Sir William Vincent John Evans (20 October 1915 – 18 May 2007) was a British diplomat and

international law International law, also known as public international law and the law of nations, is the set of Rule of law, rules, norms, Customary law, legal customs and standards that State (polity), states and other actors feel an obligation to, and generall ...

yer, who served as Judge of the

European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The court hears applications alleging that a co ...

in respect of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

from 1980 to 1991.

Early life

Evans was born in London and educated at

Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood Merchant Taylors' School is an 11–18 boys Public school (United Kingdom), public day school, founded in 1561 in London. The school has occupied various campuses. From 1933 it has been at Sandy Lodge, a site close to Northwood, London, Nort ...

, and

Wadham College, Oxford Wadham College ( ) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is located in the centre of Oxford, at the intersection of Broad Street, Oxford, Broad Street and Parks Road ...

, where he obtained a First Class Honours degree in Jurisprudence in 1937 and a BCL on a Cassel Scholarship from

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for Barrister, barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister ...

in 1938. He was called to the Bar at Lincoln's Inn in 1939 but joined the

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

that year on the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, becoming a Lieutenant Colonel and being appointed MBE in 1945, and was appointed Legal Advisor to the British Administration in

Cyrenaica Cyrenaica ( ) or Kyrenaika (, , after the city of Cyrene), is the eastern region of Libya. Cyrenaica includes all of the eastern part of Libya between the 16th and 25th meridians east, including the Kufra District. The coastal region, als ...

, the eastern coastal region of

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

Diplomatic career

Upon leaving the Army, he was appointed Assistant Legal Adviser to the

Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * United ...

in 1947 and was involved in drafting of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

Universal Declaration of Human Rights The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is an international document adopted by the United Nations General Assembly that enshrines the Human rights, rights and freedoms of all human beings. Drafted by a UN Drafting of the Universal D ...

, and became Legal Counsellor to the UK Permanent Mission to the UN in 1954. He left this post in 1959, at which time he was appointed Companion of the

Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III ...

(CMG), and returned to the Foreign Officer as Legal Counsellor, being promoted to Deputy Legal Adviser in 1960 and Legal Adviser in 1968. He chaired the

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; , CdE) is an international organisation with the goal of upholding human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it is Europe's oldest intergovernmental organisation, represe ...

's European Committee on Legal Cooperation from 1969 to 1971, and was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG) in 1970 and Knight Grand Cross (GCMG) in 1976, and

Queen's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...

in 1973.

Retirement

He retired from the Foreign Office in 1975 but remained involved in international legal affairs. He served as the UK's Representative to the

Steering Committee on Human Rights from 1976 to 1980, and chaired the group in his last year there. In 1977, he became a Member of the

United Nations Human Rights Committee The United Nations Human Rights Committee is a treaty body composed of 18 experts, established by a 1966 human rights treaty, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). The Committee meets for three four-week sessions per yea ...

and was its Vice-Chairman from 1979 to 1980. He left the Committee in 1984 and was succeeded by Dame Rosalyn Higgins, who went on to become the first female member of the

International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice (ICJ; , CIJ), or colloquially the World Court, is the only international court that Adjudication, adjudicates general disputes between nations, and gives advisory opinions on International law, internation ...

, and its president from 2006 to 2009. He was also a Member of 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 ...

from 1987 to 1997. In 1980, he was elected the judge in respect of the United Kingdom at the then non-permanent

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

, succeeding Sir Gerald Fitzmaurice, also a former Foreign Office lawyer and judge of the

. He spent ten years at the Court, taking part in a number of significant judgements including ''

Dudgeon v United Kingdom ''Dudgeon v United Kingdom'' (1981) was a European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) case, which held that Section 11 of the Criminal Law Amendment Act 1885, which criminalised male homosexual acts in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, breached ...

'', and retired in 1991. He was Vice-President of the British Institute of Human Rights from 1992 to 2004, a member of the Advisory Board of the Centre for International Human Rights Law at the

University of Essex The University of Essex is a public university, public research university in Essex, England. Established by royal charter in 1965, it is one of the original plate glass university, plate glass universities. The university comprises three camp ...

from 1983 to 1994, and a member of the Council of Management of the British Institute of International and Comparative Law from 1969 to 2005.

Personal life

Evans married Joan Mary Symons in 1947, with whom he had a son and two daughters. He was a keen gardener and a member of the Athenæum. He died on 18 May 2007.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Evans, Vincent 1915 births 2007 deaths Alumni of Wadham College, Oxford British Army personnel of World War II English King's Counsel 20th-century English judges Judges of the European Court of Human Rights Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Members of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood 20th-century King's Counsel United Nations Human Rights Committee members Members of the Permanent Court of Arbitration British officials of the United Nations British judges of international courts and tribunals