Antonio Cassese OMRI (1 January 1937 – 21 October 2011) was an Italian jurist who specialized in public international law.

[3] Born in Atripalda, Cassese was educated at the University of Pisa (at the prestigious Collegio Medico-Giuridico of the Scuola Normale Superiore, which today is Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies), where he met his mentor, Giuseppe Sperduti, who was an international lawyer and a member of the European Commission on Human Rights.

Cassese eventually decided to pursue an academic career in public international law under Sperduti's guidance.

In 2002, he received the Grand Prix awarded by the Académie Universelle des Cultures, presided over by the Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel, for "exceptional contribution to the protection of human rights in Europe and the world".

For this he was criticised, as this contradicted the general rule that objective responsibility, in this case, cannot be part of the criminal law of civilised countries.

This Commission was to investigate potential international and human rights violations taking place in Darfur, and to determine whether or not acts of genocide had occurred.

The Commission recommended the U.N. Security Council use its referral power under the Rome Statute to refer the Darfur case to the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

The Initiative aims at perpetuating the values incarnated by Professor Cassese's teachings, and at promoting - by means of a wide range of education and research activities - international peace, human rights and the rule of law.