On the occasion of the celebration of 100 years of the Ukrainian Free University during the online conference, under the influence of the speeches of the professors, I wondered about the main topics of legal studies of the next generations. In the legal, or rather democratic world, various branches of law, constitutional, criminal, contractual, tort, administrative, are important and provided for according to the capabilities of the institutions. However, some branches are quite neglected not only in the academic world, but also in the practical world, and perhaps the time has come, in particular in view of the new communication possibilities and the consequences of transparency, to pay special attention to terminology, ethics, justice and international law, the protection of human rights and implementation of basic norms of international behavior.
As for the first, the terminology of the rule of law has long since turned into misunderstanding, and in the worst case - into absurdity. The Soviets still punished according to the law. That is, authoritarian systems also introduce laws, and boast and protect themselves by the rule of law. These laws are, however, unjust. Enforcing the prescriptions of these laws does not serve either democracy or human rights. The concept of the rule of law means the introduction of justice in the community or the state, or even in the world. That is why this dogma should be called the rule of justice. One lawyer concluded that this is just terminology. But, in law, terminology is key. On this topic - about justice and ethics - it is necessary to conduct more concentrated lectures at UVU and other universities, in particular in Ukraine. In the future, we want our lawyers to act in favor of justice and always act ethically, not opportunistically.
I also paid attention to international law in my plans, because it is the weakest in the world. It has been discussed for a hundred years who is the subject of international law. Although some specialists claim that once there were only states, and now, they say, international organizations and even natural persons are also subjects, in fact, this is all a myth, because the basis of international jurisdiction depends exclusively on states, and practically - on stronger states.
When discussing the anniversary of UVU, it occurred to me that our whole generation, which studied even before the Second World War at various foreign and often hostile institutions, and later completed the highest studies at UVU after the war. I call this Ukrainian generation better than the American best generation. Better because his circumstances were far more difficult and they remained that way without any help until almost their death.
My parents also belonged to this generation, but we are not talking about them here, because my father, although he was a lawyer, did not specialize in international law. His colleague from Auschwitz comes to mind, also a lawyer, a specialist in international law, who graduated from the University of Warsaw in law, and later obtained a master's degree and a doctorate at the University of Warsaw. His name was Boris Vitoshinskyi. The topic of his master's thesis was "International protection of the civilian population in times of war and occupation". This topic was probably very close to the author's heart because he and his family experienced exactly that lack of international care. The topic of the doctoral dissertation was "Insurgent movements and wars of liberation during and after World War II in the light of international law." The last topic is also very close, since the author was an active member of the Ukrainian liberation movement, a leading member of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists. He did not write these works immediately after the war, but twenty or twenty-five years after it, so he had a lot of not only material, but also research, understanding and experience.
B. Vitoshinskyi later taught these and other topics of international law at UVU. Other topics included "Terrorism or Liberation Struggle — a Problem of International Law," "Self-Determination — a Trampled Principle of International Law," "Public International Law," "Genocide and International Law." Many subtopics can be listed, but it is clear to everyone that B. Vitoshynskyi wrote not only on the basis of education and research, but also on the basis of his own experience as a Ukrainian patriot and nationalist.
B. Vitoshinskyi died in the midst of his political and scientific work a few months after the declaration of independence by Ukraine, as if he just wanted to wait until that day - so important for him and his people. His works require thinking, and they are not finished, because the topic of international law will not be finished until now and far after us.
For example, the term "genocide" is defined in the United Nations Convention, but the recognition of genocide remains a political, not a legal matter. Israel does not recognize any genocide - only its own. Ukraine does not recognize the Armenian genocide for the sake of friendship with Turkey, and Armenia did not recognize the Holodomor as genocide, because Ukraine did not recognize the Armenian genocide. This is a political game. Similarly, there is still no international definition of the term "terrorism", because for some, terrorism is a liberation movement from the oppression of others.
Why are the works of the nationalist jurist Borys Vitoshinskyi so relevant today? Because we are in the era of global politics. There is nothing local today, everything has global coverage. And international law, which probably has the least applied significance, is becoming very important every day. International society and its norms are very important for a nation, and in particular for a long-enslaved and one that is in constant anxiety. Lawyers, and thus law students, have even greater responsibilities than politicians, diplomats and the state itself. This is a topic not only for academic discussion, but also for attempts at practical implementation.
October 7, 2021