Nouvelles
In Memoriam
Prof. dr. Jimmy Polak passed away in Ede on the 27th of November of this year. The former rector magnificus of Wageningen University ranks among the most highly esteemed legal scholars and practitioners in the Netherlands of the second halve of the 20th Century.
Prof. dr. J.M. Polak (Jimmy) was born in Den Helder of the 27th of December 1922. He was professor at Wageningen University from 1958 until 1977 on the chair we now call ‘Law and Governance’ (at that time rechts- en staatswetenschappen i.e. legal and state sciences). According to the website of the Dutch Parliament, he was a ‘celebrated’ professor. From 1970 until 1977 he was rector magnificus at our university. After Wageningen he joined the Council of State (Raad van State) and the Scientific Council for Government Policy (WRR). He was, among other things, honorary president of the Netherlands’ Lawyers Review (NJB), honorary president of the Netherlands’ Journal for Civil Law (WPNR) and honorary member of the Dutch Administrative Law Association (VAR). We are grateful for all that Professor Polak did for the development of legal sciences in the Netherlands and in Wageningen. We are proud to be his progeny in Wageningen.