For his contemporaries, Vespasian V. Pella (1897-1952) was the initiator of a great project to reform international law, he was the one who advocated, with courage and conviction, in the most important forums of inter-war Europe for the “law of peace” based on the principles of international justice. For three decades, he was surprising for the originality of his proposals: he drew up an initial definition of aggression, proposed solutions to suppress piracy, terrorism and genocide, supported European integration, the unification of international law and the creation of an international criminal court.
Today, the International Association of Penal Law honours him as a former president, the International Criminal Court has dedicated a room bearing his name and international jurists from the world’s great universities mention him with reverence in their studies on the history of international law.
His untimely disappearance, into exile (after having been on the list of 400 diplomats released from offi ce when the communist regime was installed), made him too little known in his own country. Inspired by his exceptional achievements and eager to bring him back to the attention of jurists of the Third Millennium, we have set ourselves, as members of the academic association that bears his name, to contribute to the restitution of the work of our illustrious ancestor and to bring him back... home.
This volume, which contains unpublished documents and images as well as excerpts from studies dedicated to him, is part of the series of these endeavours, capturing the effervescent activity of Professor Pella who set out from the Faculty of Law in Iasi on a beautiful national and international intellectual adventure, understanding to represent Romania in an exemplary manner, to promote pacifist ideas and the need for human solidarity.