Adolf Sprudzs, Foreign Law Librarian and Lecturer in Legal Bibliography, came to the University of Chicago in August 1965. At that time the Law School Library had initiated a development program which aimed at the in-depth acquisition of legal materials for the European Economic Community countries and some other selected areas of the world. The appointment of Mr. Sprudzs was an essential step in the successful implementation of this program. The Law School already possessed a particularly rich collection of French and German legal publications, inter alia, and a faculty that included several European-trained law professors. The most influential of these was Max Rheinstein, who was instrumental in the growth of the foreign and comparative law program at the University of Chicago. The partnership of Professor Rheinstein and Mr. Sprudzs combined their great knowledge, interests and talents. Mr. Sprudzs’ ability to inspire faculty support led to the development of a comprehensive retrospective and current foreign and international law collection within the guidelines of the program. However, the real challenge to Adolf Sprudzs’ resourcefulness began in the early 1970's. As grant money became scarce, prices and the volume of legal publishing began a steady increase and the value of the dollar declined. Mr. Sprudzs was realistic in his assessment of the possible support of the collection and focused the scope of the collection in the areas that were of long-term research interest at the University of Chicago. He worked hard to increase European alumni support and to maintain the friendship that the foreign law graduates feel for the University of Chicago. His close contacts with these alumni, as well as with other librarians and law teachers in Europe, have often enabled the Law Library to acquire materials and obtain grants that would otherwise have been unavailable.

Adolf Sprudzs, Associate Editor of the International Journal of Legal Information (formerly International Journal of Law Libraries), has a few months ago (on September 19, 1982) celebrated his sixtieth birthday.

By common consensus of the Editor-in-Chief and the other Associate Editors this issue of the Journal is dedicated to him as a token of gratitude and appreciation for his incessant efforts to improve and enlarge The International Bookshelf of which he has been the dedicated section editor, as well as in recognition of his achievements in the field of national and international law librarianship.

The award of the 1981 Nobel Peace Prize to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has again focused attention on an organ that has received surprisingly little analysis in the scholarly literature. In what follows, after some preliminary remarks about the needs and rights of refugees, I plan to discuss (1) the mandate and functions of the Office, (2) the types of projects in which it is currently engaged (through an examination of the High Commissioner's 1980–81 Report), and then, (3) to make some comments about the significance of the diplomatic protection functions of the Office to conceptions of international law and organization.

The existing state of human beings, to which the present international movement for human rights addresses itself, is no reason for applause for the success of that movement. It is true that there are several reasons for the lack of success and not all blame is to be borne by the deficiencies in the present approach. True also is the fact that the struggle for protection of the human being from excesses of the state or powerful elements within society is a continuing saga of organized society with only the promise that the struggle and its causes have more of an enduring existence than the various efforts for seeking protection for the human being attempted in the history of mankind, of which human-rights is one instance. However, to the extent it is legitimate to explore if improvements in the present approach are possible, one might well be permitted to raise anew questions about the philosophical foundation for human rights and the pragmatic approach to their achievement.

The professional achievements of Adolf Sprudzs have centered on international and comparative law and it is fitting, therefore, to offer some reflections on problems of classification with particular reference to those branches or aspects of the law. They will be concerned with recent solutions to some problems with special emphasis on the classification schemes of the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, the Squire Law Library in Cambridge, the European University Institute in Florence and the Swiss Institute of Comparative Law in Lausanne.

The formation of modern Bulgaria was a direct result of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878 and the Treaty of Berlin of July 13, 1878. These events terminated almost five centuries of Turkish rule over the Bulgarian lands. The Treaty of Berlin established a Bulgarian Principality north of the Balkan range under the nominal suzereignty of the Sultan, and Eastern Rumelia as part of the Ottoman Empire but subject to administrative autonomy. Pursuant to this Treaty a Constitutional Assembly convened at Tirnovo, the medieval capital of Bulgaria, and on April 16, 1879, adopted a basic act known as the Tirnovo Constitution. In 1885, the Principality of Bulgaria and Eastern Rumelia merged into one political unit which declared itself an independent Kingdom on October 5, 1908.

The first important bibliography on the legal aspects of international business was compiled by Adolf Sprudzs. It was published in 1965 University of Illinois Law Forum, 872–899 under the title “Selected Bibliography on International Trade, Investment and Organization”. This paper is dedicated to him in recognition of his distinguished scholarship in the field of bibliographic research.