Cesar Bengzon

Cesar Bengzon (born  May 29, 1896 in Camiling , Tarlac Province , †  September 3, 1992 ) was a Filipino lawyer . He served as a judge at the Supreme Court of the Philippines from 1945 to 1966, including from 1961 to 1965 as president of the court, and from 1967 to 1976 as a judge at the International Court of Justice .

Life

Cesar Bengzon began his studies at the Ateneo de Manila in Quezon City , where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1915 , and graduated from the Law School of the University of the Philippines with a Bachelor of Laws in 1919 . In the same year he was admitted to the bar . He then began a career in civil service. In addition, he worked from 1928 to 1932 as professor and dean at the University of Manila , from 1948 to 1954 he was professor at the University of Santo Tomas .

From 1932 to 1934 he held the office of Solicitor-General and thus acted as the highest-ranking legal representative of the Philippine government. In 1936 he became a judge at the Court of Appeal, where he worked until 1945. In the same year, he was appointed to the Supreme Court of the Philippines by President Sergio Osmeña , where he initially served as an associate judge. On April 28, 1961, he became President of the Court, which he held until May 29, 1966. At the end of the same year he was elected as a judge at the International Court of Justice in The Hague , succeeding the Chinese Wellington Koo, as the only lawyer in his home country to date . His regular nine-year term began in February 1967 and ended in February 1976.

The University of Manila (1957), the Ateneo de Manila (1964), the University of the Philippines (1964) and the University of Santo Tomas (1967) awarded Cesar Bengzon an honorary doctorate .

literature

• Sylvia Mendez Ventura: Chief Justice Cesar Bengzon: A Filipino in the World Court. Anvil Publishers, Pasig City 1996, ISBN 971-27-0575-7
• Paraz, Bengzon, Concepcion. In: Isagani A. Cruz, Cynthia L. Cruz: Res gestae: A Brief History of the Supreme Court from Arellano to Narvasa. Rex Book Store, Manila 2000, ISBN 971-23-2913-5 , pp. 152-162
• Cesar Bengzon. In: Arthur Eyffinger, Arthur Witteveen, Mohammed Bedjaoui : La Cour internationale de Justice 1946–1996. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, The Hague and London 1999, ISBN 90-411-0468-2 , p. 270

Web links

• Supreme Court E-Library - Chief Justice Cesar Bengzon (English, with picture)