The respect enjoyed by Judge Giovanni Bonello, who is currently serving at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, seems to extend beyond the courtroom and into the lecture halls of foreign universities - his praise making it onto examination papers in a show of admiration.

In fact, whether Judge Bonello is "the greatest of them all" could have marked the difference between a pass and a fail for post-graduate students at Leiden University in the Netherlands! Indeed, one of the subjects for an examination essay - part of a course on International Protection of Human Rights - was "Judge Bonello is the greatest of them all".

Rick Lawson, who set the exam paper, was tracked down by The Times to find out why Judge Bonello was chosen to be the subject of an essay title at a foreign university, together with another two propositions.

"My question concerning Judge Bonello was, of course, a bit tongue in cheek. After all, how can one 'measure' judges. But it was inspired by genuine admiration for his separate opinions in the European Court of Human Rights.

"His opinions are always very eloquent; they do not lose sight of the individual, who is at the heart of every case; and they never fail to convince me," said Prof. Lawson, who is also a member of the EU Network of Independent Experts on Fundamental Rights and holds the Kirchheiner Chair on Protection of the Integrity of the Individual in the Department of Public Law at the university. "Even in cases where Judge Bonello was a lone dissenter, sometimes in a Grand Chamber of 17 judges, I was always inclined to think that he was right in his analysis, and the rest were not.

"Let us say that this exam question was a modest way of honouring Judge Bonello. I invited him once to deliver a lecture at my university because we are very interested in his approach to human rights, but he had to decline. I hope that we can welcome him to Leiden in the near future." Leiden is the oldest university in the Netherlands, founded in 1575. It caters for about 17,000 students and 4,000 staff members.

Prof. Lawson was teaching the course on International Protection of Human Rights to a group of international students, enrolled for the LLM programme, Public International Law, offered by the university's Faculty of Law.

The exam paper dates back to March 2005. The second part lists three propositions to select one and write a short essay. The students would have had to discuss the arguments that existed in favour and against the proposition and indicate whether they rejected or accepted it.

Prof. Lawson said it was difficult to give precise numbers as to how many students opted to write an essay on Judge Bonello - an indication of how much he and his work are known and followed in Holland. "But, if my memory is correct, some 10 out of 25 opted for this proposition. They almost all agreed with it."

A copy of the exam paper was forwarded to The Times by Judge Bonello's "great old friend" Charles Demicoli, who said "Vanni had no idea I was showing it to anyone".

Being a low-profile and "shy" person, Judge Bonello thought it was a laughing matter.

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