"Álvaro D'Ors was a great person who has been crucial for the University of Navarra."

"He was an example of professional ambition, constancy, tenacity and work well done."

The University of Navarra has unveiled the bust of Professor Álvaro d'Ors, Full Professor of Roman Law and first University Librarian of the academic center. The event has allowed family, friends, students and other members of the academic community to show their affection and admiration for "a great person who has been crucial for the University of Navarra," in the words of Alfonso Sánchez-Tabernero.

The University's President underlined the "eagerness to serve" of the honoree, who was also an example of "professional ambition, perseverance, tenacity and work well done", all values that guided him in his task of promoting Library Services and School of Law at the University of Navarra.

The event was also attended by Víctor Sanz, director of Library Services. He recalled the words of Álvaro d'Ors himself, for whom the staff librarian has the important role of "overcoming scientific confinement and favoring the communication of knowledge. The Library Services of the University of Navarra celebrated the 50th anniversary remembering "the great work of an exceptional man, a true master full of humanity," she emphasized.

Valeriano Hernández, lawyer, spoke on behalf of alumni. He highlighted "the respect and generosity" with which Álvaro D'Ors addressed the students: "He was always willing to stay after class in the hallway to answer students' questions".

One of the professor's eleven children, Javier d'Ors, Full Professor of Roman Law at the University of Santiago de Compostela, chose to read a paper written by his father at the end of the 1960s and also emphasized that when Álvaro d'Ors became position of the service in 1961 it contained only a few thousand books, and that today it has more than a million volumes.

The event, held at campus, was also attended by authorities such as the Government Delegate in Navarra, Carmen Alba; the Minister of the Presidency of the Government of Navarra, Javier Morrás; the President of the High Court of Justice of Navarra, Juan Manuel Fernández; the Senior Prosecutor, José Antonio Sánchez Villarés; the Director of Universities of the Government of Navarra, Rosa López Garnica; as well as alumni such as Juan Cruz Alli.

Among the university community, the following professors from the Public University of Navarra attended: José Antonio Corriente and José Luis Iriarte, Professor Amelia Castresana (University of Salamanca), Professor Antonio Mateo (University of Cantabria) as well as professors and staff from the University of Navarra itself.

To close the inauguration, the notary Javier Nagore dedicated a sonnet to his friend staff Álvaro D'Ors.

award National Literature Award and award Príncipe de Viana

Professor Álvaro d'Ors, son of the philosopher and writer Eugenio d'Ors, was born in Barcelona in 1915. He studied Philology Classical and Law at the Complutense University of Madrid. In 1943 he obtained the Chair of Roman Law from the University of Granada and two years later, he taught at the University of Santiago de Compostela. That same year he married Palmira Lois, with whom he had eleven children.

In 1961 he moved to the University of Navarra, where he was professor of Roman Law, until his retirement in 1984. He was also University Librarian and was in charge of unifying the libraries until Main Library Building was built at campus. At his suggestion, the School of Librarians was created in 1967.

He was one of the most influential Romanists of the 20th century, but his scientific work also stands out for his translations of Latin classics and Roman legal sources, as well as for his programs of study on papyrology, epigraphy, ancient history, political theory, Philosophy juridical, Civil Law and foral, methodology of sciences, etc.

In 1954 he was awarded the award National Literature Prize for his book De la guerra y de la paz (On War and Peace). He has been honorary doctor by the Universities of Toulouse (1972), Coimbra (1983) and Rome-La Sapienza (1996) and in 1999 he was awarded the award Príncipe de Viana de la Cultura. A member of numerous Spanish and foreign academies and scientific societies, he died in Pamplona on February 1, 2004.