“Pravova derzhava”. Issue 37 (2026), pages 280–291.

DOI: 10.33663/0869-2491-2026-37-280-291

Rominskyi Yevhen
The issue of human rights protection in armed conflicts in the scientific heritage of V. E. Grabar

ISSN online: 2617-9776 print: 0869-2491

Introduction. The research focuses on the scientific heritage of the Ukrainian international lawyer Volodymyr Emmanuilovich Grabar (1865–1956). The aim of the study is to analyze the published scientific works of V. E. Grabar, as well as to introduce into scientific circulation little-known archival materials that make up the scientist’s creative heritage. The main attention is paid to the issue of the humanistic principles of international law, in particular the protection of human rights in armed conflicts in the scientist’s work.

Results. Grabar V. E. was born in Vienna on January 22, 1865, into a family of Transcarpathian Ukrainians. Later, the family moved to the Russian Empire. He studied at the Peter Galahan College in Kyiv, and then at Moscow University. From 1893 he was an associate professor, and from 1901 he was a professor of international law. Twice, in 1906 and 1915, he held the position of dean of the law faculty. In 1917, he held the position of trustee of the Riga Educational District.

The times when Grabar V. E. was just beginning his creative path were marked by the formation of international conventions that were to regulate the law of war and, in the event of the proper development of humanism in the world, limit or even eliminate the need for wars. He is the author of a number of works on war and international law. More importantly, he is one of the few theoretical scientists who had the opportunity to put his knowledge into practice. During the first half of World War I, he was a legal advisor to the Headquarters of the Supreme Command of the Russian Empire. Later, in 1918, he again had to use his knowledge to protect Yuriev University and its students from the illegal actions of the German occupation troops. Although Academician Grabar is better known today as a historian of international law, the problem of protecting human rights in armed conflicts occupies a prominent place in his creative legacy.

In his work on the law of war and humanitarian law, V. E. Grabar was a direct follower of F.-F. Martens. He is notes that the science of international law is a science of peace. Its task is to strengthen peace in the world and completely eliminate war from the sphere of interstate relations. Grabar points out that the great educational task of the science of international law is to prepare the way for the final victory of peace, that is, reason and law. True to his humanistic approach, V. E. Grabar continues in this lecture: in war, force is already significantly softened by law. However, law does not stop in its development and gradually grows and strengthens, and its successes are stable and strong: it never turns back from the conquests already made.

Conclusion. A notable part of Professor Grabar’s heritage is his manuscripts prepared while holding positions related to the implementation of international law. After the outbreak of World War I, he was recruited as a legal advisor to the diplomatic ofice at the headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army. In this position, V. E. Grabar provided recommendations on the status of prisoners of war, military conscripts, the activities of cultural, educational and religious institutions in the occupied territories, military personnel stationed in third countries, issues of internment, crimes against the military, etc. At the end of the war, Grabar had to act as a defender of Yuriyiv University against the tyranny of the German occupation administration. All this activity left behind a large array of hitherto little-known archival documents.

Keywords: Legal history, international law, law of war, human rights, armed conflicts, Russian aggression against Ukraine, legal biography, Grabar.

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Дата першого надходження рукопису до видання: 30.01.2026
Дата прийнятого до друку рукопису після рецензування: 03.03.2026
Дата публікації: 24.03.2026