The rule of law, peace, disarmament, human rights: these are no longer words, but legal concepts steadily gaining force among nations. If the slow but sure codification of international law that began with the first Geneva Convention of 1864 has put down roots, against all odds, it is because of the passionate determination of a few visionary but practical actors on the world's stage. Pre-eminent among these workers in the dawn was the Russian jurist, diplomat and arbitrator F.F. Martens (1845-1909). Although Marten's reputation suffered during the Soviet era and on both sides of the Cold War, the lasting effect of his ideas and initiatives can be traced all the way from his early years as a Law Professor at Petersburg University (when his writing attracted the attention of the Czar), through his direct participation in the great Peace Conferences at Brussels and The Hague, to the legal underpinnings of the human rights regime embodied in today's international conventions and tribunals.