To commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Nuremberg Trials, the Robert H. Jackson Center will dedicate a permanent display for artifacts, documents and display items to the Syracuse University College of Law on Wednesday, Dec. 7, at noon. The Jackson Center promotes the legacy of the American jurist who served as the chief American prosecutor against Nazi war criminals. The grandson of Justice Jackson, Robert H. J. Loftus, as well as other dignitaries, will be at the ceremony to recognize Jackson's pioneering efforts in international law and his longstanding relationship with the College of Law.
"The historic value of these documents is immeasurable," says Dean Hannah R. Arterian. "Jackson's brilliance and courage in bringing Nazi war criminals to justice set a new standard in international law."
The Nuremberg Trials had a great influence on the development of international criminal law and initiated a movement for the prompt establishment of a permanent international criminal court, eventually leading, more than 50 years later, to the adoption of the Statute of the International Criminal Court.
The only other American to serve as an international war crimes prosecutor is David M. Crane, who is an alumnus and a distinguished visiting professor in the College of Law. Crane recently finished a three-year appointment with the United Nations and the Special Court for Sierra Leone as the chief prosecutor against those responsible for war crimes and human rights violations committed during the brutal 10-year civil war in Sierra Leone during the 1990s.
Jackson spent a year at Albany Law School, then passed the bar and entered the profession. He rose from IRS legal counsel to assistant attorney general, to solicitor general, and finally, to attorney general. President Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed Jackson to the Supreme Court in 1941 after years of loyal and effective advocacy. While on the court, Jackson served as chief U.S. prosecutor at the Nuremberg war crimes trials at the conclusion of World War II.
Jackson's ties to SU date to 1943, when he delivered the commencement address at the College of Law. He was scheduled to return to the campus in 1955 to dedicate the new law school building, E.I. White Hall, but died before the ceremony. His speech was delivered posthumously.
A live Webcast of the Dec. 7 ceremony will be available at
http://www.law.syr.edu/news/livewebcast.asx. This event is sponsored by the Center for Global Law and Practice in the College of Law.
All of the items will be housed in the H. Douglas Barclay Law Library and are available for public viewing during normal library hours, with parking available in paid visitor lots on a space-available basis. For more information, call (315) 443-9560 or e-mail jflecken@law.syr.edu.
The Jackson Center, which was created to honor Justice Robert H. Jackson in 2001, is located in Jackson's hometown of Jamestown, N.Y. The center seeks to advance the legacy of Justice Jackson through education, exhibitory and pursuing the significance of his ideas to the present generation.
