Justice Radhabinod Pal: The Man Who Stood By Japan

"Justice Pal is highly respected even today by many Japanese for the noble spirit of courage he exhibited during the International Military Tribunal for the Far East.” remarked Shinzō Abe, former Prime Minister of Japan during his visit to India in 2007 as his tribute to Justice Radhabinod Pal. In his speech at the Indian Parliament. 

In 1966, Justice Pal was honored with the Order of the Sacred Treasure First Class by the Emperor of Japan, one of the nation’s highest accolades. Despite being celebrated as a hero in Japan, Justice Pal’s contributions have received comparatively less attention in India’s discussions of international law and history.

Sharing insights into the life and legacy of Justice Radhabinod Pal, often referred to in Japan as 'Judge Pal,' amid the burgeoning bilateral relationship between India and Japan.

Dr Radhabinod Pal was born in an obscure village in District Nadia (now in Bangladesh) on January 7, 1886. When he was barely three years old, his father Bipin Behari Pal left the village and his family in the garb of a monk. The onerous task of bringing up Radhabinod as well as his two sisters was left to his young mother.

Radhabinod entered kindergarten school and exhibited his extraordinary talents and intelligence. Thereafter, he sat for the examination at the lower primary school which he passed creditably and received a coveted scholarship of Rs 2 per month. He then shifted to the residence of his maternal aunt to attend the school there.

But he was soon after called by his maternal uncle to at the latter's shop as an ordinary worker. As a young boy of 11 years, he assisted his uncle at the shop and after completion of the work there, would cross a river to come to his aunt's place to attend school, resulting in late attendance.

His mother, though an uneducated woman, had great dreams about him. She wanted him to become a renowned scholar. She encouraged him to continue writing letters to various schools requesting for an opportunity to study there. Within a short period, a teacher got him admitted in his school. Radhabinod stood first in all the examinations held in the entire presidency of Bengal.

However, after finishing the examination for M.A.. Radhabinod went to Allahabad in search of a job and landed himself a clerical job at the office of the Allahabad Accountant General. Alongside, he got the Bachelor of Law degree and secured a job of a professor of Mathematics in Mymensingh College at a pay of Rs 150 per month. He went on to acquire the Master of Law degree and started practicing law in Calcutta in 1921.

In 1924, he got a Doctorate in Law from Calcutta University. In 1925, Dr Pal was appointed Tagore Professor of Law in Calcutta University. From 1927 to 1941, Dr Pal was the Legal Adviser to the Government of India on matters relating to Income Tax.

In the year 1937, when the second conference on "Congress of Comparative Law" took place in the Hague, Dr Pal was elected joint chairman of "International Academy of Comparative Law."

On 27th January 1941, Dr Pal was appointed to the post of a Judge in Calcutta High Court. Three years later, he became the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Calcutta from where he retired in 1946.

The most memorable event in the life of Dr Pal happened in April, 1946 when he was invited to go to Japan as the judge from India along with many other judges from the Allied Nations for the trial of several military leaders of Japan by the International Military Tribunal.

Before the beginning of the trial, the judges were required to take an oath as is required in a court trial of this nature. However, the oath that was enacted specially for the said military tribunal was found to be entirely different from the one which the judges are normally required to take. The most objectionable part of the oath was that each judge was required to keep the proceedings of the court private and secret and not make anything public.

Dr Pal vehemently opposed it and opined that he could not take such an oath and that if any pressure is put on him, he would return to India immediately. The other judges, seeing the strong stand taken by Dr Pal, agreed to grant him the usual oath.

And when the judges from all the other allied nations issued a joint and unanimous verdict against Japan and its military leaders for war atrocities, Dr Pal stood up and called the tribunal a big farce. He said it could not be considered as a full-fledged trial and that Japan was not guilty of any charges brought forward against her military leaders. When the full text of the 800 pages of the judgment of Dr. Pal was made public, it created a great sensation across the world. He returned to India in November 1948.

In 1952, Dr Pral was elected a member to the International Law Commission of the United Nations and in 1957 appointed as a judge at the Permanent Court of Arbitration, established in the Hague.

The Indian government honoured Dr Pal with the second highest civilian award Padma Vibhushan in 1959. And it was in 1966 that the Nihon University of Japan honoured him with the title of LLD (honoris causa) and the Emperor of Japan conferred upon him the First Order of Sacred Treasure.  The Metropolis Governors of the two cities granted him the Freedom of the City of Tokyo and Kyoto.   

Dr Pal fell critically ill towards the end of the year 1966 for which he never recovered. He breathed his last on January 10, 1967.