CYIL 2012

ON THE OCCASION OF THE 85 TH BIRTHDAY OF PROFESSOR ČESTMÍR ČEPELKA ON THE OCCASION OF THE 85 TH BIRTHDAY OF PROFESSOR ČESTMÍR ČEPELKA

It seems to be hardly believable that prof. JUDr. Čestmír Čepelka, DrSc., doyen of the Czech doctrine of International Law, is already 85. In fact, he celebrated his birthday on 28 March 2012. Although his health did not allow him to come to the Charles University Faculty of Law, and to attend the presentation of the new, largely amended edition of his Law of International Treaties, prepared in collaboration with Vladimír Balaš and Pavel Šturma, he is still active and follows new developments of international law.

Professor Čepelka was born in Kopisty (nearby Most) in Northern Bohemia in 1927. His life thus reflects, in a sense, the fate of the Czech nation during the 20 th century, including the exodus of Czechs from Sudeten, the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia, the liberation in 1945, the communist regime after 1948, the democratic changes after 1989 as well as the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1992/1993. Č. Čepelka studied at the Faculty of Law of the Charles University in Prague. After his graduation in 1950, he started to teach as an assistant at the Department of International Law. This branch of law became the subject of his long-life interest. He defended his thesis (CSc., 1961) and, after Habilitation, became associate professor (docent, 1964), then Doctor of Legal Sciences (DrSc., 1988) and full professor of international law (1990). He was considered a very demanding and strict teacher, in particular when examining. Yet he cared tirelessly about students and doctoral candidates who expressed interest in international law. This feature of Professor Čepelka was most evident in specialized courses and research seminars, which he constantly organized. Some of his former students have achieved very important positions in international law, such as Dr. Peter Tomka, who became judge and, in February 2012, President of the International Court of Justice. Another typical feature of Professor Čepelka is his scholarly thoroughness. The strength of Professor Čepelka is his deeply theoretical approach, which is exceptional in the Czechoslovak and Czech doctrine of international law. This makes him a significant personality in the European doctrine of international law. Equipped with a deep knowledge of foreign, in particular older, international legal theories and excellent logical legal reasoning, he tried to articulate a complex theoretical approach, as opposed to earlier prevailing positivist theories in the context of the Czechoslovak doctrine of international law (including the socialist doctrine, influenced by the Soviet doctrine, namely G. Tunkin). Although some aspects of Professor Čepelka’s theories

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