Daniel Thürer
Encyclopedia
Daniel Thürer is a Swiss jurist and professor emeritus of international, comparative constitutional and European law at the University of Zurich
. He is a member of the International Committee of the Red Cross
, and of the Institut de Droit International
, and currently presides the German International Law Association.
in 1970. Subsequently, he obtained an LL.M. at the University of Cambridge
, and completed his Ph.D. thesis on self-determination
in 1974. After conducting post-doctoral research at the University of Zurich (with Prof. Dietrich Schindler jun.), as a fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law
, and the Harvard Law School
, he was the Legal Adviser to the Government of the Canton of Aargau
. In 1985, he was appointed to the Chair of International, European and Constitutional Law at the University of Zurich, which he held until 2010, and whose previous occupants include Max Huber and Dietrich Schindler sen. and jun. He was also director of the university's Institute of Public International Law.
Professor Thürer has been teaching regularly at other universities as well. He was a Visiting Research Professor at the Stanford Law School
, Distinguished Visiting Professor at the University of Hong Kong, member of the Advisory Board of the Concord Center, School of Law in Jerusalem, Visiting Research Professor at the Harvard Law School, Consultant and Honorary Professor at the Gujarat National Law University
, Visiting Professor at the University of Cambridge (Herbert Smith Visiting Programme), Visiting Professor at the Institut des hautes études internationales, Université Panthéon – Assas (Paris II) and at the Institut des droits de l'homme in Strasbourg.
In addition to his teaching activities, Professor Thürer has been an expert for and member of numerous international institutions. In 1991, he was elected to Assembly, the supreme governing body of the International Committee of the Red Cross. In this capacity, he participated in missions to Zimbabwe
, Zambia
, Russia
, Belorussia, Poland
, East Timor
, India
, Thailand
, Myanmar
, the Philippines
and New Zealand
. As CSCE
/OSCE expert (human rights dimension), he visited the Baltic States
, the Check and Slovak Republics, Moldavia
and the Ukraine
. Since 2004, he has been a Member of the Council of Europe's Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI
). He was a member of the Constitutional Court of Liechtenstein from 1989-2000.
From 1993 to 1998, Professor Thürer was a member of the expert commission on the revision of the Swiss Federal Constitution
. From 2000-2001, he was also a member of the so-called Bergier Commission
, which re-considered Swiss policies during the Second World War
.
approach to international law
that eschews simplistic realism
as well as the positivism
still prevalent in international legal scholarship. His multi-layered approach is best illustrated by the 2008 lecture on International Humanitarian Law
at the Hague Academy
, where this highly technical body of law is, through an inter-disciplinary methodology incorporating religion, history and moral philosophy, re-interpreted in order to honour its original purpose of reducing human suffering and protecting civilians.
While he maintains a strong idealist belief in the transformative power of international law, his scholarship also advocates a bottom-up appraoch relying on successful local or regional institutions and traditions. More recently, he has focussed on applying the traditional concept of the res publica to modern constitutional law.
University of Zurich
The University of Zurich , located in the city of Zurich, is the largest university in Switzerland, with over 25,000 students. It was founded in 1833 from the existing colleges of theology, law, medicine and a new faculty of philosophy....
. He is a member of the International Committee of the Red Cross
International Committee of the Red Cross
The International Committee of the Red Cross is a private humanitarian institution based in Geneva, Switzerland. States parties to the four Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols of 1977 and 2005, have given the ICRC a mandate to protect the victims of international and...
, and of the Institut de Droit International
Institut de droit international
The Institut de droit international is an organization devoted to the study and development of international law, whose membership comprises the world's leading public international lawyers...
, and currently presides the German International Law Association.
Career
Thürer graduated from the Law Faculty of the University of ZurichUniversity of Zurich
The University of Zurich , located in the city of Zurich, is the largest university in Switzerland, with over 25,000 students. It was founded in 1833 from the existing colleges of theology, law, medicine and a new faculty of philosophy....
in 1970. Subsequently, he obtained an LL.M. at the University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
, and completed his Ph.D. thesis on self-determination
Self-determination
Self-determination is the principle in international law that nations have the right to freely choose their sovereignty and international political status with no external compulsion or external interference...
in 1974. After conducting post-doctoral research at the University of Zurich (with Prof. Dietrich Schindler jun.), as a fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law
Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law
The Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law is a legal research institute located in Heidelberg, Germany. It is operated by the Max Planck Society...
, and the Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
, he was the Legal Adviser to the Government of the Canton of Aargau
Aargau
Aargau is one of the more northerly cantons of Switzerland. It comprises the lower course of the river Aare, which is why the canton is called Aar-gau .-History:...
. In 1985, he was appointed to the Chair of International, European and Constitutional Law at the University of Zurich, which he held until 2010, and whose previous occupants include Max Huber and Dietrich Schindler sen. and jun. He was also director of the university's Institute of Public International Law.
Professor Thürer has been teaching regularly at other universities as well. He was a Visiting Research Professor at the Stanford Law School
Stanford Law School
Stanford Law School is a graduate school at Stanford University located in the area known as the Silicon Valley, near Palo Alto, California in the United States. The Law School was established in 1893 when former President Benjamin Harrison joined the faculty as the first professor of law...
, Distinguished Visiting Professor at the University of Hong Kong, member of the Advisory Board of the Concord Center, School of Law in Jerusalem, Visiting Research Professor at the Harvard Law School, Consultant and Honorary Professor at the Gujarat National Law University
Gujarat National Law University
Gujarat National Law University is a statutory university established by the Government of Gujarat under the Gujarat National University Act, 2003. This University is based in the city of Gandhinagar, which is the capital of Gujarat and is located 30 kilometers north to the metropolitan city of...
, Visiting Professor at the University of Cambridge (Herbert Smith Visiting Programme), Visiting Professor at the Institut des hautes études internationales, Université Panthéon – Assas (Paris II) and at the Institut des droits de l'homme in Strasbourg.
In addition to his teaching activities, Professor Thürer has been an expert for and member of numerous international institutions. In 1991, he was elected to Assembly, the supreme governing body of the International Committee of the Red Cross. In this capacity, he participated in missions to Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
, Zambia
Zambia
Zambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, Belorussia, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, East Timor
East Timor
The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, commonly known as East Timor , is a state in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecusse, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, Myanmar
Myanmar
Burma , officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar , is a country in Southeast Asia. Burma is bordered by China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest, the Bay of Bengal to the southwest, and the Andaman Sea on the south....
, the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. As CSCE
CSCE
CSCE may refer to* Coffee, Sugar and Cocoa Exchange which merged to form the New York Board of Trade* Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe...
/OSCE expert (human rights dimension), he visited the Baltic States
Baltic states
The term Baltic states refers to the Baltic territories which gained independence from the Russian Empire in the wake of World War I: primarily the contiguous trio of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania ; Finland also fell within the scope of the term after initially gaining independence in the 1920s.The...
, the Check and Slovak Republics, Moldavia
Moldavia
Moldavia is a geographic and historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester river...
and the Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
. Since 2004, he has been a Member of the Council of Europe's Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI
European Commission against Racism and Intolerance
European Commission against Racism and Intolerance is the Council of Europe’s independent human rights monitoring body specialised in combating racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, antisemitism and intolerance. It consists of 47 experts, one from every CoE member state. ECRI publishes...
). He was a member of the Constitutional Court of Liechtenstein from 1989-2000.
From 1993 to 1998, Professor Thürer was a member of the expert commission on the revision of the Swiss Federal Constitution
Swiss Federal Constitution
The Federal Constitution of 18 April 1999 is the third and current federal constitution of Switzerland. It establishes the Swiss Confederation as a federal republic of 26 cantons , contains a catalogue of individual and popular rights , delineates the responsibilities of the...
. From 2000-2001, he was also a member of the so-called Bergier Commission
Bergier commission
The Bergier commission in Bern was formed by the Swiss government on 12 December 1996. It is also known as the ICE ....
, which re-considered Swiss policies during the Second World War
Switzerland during the World Wars
During both World War I and World War II, Switzerland managed to keep a stance of armed neutrality, and was not involved militarily. However, precisely because of its neutral status, Switzerland was of considerable interest to all parties involved, as the scene for diplomacy, espionage, commerce,...
.
Scholarship
Daniel Thürer is noted for an original humanistHumanism
Humanism is an approach in study, philosophy, world view or practice that focuses on human values and concerns. In philosophy and social science, humanism is a perspective which affirms some notion of human nature, and is contrasted with anti-humanism....
approach to international law
International law
Public international law concerns the structure and conduct of sovereign states; analogous entities, such as the Holy See; and intergovernmental organizations. To a lesser degree, international law also may affect multinational corporations and individuals, an impact increasingly evolving beyond...
that eschews simplistic realism
Realism (international relations)
In the study of international relations, Realism or political realism prioritizes national interest and security over ideology, moral concerns and social reconstructions...
as well as the positivism
Legal positivism
Legal positivism is a school of thought of philosophy of law and jurisprudence, largely developed by nineteenth-century legal thinkers such as Jeremy Bentham and John Austin. However, the most prominent figure in the history of legal positivism is H.L.A...
still prevalent in international legal scholarship. His multi-layered approach is best illustrated by the 2008 lecture on International Humanitarian Law
International humanitarian law
International humanitarian law , often referred to as the laws of war, the laws and customs of war or the law of armed conflict, is the legal corpus that comprises "the Geneva Conventions and the Hague Conventions, as well as subsequent treaties, case law, and customary international law." It...
at the Hague Academy
Hague Academy of International Law
The Hague Academy of International Law is a center for high-level education in both public and private international law housed in the Peace Palace in The Hague, The Netherlands...
, where this highly technical body of law is, through an inter-disciplinary methodology incorporating religion, history and moral philosophy, re-interpreted in order to honour its original purpose of reducing human suffering and protecting civilians.
While he maintains a strong idealist belief in the transformative power of international law, his scholarship also advocates a bottom-up appraoch relying on successful local or regional institutions and traditions. More recently, he has focussed on applying the traditional concept of the res publica to modern constitutional law.
Works (selection)
- Das Selbstbestimmungsrecht der Völker – Mit einem Exkurs zur Jurafrage (PhD Thesis, 1974)
- Perspektive Schweiz. Schulthess, Zürich 1998
- Bund und Gemeinden - Eine rechtsvergleichende Untersuchung (Beiträge des Max-Planck-Instituts zum ausländischen öffentlichen Recht und Völkerrecht, Band 90), Berlin 1986
- Verfassungsrecht der Schweiz - Droit constitutionnel suisse. Schulthess, Zürich 2001 (herausgegeben mit Jean-François Aubert und Jörg Paul Müller)
- Kosmopolitisches Staatsrecht. Schulthess, Zürich 2005 (Grundidee Gerechtigkeit, Band 1)
- Völkerrecht als Fortschritt und Chance. Dike/Nomos, Zürich/Baden-Baden 2009 (Grundidee Gerechtigkeit, Band 2)
- Thomas Buergenthal and Daniel Thürer: Menschenrechte. Ideale, Instrumente, Institutionen. Dike, Zürich / St. Gallen, und Nomos, Baden-Baden 2010. 453 p.
- International Humanitarian Law: Theory and Practice (The Pocket Books of the Hague Academy of International Law), Martinus Nijhoff, Leiden, forthcoming 2010, ISBN 978-90-04-17910-3.
External links
- Institute for Public International and Foreign Constitutional Law, University of Zurich: http://www.ivr.uzh.ch/lstthuerer.html
- ICRC: http://www.icrc.org/Web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/html/icrc-members-biography-250108
- ECRI: http://www.coe.int/t/dghl/monitoring/ecri/about/Members/THUERER_CV.asp#TopOfPage
- Institut de Droit International: http://www.idi-iil.org/idiE/navig_members.html#titulaires
- Deutsche Gesellschaft für Völkerrecht: http://www.dgvr.de/organe.htm