Milton R. Konvitz Liberian Project Files, 1953-1967
Collection Number: /3033
Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation & Archives
Cornell University Library
DESCRIPTIVE SUMMARY
Title:
Milton R. Konvitz Liberian Project Files, 1953-1967
Repository:
Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation & Archives
Collection Number:
/3033
Abstract:
Professor Konvitz's files regarding the drawing up of the official body of statutory
laws for the Republic of Liberia.
Creator:
Konvitz, Milton R.
Quanitities:
4 cubic feet
Language:
Collection material in English
March 12, 1908 - September 5, 2003
Milton Konvitz, a Cornell University faculty member and authority on constitutional
and labor law, and civil and human rights, died Sept. 5 at the age of 95. Konvitz
was a founding faculty member in the School of Industrial and Labor Relations from
1946 until his retirement in 1973. He was also a professor in Cornell's Law School.
Konvitz is perhaps best known for his American Ideals course, which he taught to
more than 8,000 students over the course of his career, never giving the same lecture
twice. "I saw the U.S. Constitution as it has been interpreted as a magnificent depository
of our ideals, both individual and social," he said. His course exposed students to
the great intellectual thinkers and philosophers throughout history whose writings
had shaped those ideals. They included Sophocles, whose play Antigone is Cornell's
New Student Reading Project this year. One student he influenced was U.S. Supreme
Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Cornell Class of 1954, who considers him a mentor.
At Cornell Konvitz also was a founder of the university's Department of Near Eastern
Studies and Program of Jewish Studies. "I felt it was essential for a college interested
in the humanities not to leave out Hebrew language and literature," he said. "And
the knowledge of Jewish history, which began 4,000 years ago and has contributed to
civilization no less than Greek, Roman or English history, is important to today's
students -Jewish and non-Jewish." He often hosted students at his Ithaca home and
helped start the first Kosher dining option at Cornell, Young Israel House.
In addition, for nearly 30 years he directed the Liberian Codification Project, which
drew up the official body of statutory laws that is still in force in the Republic
of Liberia today, despite the current political upheaval there. Konvitz also edited
the opinions of Liberia's Supreme Court and received the Grand Band of the Order of
the Star of Africa, the highest award given to foreigners, as well as an honorary
degree from the University of Liberia, one of seven honorary degrees he received in
his lifetime.
Active as a scholar and writer until his death, he wrote books and articles on American
constitutional law that won him wide recognition and were cited in U.S. Supreme Court
opinions. Among his nine books is Fundamental Liberties of a Free People: Religion,
Speech, Press, Assembly, which was republished earlier this year with an expanded
introduction by him that is strongly critical of the Rehnquist Supreme Court. Other
books include A Century of Civil Rights (1983) and Judaism and Human Rights (2nd ed.
2001). He also edited a dozen volumes, including two on American philosopher Ralph
Waldo Emerson, whose thinking shaped his views. One Emersonian idea he absorbed was
that readers give life to books, which Konvitz recast as follows: "It is in their
hearing that students bring life to the words, the thoughts, the teacher."
Konvitz was born in Safed, Palestine (now Israel ), in 1908, the son of a rabbi.
He immigrated to the United States in 1915 and became a naturalized citizen in 1926.
He received a bachelor's degree in 1929 and a law degree in 1930, both from New York
University, and a Ph.D. in philosophy from Cornell in 1933. Before joining Cornell's
faculty, he was one of three assistant general counsels to Thurgood Marshall at the
NAACP Legal Defense Fund for three years.
He is survived by his wife, Mary, of Oakhurst, N.J.; a brother, Phillip, of Elberon,
N.J.; a son and daughter-in-law, Josef and Isa, of Paris, France; and two grandsons,
Eli and Ezra. Josef Konvitz, who grew up in Ithaca, is now an official at the Organization
for Economic Co-operation and Development.
Founded in 1945 as the New York State School of Industrial and Labor Relations, the
ILR School today is advancing the world of work through teaching, research and outreach.
ILR's mission is to prepare leaders, inform national and international employment
and labor policy, and improve working lives, but as the world of work evolves, the
school's focus broadens to keep pace with that change.
ILR studies many areas that shape the working world and contribute to an organization's
success in a global economy. These include human resource management; labor-management
relations; labor economics; organizational behavior; international and comparative
labor; labor relations, labor law and history; conflict resolution; management development;
diversity management; employment and disability; and social statistics.
An ILR education is grounded in the social sciences. Students and faculty explore
and gain an understanding of human behavior through the lens of the workplace. Students
also learn how organizations work and how they fit into the larger society and economy.
As a result, they acquire knowledge and skills that help them to solve problems on-
the-job and to build and manage productive work relationships. An ILR education, for
students and professionals, is practical and applied.
ILR has more full-time faculty involved in teaching and research that spans the broad
range of work and employment disciplines than any other educational institution of
its kind. Its Martin P. Catherwood Library is regarded as the most comprehensive source
of information in North America on work, employment and labor issues.
Access to the collections in the Kheel Center is restricted. Please contact a reference
archivist for access to these materials.
This collection must be used in keeping with the Kheel Center Information Sheet and
Procedures for Document Use.
INFORMATION FOR USERS
Milton R. Konvitz Liberian Project Files #/3033. Kheel Center for Labor-Management
Documentation and Archives, Cornell University Library.
Related Collections: /4039: Milton R. Konvitz Papers /4341: Milton R. Konvitz Collections
Names:
Konvitz, Milton R. (Milton Ridvas), 1908-2003
CONTAINER LIST
Container
|
Description
|
Date
|
|
Box 1 | Folder 1 |
Liberian Codification Project Associations Law
|
1955 |
Box 1 | Folder 2 |
Liberian Codification Project - Aliens & Nationality
|
1953 |
Box 1 | Folder 3 |
Liberian Codification Project - Aliens & Nationality
|
1953 |
Box 1 | Folder 3 |
Liberian Codification Project - Aliens & Nationality Law
|
1954 |
Box 1 | Folder 4 |
Maritime Law
|
1953 |
Box 1 | Folder 5 |
Liberian Codification Project - Maritime Law
|
1953 |
Box 1 | Folder 6 |
Liberian Codification Project - Labor Laws - Apprentices
|
|
Box 1 | Folder 7 |
Liberian Codification Project, Maritime Law
|
1953 |
Box 1 | Folder 8 |
Liberian Codification Project, Injuries Law
|
1955 |
Box 1 | Folder 9 |
Liberian Codification Project - Banking and Insurance Law
|
1955 |
Box 1 | Folder 10 |
Liberian Codification Project, Public Works Law
|
1955 |
Box 1 | Folder 11 |
Liberian Codification Project, Revenue and Finance Law
|
1955 |
Box 1 | Folder 12 |
Liberian Codification Project, Revenue and Finance Law
|
1955 |
Box 1 | Folder 13 |
Liberian Codification Project, Transportation and Communications Law
|
1955 |
Box 1 | Folder 14 |
Liberian Project, Vehicle and Traffic Law
|
1954 |
Box 1 | Folder 15 |
ABA - Government Employee Relations
|
1960 |
Box 1 | Folder 16 |
NEA Position
|
1967 |
Box 1 | Folder 17 |
NYS JLC Report
|
1962-1963 |
Box 1 | Folder 18 |
The American Labor Movement: Its Historical, Political, and Philosophical Development
|
|
Box 1 | Folder 19 |
The American Labor Movement: Its Historical, Political, and Philosophical Development
|
1962 |
Scope and Contents
2 of 2
|
|||
Box 2 | Folder 1 |
Liberian Codification Project - Aborigines Law
|
1955 |
Box 2 | Folder 2 |
Liberian Codification Project, Agriculture Law
|
1955 |
Box 2 | Folder 3 |
Liberian Codification Project - Aliens & Nationality Law
|
1955 |
Box 2 | Folder 4 |
Liberian Codification Project, Civil Procedure Law
|
1954 |
Box 2 | Folder 5 |
Liberian Codification Project, Civil Procedure Law
|
1954 |
Scope and Contents
2 of 2
|
|||
Box 2 | Folder 6 |
Liberian Codification Project, Civil Procedure Law
|
1954 |
Box 2 | Folder 7 |
Liberian Codification Project, Commercial Law
|
1955 |
Box 2 | Folder 8 |
Liberian Codification Project, Constitution of Republic of Liberia
|
|
Box 2 | Folder 9 |
Liberian Codification Project, Criminal Procedure
|
1955 |
Box 2 | Folder 10 |
Liberian Codification Project, Criminal Procedure
|
1955 |
Scope and Contents
2 of 2
|
|||
Box 2 | Folder 11 |
Liberian Codification Project - Criminal Procedure
|
1955 |
Box 2 | Folder 12 |
Liberian Codification Project, Decedents Estate
|
1955 |
Box 2 | Folder 13 |
Liberian Codification Project, Domestic Relations
|
1954 |
Box 2 | Folder 14 |
Liberian Codification Project, Education Law
|
1954 |
Box 2 | Folder 15 |
Liberian Codification Project Election Law
|
1955 |
Box 2 | Folder 16 |
Liberian Codification Project, Executive Law
|
1954 |
Box 2 | Folder 17 |
Liberian Codification Project Executive Law
|
1954 |
Scope and Contents
2 of 2
|
|||
Box 2 | Folder 18 |
Liberian Codification Project Foreign Relations Law
|
1954 |
Box 2 | Folder 19 |
Liberian Project, General Construction Law
|
1953 |
Box 2 | Folder 20 |
Liberian Project, Judiciary Law
|
1953 |
Box 2 | Folder 21 |
Liberian Codification Project, Local Government Law
|
1954 |
Box 2 | Folder 22 |
Liberian Project Legislative Law
|
1954 |
Box 2 | Folder 23 |
Liberian Codification Project, National Defense Law
|
1955 |
Box 2 | Folder 24 |
Liberian Codification Project, Natural Resources Law
|
1955 |
Box 2 | Folder 25 |
Liberian Codification Project, Patent, Copyright and Trade Mark Law
|
1954 |
Box 2 | Folder 26 |
Liberian Codification Project Patriotic Observances Law
|
1955 |
Box 2 | Folder 27 |
Liberian Project Penal Law
|
1954 |
Box 2 | Folder 28 |
Liberian Codification Project, Postal Service Law
|
1954 |
Box 2 | Folder 29 |
Liberian Codification Project, Property Law
|
1955 |
Box 2 | Folder 30 |
Liberian Codification Project, Public Employment Law
|
1954 |
Box 2 | Folder 31 |
Liberian Codification Project - Public Health & Safety Law
|
1955 |
Box 2 | Folder 32 |
Liberian Codification Project - Public Lands Law
|
1955 |
Box 2 | Folder 33 |
Liberian Codification Project - Public Welfare Law
|
1955 |
Box 3 | Folder 1 |
Index Cards on Legal Codes
|
|
Scope and Contents
1 of 2
|
|||
Box 3 | Folder 2 |
Index Card on Legal Codes
|
|
Scope and Contents
2 of 2
|
|||
Box 3 | Folder 3 |
Inventory in Safe in Dr. Konvitz' Office in Ithaca
|
|
Box 3 | Folder 4 |
Liberian Codification Project - Aborigines Law
|
1955 |
Box 3 | Folder 5 |
Liberian Codification Project - Aliens & Nationality Law
|
1955 |
Box 3 | Folder 6 |
Liberian Codification Project - Associations Law
|
1955 |
Box 3 | Folder 7 |
Criminal Procedure Law
|
|
Box 3 | Folder 8 |
Election Law
|
|
Box 3 | Folder 9 |
Liberian Codification Project - Agriculture Law
|
1955 |
Box 3 | Folder 10 |
Liberian Codification Project - Aliens & Nationality Law
|
1953 |
Box 3 | Folder 11 |
Liberian Codification Project - Banking and Insurance Law
|
1955 |
Box 3 | Folder 12 |
Corrected Pages - Civil Procedure Law
|
|
Scope and Contents
volume 1
|
|||
Box 3 | Folder 13 |
Civil Procedure Law
|
|
Box 3 | Folder 14 |
Liberian Codification Project - Civil Procedure Law
|
1954 |
Box 3 | Folder 15 |
Liberian Codification Project - Civil Procedure Law
|
1954 |
Box 3 | Folder 16 |
Liberian Codification Project - Commercial Law
|
1955 |
Box 3 | Folder 17 |
Liberian Codification Project - Constitution of Republic of Liberia
|
1954 |
Box 3 | Folder 18 |
Liberian Codification Project - Constitution of Republic of Liberia
|
|
Box 3 | Folder 19 |
Liberian Codification Project - Criminal Procedure
|
1955 |
Box 3 | Folder 20 |
Liberian Codification Project - Domestic Relations
|
1954 |
Box 3 | Folder 21 |
Liberian Codification Project - Education Law
|
1954 |
Box 3 | Folder 22 |
Liberian Codification Project - Election Law
|
1955 |
Box 3 | Folder 23 |
Election Law Material
|
|
Box 3 | Folder 24 |
Liberian Codification Project - Executive Law
|
1954 |
Box 3 | Folder 25 |
Liberian Codification Project - Foreign Relations Law
|
1954 |
Box 3 | Folder 26 |
Liberian Codification Project - General Business Law
|
1955 |
Box 3 | Folder 27 |
Liberian Codification Project - Labor Law
|
1954 |
Box 3 | Folder 28 |
Liberian Project - Legislative Law
|
1954 |
Box 3 | Folder 29 |
Liberian Codification Project - Local Government Law
|
1954 |
Box 3 | Folder 30 |
Liberian Codification Project - Maritime Law
|
1955 |
Box 3 | Folder 31 |
Liberian Codification Project - Natural Resources Law
|
1955 |
Box 3 | Folder 32 |
Liberian Codification Project - Patent, Copyright, and Trade Mark Law
|
1954 |
Box 3 | Folder 33 |
Liberian Project - Penal Law
|
1954 |
Box 3 | Folder 34 |
Liberian Project - Penal Law
|
1954 |
Box 3 | Folder 35 |
Liberian Codification Project - Property Law
|
1955 |
Box 3 | Folder 36 |
Liberian Codification Project - Property Law
|
1955 |
Box 3 | Folder 37 |
Liberian Codification Project - Patriotic Observances Law
|
1955 |
Box 3 | Folder 38 |
Liberian Codification Project - Postal Service Law
|
1954 |
Box 3 | Folder 39 |
Liberian Codication Project - Public Employment Law
|
1954 |
Box 3 | Folder 40 |
Liberian Codification Project - Public Health & Safety Law
|
1955 |
Box 3 | Folder 41 |
Liberian Codification Project - Public Lands Law
|
1955 |
Box 3 | Folder 42 |
Liberian Codification Project - Public Welfare Law
|
1955 |
Box 3 | Folder 43 |
Liberian Codification Project - Public Works Law
|
1955 |
Box 3 | Folder 44 |
Liberian Codification Project - Revenue and Finance Law
|
1955 |
Box 3 | Folder 45 |
Liberian Codification Project - Revenue and Finance Law
|
1955 |
Box 3 | Folder 46 |
Civil Procedure and Finance Minutes
|
|
Box 3 | Folder 47 |
Liberian Codification Project - Law of Torts
|
1955 |
Box 3 | Folder 48 |
Liberian Codification Project - Law of Torts
|
1955 |
Box 3 | Folder 48 |
Liberian Codification Project - Transportation & Communications Law
|
1955 |
Box 3 | Folder 49 |
Constitution of the Republic of Liberia
|
|
Scope and Contents
as amended through 1951
|
|||
Box 4 | Folder 1 |
Aborigines Law
|
|
Box 4 | Folder 2 |
Agriculture Law
|
|
Box 4 | Folder 3 |
Aliens and Nationality Law
|
|
Box 4 | Folder 4 |
Associations Law
|
|
Box 4 | Folder 5 |
Banking & Insurance Law
|
|
Box 4 | Folder 6 |
Civil Procedure Law - Folder 1
|
|
Box 4 | Folder 7 |
Civil Procedure Law - Folder II
|
|
Box 4 | Folder 8 |
Commercial Law
|
|
Box 4 | Folder 9 |
Constitution - Republic of Liberia
|
|
Box 4 | Folder 10 |
Criminal Procedure Law
|
|
Box 4 | Folder 11 |
Decedents Estates
|
|
Box 4 | Folder 12 |
Domestic Relations
|
|
Box 4 | Folder 13 |
Education Law
|
|
Box 4 | Folder 14 |
Election Law
|
|
Box 4 | Folder 15 |
Executive Law
|
|
Box 4 | Folder 16 |
Foreign Relations
|
|
Box 4 | Folder 17 |
General Business Law
|
|
Box 4 | Folder 18 |
General Construction Law
|
|
Box 4 | Folder 19 |
Injuries Law
|
|
Box 4 | Folder 20 |
Judiciary Law
|
|
Box 4 | Folder 21 |
Labor Law
|
|
Box 4 | Folder 22 |
Legislative Law
|
|
Box 4 | Folder 23 |
Local Government Law
|
|
Box 4 | Folder 24 |
Maritime Law
|
|
Box 4 | Folder 25 |
National Defense Law
|
|
Box 4 | Folder 26 |
Natural Resources Law
|
|
Box 4 | Folder 27 |
Patent, Copyright & Trade Law
|
|
Box 4 | Folder 28 |
Patriotic Observances Law
|
|
Box 4 | Folder 29 |
Penal Law
|
|
Box 4 | Folder 30 |
Postal Service Law
|
|
Box 4 | Folder 31 |
Property Law
|
|
Box 4 | Folder 32 |
Public Employment Law
|
|
Box 4 | Folder 33 |
Public Health & Safety Law
|
|
Box 4 | Folder 34 |
Public Lands Law
|
|
Box 4 | Folder 35 |
Public Welfare Law
|
|
Box 4 | Folder 36 |
Public Works Law
|
|
Box 4 | Folder 37 |
Revenue and Finance Law - Folder I
|
|
Box 4 | Folder 38 |
Revenue and Finance Law - Folder II
|
|
Box 4 | Folder 39 |
Transportation & Communications Law
|
|
Box 4 | Folder 40 |
Vehicle & Traffic Law
|