, 1988; Salzburg seminar; Dubrovnik seminar; International Institute of Human Rights, Strasbourg; Institute of Public International Law of Thessaloniki; Human Rights Summer University, Geneva.

Janusz Symonides is survived by his wife Magda Symonides and four children Bartosz, Marta, Michał and Karolina.

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