Hans Max Huber (28 December 1874, in
Zürich
Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...
– 1 January 1960, in Zürich) was a Swiss lawyer and diplomat who represented
Switzerland
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
at a series of international conferences and institutions.
His life
Max Huber was born in Zurich in 1874 as the son of Peter Emil Huber-Werdmüller, engineer and founder of Maschinenfabrik Oerlikon, and Anna Marie, née Werdmüller (* June 22, 1844; † October 5, 1911). His younger brother was Emil Huber-Stockar.
Max Huber studied law at the universities of
Lausanne
Lausanne ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, city of the Swiss French-speaking Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway bet ...
,
Zurich
Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...
and
Berlin
Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
from 1894 to 1897, graduating with a doctorate in Berlin in 1897. He then worked for two years as secretary to the board of the Swiss Trade and Industry Association.
After several extensive trips to America, Australia, and India, he was appointed Professor of Constitutional Law, Canon Law and Public International Law at
University of Zurich
The University of Zurich (UZH, ) is a public university, public research university in Zurich, Switzerland. It is the largest university in Switzerland, with its 28,000 enrolled students. It was founded in 1833 from the existing colleges of the ...
from 1902 to 1914 and retained this title until 1921 but could not teach due to
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. In 1903, he acquired
Wyden Castle in
Ossingen, whereupon he was admitted to the Herrenstuben Society in Winterthur as "lord of the castle".
[Alfred Ziegler: Die Gesellschaft der Herrenstube zu Winterthur. Bis zur Gegenwart nachgeführt und mit einem Anhang versehen von Hans Klaui. Hrsg. von der Herrenstubengesellschaft Winterthur, Winterthur 1956, S. 100.] From 1914 to 1918, he was a member of the Council of the Canton of Zurich. He was also a permanent legal advisor to the Federal Political Department, the Swiss Foreign Ministry. In this capacity, he represented Switzerland at the
Second International Peace Conference in The
Hague in 1907 and at the
Paris Peace Conference in 1919. He headed the Swiss delegations to various bodies of the
League of Nations
The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...
on several occasions. From 1922 to 1939 he was a member of the
Permanent Court of International Justice
The Permanent Court of International Justice, often called the World Court, existed from 1922 to 1946. It was an international court attached to the League of Nations. Created in 1920 (although the idea of an international court was several cent ...
in The Hague, from 1925 to 1927 he was its President and then Vice-President. He was the youngest member of the Court when he was appointed in 1920.
Due to his experience in matters of international law, after the First World War he was entrusted with the task of drafting the Statute of the High Commission of the League of Nations for the Repatriation of Prisoners of War. Later, from 1930 to 1933, he also became the first President of the
Nansen International Office for Refugees
The Nansen International Office for Refugees (') was an organization established in 1930 by the League of Nations and named after Fridtjof Nansen, soon after his death, which was internationally in charge of refugees from war areas between 1930 ...
, which was established after the death of High Commissioner
Fridtjof Nansen
Fridtjof Wedel-Jarlsberg Nansen (; 10 October 1861 – 13 May 1930) was a Norwegian polymath and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. He gained prominence at various points in his life as an explorer, scientist, diplomat, humanitarian and co-founded the ...
.
From 1915 to 1924, he was a member and, for a time, vice president of the administrative committee of the
Neue Zürcher Zeitung
The (''NZZ''; "New Newspaper of Zurich") is German language daily newspaper, published by NZZ Mediengruppe in Zurich. The paper was founded in 1780. It has a reputation as a high-quality newspaper, as the German Swiss newspaper of record
...
. He was also a member of the Boards of Directors of
Maschinenfabrik Oerlikon
Maschinenfabrik Oerlikon was a Swiss engineering company based in the Zürich district of Oerlikon (Zürich), Oerlikon known for the early development of electric locomotives. It was founded in 1876 as the ''Werkzeug- und Maschinen-Fabrik Oer ...
(until 1944 as Chairman),
Aluminium-Industrie AG (until 1941 as Chairman) and the
Swiss Reinsurance Company. From 1938, Aluminium-Industrie AG (AIAG) benefited from large orders from the armaments industry. While AIAG generated a net profit of twenty-one million francs in 1941, Most workers at the AIAG plant in
Chippis,
Valais
Valais ( , ; ), more formally, the Canton of Valais or Wallis, is one of the cantons of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of thirteen districts and its capital and largest city is Sion, Switzer ...
, had to make do with wages below the minimum subsistence level.
Max Huber was married to Emma, née Escher (* September 15, 1883; † November 6, 1957). He was laid to rest in the Enzenbühl cemetery in Zurich.
From 1928 to 1944 he was president of the
International Committee of the Red Cross
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is a humanitarian organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, and is a three-time Nobel Prize laureate. The organization has played an instrumental role in the development of rules of war and ...
. He also acted as the arbitrator in the influential
Island of Palmas Case between the United States and the Netherlands in 1928 at the
Permanent Court of Arbitration
The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) is an intergovernmental organization headquartered at the Peace Palace, in The Hague, Netherlands. Unlike a judicial court in the traditional sense, the PCA provides administrative support in international ...
.
After retiring from the Red Cross and prior to his death, Huber published several articles on international law.
Selected works
* ''Der Schutz der militärischen und völkerrechtlichen Interessen im schweizerischen Strafgesetzbuch.'' Verlag Stämpfli & Cie AG, Bern 1913
* ''Die soziologischen Grundlagen des Völkerrechts.'' Verlag Dr. Walther Rothschild, Berlin 1928
* ''Grundlagen nationaler Erneuerung. Vom Wesen und Sinn des schweizerischen Staates. Evangelium und nationale Bewegung.'' Schulthess, Zürich 1934
* ''The good samaritan. Reflections on the gospel and work in the Red Cross.'' Victor Gollancz, London 1945
* ''Das Internationale Rote Kreuz. Idee und Wirklichkeit.'' Max Niehans Verlag, Zürich 1951
Further reading
* André Durand: ''History of the International Committee of the Red Cross. Volume II: From Sarajevo to Hiroshima.'' Henry Dunant Institute, Genf 1984,
* Caroline Moorehead: ''Dunant's dream: War, Switzerland and the history of the Red Cross.'' HarperCollins, London 1998, (gebundene Ausgabe); HarperCollins, London 1999, (Taschenbuch-Ausgabe)
* Daniel Thürer: ''Max Huber: A Portrait in Outline.'' In: ''The European Journal of International Law.'' 18(1)/2007. European Society of International Law, S. 69–80,
* Island of Palmas Case (Netherlands/U.S.A), Reports of International Arbitral Awards, volume 2 pp 829–871
References
External links
International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement History - Max Huber (Eng.)
Max Huber's Sociological Approach to International Law RevisitedMax Huber - His Life biography by Dietrich Schindler from the ''European Journal of International Law'' (2007)
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Huber, Max
1874 births
1960 deaths
Diplomats for Switzerland
University of Zurich alumni
Humboldt University of Berlin alumni
Academic staff of the University of Zurich
Permanent Court of International Justice judges
Red Cross personnel
Members of the Permanent Court of Arbitration
University of Lausanne alumni
Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (civil class)
Swiss judges of international courts and tribunals