Jean Pictet

Jean Pictet in 1937

Jean Simon Pictet (born September 2, 1914 in Geneva ; † March 30, 2002 in Meyrin ) was a Swiss lawyer , an expert on international humanitarian law and a senior staff member and later a member and vice-president of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). In addition, he worked from 1975 to 1979 as a professor at the University of Geneva and from 1975 to 1981 as director or president of the Henry Dunant Institute . He is regarded as the spiritual father of the Geneva Conventions of 1949.

Life

The Jean Pictet room in the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Museum

Jean Pictet was born in Geneva in 1914 and, after attending secondary school and graduating from university in Paris , studied law at the University of Geneva . He received his doctorate in 1935 and then worked as a lawyer in Vienna and Geneva. From 1937 he worked as a legal assistant at the International Committee of the Red Cross. During the Second World War he was one of the most important members of the committee and worked directly for the then ICRC President Max Huber . After the end of the war, he became director in the ICRC directorate in 1946. In the period that followed, he was instrumental in drafting the new versions of the Geneva Conventions passed in 1949. In 1966 he became director general of the ICRC directorate, the highest office in the committee's administration. A year later he was co-opted to become a member of the ICRC . He was a member of the committee until 1979, from 1971 as Vice-President and after his departure as Honorary Vice-President.

Jean Pictet was the main author of the four-volume commentary on the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and the two additional protocols concluded in 1977. He also wrote the "Report of the International Committee of the Red Cross on its work during the Second World War (September 1, 1939 - June 30, 1947)" published in 1948 and later published the basis for the seven principles of the International Red Cross adopted in 1965 - and red crescent movement . His other works include various works on international humanitarian law and the Native Americans .

In 1950 he taught at the Hague Academy for International Law in The Hague . In 1971, 1972 and 1982 he lectured at the International Institute for Human Rights. From 1974 to 1979 he held the chair of international humanitarian law at the law faculty of the University of Geneva, where he had previously been a lecturer from 1965. From 1975 to 1979 he worked as director and then until 1981 as president of the Henry Dunant Institute . He died in Meyrin in 2002 .

Awards

Jean Pictet received honorary doctorates from the Universities of Leiden , Zurich and Leuven as well as several awards from the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, including the Henry Dunant Medal posthumously in 2005 as the movement's highest honor. The international moot court competition "Jean-Pictet Competition", which focuses on international humanitarian law, was named after him.

Works (selection)

• The principles of the Red Cross. Geneva 1956
• The Geneva Conventions of August 12, 1949: Commentary. Four volumes. Geneva 1958
• The principles of international humanitarian law. Geneva 1967
• Development and Principles of International Humanitarian Law. Leiden 1985
• L'épopée des peaux-rouges. Lausanne 1988
• La grande storia degli indiani d'America. Milan 2000

Individual evidence

1. ^ Archives for Contemporary History: Pictet, Jean , 2001
2. ↑ concourspictet.org: Jean Pictet ( Memento of the original dated February 12, 2018 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (engl.) 
3. ↑ concourspictet.org: Jean-Pictet Competition ( Memento of the original from April 7, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (engl.) 

Web links

• Jean-François Pitteloud / GL: Pictet, Jean. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
• Fondation des Archives de la Famille Pictet Archives of the Pictet family (French)