Cherif Bassiouni awarded The Hague Prize 2007

03.07.2007

The Hague Prize for International Law 2007 was awarded on 28 June 2007 to Professor M. Cherif Bassiouni for his distinguished contribution in the field of international law. Former Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr. Bernard Bot, chairman of The Hague Prize Foundation, presented the award on behalf of the Board of The Hague Prize Foundation.

Professor Bassiouni is Professor of Law at DePaul University College of Law in Chicago (United States). He is President Emeritus of the International Human Rights Law Institute at DePaul University.

Important protagonist of the ICC
The award ceremony was held on 28 June at the Peace Palace in The Hague. Judge Fausto Pocar, President of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and member of the Nominating Committee of The Hague Prize, stated in his laudatio-speech that Professor Bassiouni has been one the most important protagonists of the International Criminal Court (ICC). The ICC celebrates its fifth anniversary on 1 July 2007.

“Professor Bassiouni has devoted his whole career to criminal justice in general and international criminal law in particular, being one of the first authors to write extensively on international criminal law matters”, explained Judge Pocar. “He has made an outstanding contribution to the formation and dissemination of international criminal law. He is without peer when it comes to the advocacy of international criminal justice and his promotion of the establishment of an International Criminal Court and he is, beyond any doubt, one of the most authoritative experts in the field.“

Founding father ICC
Bassiouni’s expertise is widely recognised in the international community. For 30 years Professor Bassiouni has been an important leader within the United Nations, holding such positions as Chairman of the Security Council's Commission to Investigate War Crimes in the Former Yugoslavia and the Independent Expert on Human Rights in Afghanistan for the High Commissioner for Human Rights. Often considered one of the founding fathers of the ICC, Professor Bassiouni was the Chairman of the Drafting Committee during the 1998 U.N. Diplomatic Conference on the Establishment of an ICC. As a testament to his lifelong dedication to international criminal justice, he was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize in 1999.