Sharif Basyouni
Encyclopedia
Mahmoud Cherif Bassiouni (born in 1937 in Cairo
, Egypt
) is an Egypt
ian Muslim
international United Nations
war crimes expert, often called "the Father of International Criminal Law".
He is a Distinguished Research Professor of Law Emeritus at DePaul University College of Law
in Chicago
(since 1964), and President Emeritus of the University's International Human Rights Law Institute (1990–2006; 2007–09). He is also President of the Istituto Superiore Internazionale di Scienze Criminali
(International Institute of Higher Studies in Criminal Sciences) (ISISC) in Siracusa, Italy (since 1988), he was also Dean of ISISC (1976–1988). He was the Secretary General of the International Association of Penal Law (Internationale Association De Droit Penal) (IADP) from 1974–1989, and was President of the IADP from 1989–2004, and is currently the Association's Honorary President.
He has been a non-resident Professor of Criminal Law at the University of Cairo since 1996, and was a Guest Scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, DC in 1972. He was also a Visiting Professor of Law at New York University Law School in 1971, and was a Fulbright-Hays Professor of International Criminal Law at the University of Freiburg
, Germany in 1970. In addition, he is a frequent lecturer at universities in the US and abroad.
He is also admitted to the practice of law in Illinois, Washington, DC, the United States Supreme Court, and the Second, Fifth, Seventh, Ninth, and Eleventh Circuits and the United States Court of Military Appeals. He is also admitted to practice before the Egyptian Supreme Court. Bassiouni has handled many international cases on extradition and international cooperation in criminal matters, and coordinated major litigation involving multiple parties, including states, on matters involving international law.
In 2007 he was awarded the Hague Prize for International Law for his "distinguished contribution in the field of international law". The winner of the Hague Prize is given the honour of selecting the fundamental principal of law on which the Hague Colloquium will be organized. Recently, Cherif has spoken out in support of the Gaza Flotilla.
He also made an appearance in the award-winning, PBS-broadcast documentary Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet
(2002), produced by Unity Productions Foundation.
for his work in the field of international criminal justice and for his contribution to the creation of the International Criminal Court
. He did not win as Médecins Sans Frontières received the award in 1999.
In 2007 he was awarded the Hague Award for International Law for his "distinguished contribution in the field of international law". He was awarded a colloquium in his honour: The Third Hague Prize Colloquium. This colloquium was organized by the T.M.C. Asser Instituut
and the Hague Institute for the Internationalisation of Law.
He has also received the Via Sapientiae Award (DePaul University) in 2009, the Beccaria Medal from the International Society for Social Defence in 2009, the Silvia Sandano Award of the University of Rome in 2008. In addition to his many awards, Professor Bassiouni also holds a number of Honorary degrees such as the Doctor of Humane Letters, Catholic Theological Union
, Chicago, US (2009); Doctor of Law honoris causa, National University of Ireland
, Galway (LLD) (2001); Doctor of Law honoris causa, Niagara University
(LLD) (1997); Doctor of Law honoris causa (Docteur d'Etat en Droit), University of Pau and Pays de l'Adour
, France (1986); Doctor of Law honoris causa (Dottore in Giurisprudenza), University of Torino, Italy (1981). Additionally, Professor Bassiouni holds the following Law degrees: LLB University of Cairo, JD Indiana University
, LLM John Marshall Law School
, and SJD George Washington University
. Furthermore, he studied law at University of Burgundy
, France, and at the University of Geneva
, Switzerland.
He has received the following medals:
He has also received numerous academic and civic awards, including:
, the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia
(ICTY), The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
(ICTR). They have also been cited by the United States Supreme Court, United States Appellate and Federal District Courts, as well as by various State Supreme Courts.
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
) is an Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
ian Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
international United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
war crimes expert, often called "the Father of International Criminal Law".
He is a Distinguished Research Professor of Law Emeritus at DePaul University College of Law
DePaul University College of Law
DePaul University College of Law is a law school located in Chicago, Illinois, USA. Founded in 1897 as the Illinois College of Law, the school became part of DePaul University in 1912 and is one of the academic colleges of DePaul, a Big East Conference university. The College is known for its...
in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
(since 1964), and President Emeritus of the University's International Human Rights Law Institute (1990–2006; 2007–09). He is also President of the Istituto Superiore Internazionale di Scienze Criminali
Istituto Superiore Internazionale di Scienze Criminali
The Istituto Superiore Internazionale di Scienze Criminali is a not-for-profit organisation located in Syracuse, Italy, that was established in 1972. The organisation specializes in the design and implementation of human rights, rule of law, justice and capacity building projects throughout the...
(International Institute of Higher Studies in Criminal Sciences) (ISISC) in Siracusa, Italy (since 1988), he was also Dean of ISISC (1976–1988). He was the Secretary General of the International Association of Penal Law (Internationale Association De Droit Penal) (IADP) from 1974–1989, and was President of the IADP from 1989–2004, and is currently the Association's Honorary President.
He has been a non-resident Professor of Criminal Law at the University of Cairo since 1996, and was a Guest Scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, DC in 1972. He was also a Visiting Professor of Law at New York University Law School in 1971, and was a Fulbright-Hays Professor of International Criminal Law at the University of Freiburg
University of Freiburg
The University of Freiburg , sometimes referred to in English as the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg, is a public research university located in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.The university was founded in 1457 by the Habsburg dynasty as the...
, Germany in 1970. In addition, he is a frequent lecturer at universities in the US and abroad.
He is also admitted to the practice of law in Illinois, Washington, DC, the United States Supreme Court, and the Second, Fifth, Seventh, Ninth, and Eleventh Circuits and the United States Court of Military Appeals. He is also admitted to practice before the Egyptian Supreme Court. Bassiouni has handled many international cases on extradition and international cooperation in criminal matters, and coordinated major litigation involving multiple parties, including states, on matters involving international law.
In 2007 he was awarded the Hague Prize for International Law for his "distinguished contribution in the field of international law". The winner of the Hague Prize is given the honour of selecting the fundamental principal of law on which the Hague Colloquium will be organized. Recently, Cherif has spoken out in support of the Gaza Flotilla.
He also made an appearance in the award-winning, PBS-broadcast documentary Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet
Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet
Muhammad: Legacy of the Prophet is a PBS documentary film about the life of Islamic prophet Muhammad based on historical records and on the stories of living American Muslims who call Muhammad the Messenger of God...
(2002), produced by Unity Productions Foundation.
United Nations positions
Professor Bassiouni has held numerous appointments with the UN, such as Independent Expert for the Commission on Human Rights on the Situation of Human Rights in Afghanistan from 2004–2006, and Independent Expert for the Commission on Human Rights on The Rights to Restitution, Compensation and Rehabilitation for Victims of Grave Violations of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms from 1998–2000. He was also the Chairman of the Drafting Committee for the Diplomatic Conference on the Establishment of an International Criminal Court in 1998, and the Vice-Chairman of the General Assembly's Ad Hoc and Preparatory Committees on the Establishment of an International Criminal Court (ICC) in 1995 and from 1996–98. In 2010, he stated his belief that the ICC will fail. He was also a member, then the Chairman, of the Security Council's Commission to Investigate Violations of International Humanitarian Law in the Former Yugoslavia (1993), and the Commission's Special Rapporteur on Gathering and Analysis of the Facts from 1992–1993. He was Chairman of the Drafting Committee of the 1985 United Nations Treaty on Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power (1985), the Consultant to the Sixth and Seventh UN Congress on Crime Prevention from 1980–1985, Consultant to the Committee on Southern African Commission on Human Rights from 1980–1981 (as Consultant to the Committee on Southern African Commission on Human Rights, Professor Bassiouni prepared a Draft Statute for the Creation of an International Criminal Court to prosecute apartheid). Additionally, he served as the Co-chairman of the Committee of Experts to draft the convention on the Prevention and Suppression of Torture in 1977, and was the Honorary Vice-President to the Fifth Congress on Crime Prevention in 1975.US Government Consultations
In addition to his many positions in the UN, Professor Bassiouni has also served as the Consultant to the US Department of State and Justice on projects relating to international traffic in drugs (1973) and international control of terrorism (1975 and 1978–79). He was also the consultant to the Department of State regarding the US hostages in Iran from 1979-1980.Awards and honours
In 1999 Professor Bassiouni was nominated for the Nobel Peace PrizeNobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes bequeathed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel.-Background:According to Nobel's will, the Peace Prize shall be awarded to the person who...
for his work in the field of international criminal justice and for his contribution to the creation of the International Criminal Court
International Criminal Court
The International Criminal Court is a permanent tribunal to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression .It came into being on 1 July 2002—the date its founding treaty, the Rome Statute of the...
. He did not win as Médecins Sans Frontières received the award in 1999.
In 2007 he was awarded the Hague Award for International Law for his "distinguished contribution in the field of international law". He was awarded a colloquium in his honour: The Third Hague Prize Colloquium. This colloquium was organized by the T.M.C. Asser Instituut
T.M.C. Asser Instituut
The T.M.C. Asser instituut is a professional inter-university centre of knowledge and research. The institute carries out research in private and public international law, European law, international commercial arbitration and all other related fields, such as international sports law and...
and the Hague Institute for the Internationalisation of Law.
He has also received the Via Sapientiae Award (DePaul University) in 2009, the Beccaria Medal from the International Society for Social Defence in 2009, the Silvia Sandano Award of the University of Rome in 2008. In addition to his many awards, Professor Bassiouni also holds a number of Honorary degrees such as the Doctor of Humane Letters, Catholic Theological Union
Catholic Theological Union
The Catholic Theological Union, located in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago, is one of the largest schools of theology in the world and trains men and women for lay and clerical ministry within the Roman Catholic Church...
, Chicago, US (2009); Doctor of Law honoris causa, National University of Ireland
National University of Ireland
The National University of Ireland , , is a federal university system of constituent universities, previously called constituent colleges, and recognised colleges set up under the Irish Universities Act, 1908, and significantly amended by the Universities Act, 1997.The constituent universities are...
, Galway (LLD) (2001); Doctor of Law honoris causa, Niagara University
Niagara University
Niagara University is a Catholic university in the Vincentian tradition, located in the Town of Lewiston in Niagara County, New York. Originally founded by the Congregation of the Mission in 1856 as Our Lady of Angels Seminary, it became Niagara University in 1883. The University is still run by...
(LLD) (1997); Doctor of Law honoris causa (Docteur d'Etat en Droit), University of Pau and Pays de l'Adour
University of Pau and Pays de l'Adour
The University of Pau and Pays de l'Adour was founded in 1972. It is a multi-site establishment, based in Pau but also in Bayonne, Tarbes and Mont-de-Marsan in the Adour river basin...
, France (1986); Doctor of Law honoris causa (Dottore in Giurisprudenza), University of Torino, Italy (1981). Additionally, Professor Bassiouni holds the following Law degrees: LLB University of Cairo, JD Indiana University
Indiana University
Indiana University is a multi-campus public university system in the state of Indiana, United States. Indiana University has a combined student body of more than 100,000 students, including approximately 42,000 students enrolled at the Indiana University Bloomington campus and approximately 37,000...
, LLM John Marshall Law School
John Marshall Law School
John Marshall Law School may refer to:*John Marshall Law School in Chicago, Illinois*John Marshall Law School in Atlanta, Georgia*Cleveland-Marshall College of Law in Cleveland, Ohio...
, and SJD George Washington University
George Washington University
The George Washington University is a private, coeducational comprehensive university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States...
. Furthermore, he studied law at University of Burgundy
University of Burgundy
The University of Burgundy is a university located in Dijon, France.The University of Burgundy is situated on a large campus called Campus Montmuzard, 15 minutes by bus from the City Centre...
, France, and at the University of Geneva
University of Geneva
The University of Geneva is a public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland.It was founded in 1559 by John Calvin, as a theological seminary and law school. It remained focused on theology until the 17th century, when it became a center for Enlightenment scholarship. In 1873, it...
, Switzerland.
He has received the following medals:
- Order of Military Valor (First Class), Arab Republic of Egypt (1956)
- Order of Merit of the Italian RepublicOrder of Merit of the Italian RepublicThe Order of Merit of the Italian Republic was founded as the senior order of knighthood by the second President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi in 1951...
, Commendatore (1976), Grande Ufficiale (1977), Cavaliere di Gran Croce (2006) - Order of Scientific Merit (First Class), Arab Republic of Egypt (1984)
- Grand Cross Order of Merit of the Austrian RepublicHonours system in the Republic of AustriaThe honours system in the Republic of Austria is a means of rewarding individuals' personal achievement, or service to Austria by state decorations and medals....
(Commander) (1990) - Order of Lincoln of Illinois, United States of America (2001)
- Grand Cross of the Order of Merit (Commander), Federal Republic of Germany (2003)
- Légion d’Honneur (Officier), Republic of France (2003)
- Ordre des Palmes Académiques, Republic of France (2006)
He has also received numerous academic and civic awards, including:
- The Special Award of the Council of EuropeCouncil of EuropeThe Council of Europe is an international organisation promoting co-operation between all countries of Europe in the areas of legal standards, human rights, democratic development, the rule of law and cultural co-operation...
(1990) - The Defender of Democracy Award, Parliamentarians for Global Action (1998)
- The Adlai Stevenson Award of the United Nations AssociationUnited Nations AssociationThe United Nations Associations are non-governmental organizations that exist in various countries to enhance the relationship between the people of a member state and the United Nations, raise public awareness of the UN and its work, promote the general goals of the UN and act as an advisory body...
(1993) - The Saint Vincent DePaul Humanitarian Award (2000)
- The Dominican University Bradford-O’Neill Medallion for Social Justice (2011)
Publications
Bassiouni is the author of 32 and editor of 47 books, and the author of 241 articles on a wide range of legal issues, including International Criminal Law, Comparative Criminal Law, Human Rights, and US Criminal Law. His publications have been translated into Arabic, Chinese, English, Persian, French, Georgian, German, Hungarian, Italian, Russian and Spanish. Some of these publications have been cited by the International Court of JusticeInternational Court of Justice
The International Court of Justice is the primary judicial organ of the United Nations. It is based in the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands...
, the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia
International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
The International Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia since 1991, more commonly referred to as the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia or ICTY, is a...
(ICTY), The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda is an international court established in November 1994 by the United Nations Security Council in Resolution 955 in order to judge people responsible for the Rwandan Genocide and other serious violations of international law in Rwanda, or by Rwandan...
(ICTR). They have also been cited by the United States Supreme Court, United States Appellate and Federal District Courts, as well as by various State Supreme Courts.