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Rudolf Bernhardt began his career in 1954 as a wissenschaftlicher Referent at the Institute. Shortly after his Habilitation in 1962, he became a professor in Frankfurt. From 1970 to 1993 he was director at the Institute, from 1981 in a collegial leadership. From 1981 to 1998 Bernhardt was a judge at the European Court of Human Rights, most recently as acting president. We are grateful for his academic legacy and will honour his memory.
He founded the first English-language encyclopaedia of international law. His scholarship was characterised by analytical acuity and liberal valuations. He avoided radical judgements but was always open for new insights and legal developments. On his 90th birthday in 2015, he still gave a major lecture entitled “Six decades of work on international law”. Together with Karin Oellers-Frahm, he wrote a history of our Max Planck Institute which was published in the Black Series in 2017.
With his both humane and modest leadership, he was a mentor and role model for generations of academics.
