M. Cherif Bassiouni
Mahmoud Cherif Bassiouni (Arabic: محمود شريف بسيوني ; 9 December 1937[1] – 25 September 2017) was an Egyptian-American emeritus professor of law at DePaul University, where he taught from 1964 to 2012.
He was a founding member of the International Human Rights Law Institute at DePaul University which was established in 1990.
Bassiouni is often referred to by the media as "the Godfather of International Criminal Law" and a "war crimes expert".
In 2010, Bassiouni donated his personal papers to the DePaul University Special Collections and Archives, where his materials are open to researchers.
In 1972, Bassiouni was one of the founders of the International Institute of Higher Studies in Criminal Sciences (ISISC) located in Siracusa, Italy, where he served as dean from 1972 to 1989 and then as president to date.
Several of his books and articles have been written in and translated into: Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Persian, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish.
Bassiouni was appointed to the following United Nations positions: chair and then member of the Commission of Inquiry for Libya (2011–2012); Independent Expert on Human Rights for Afghanistan (2004–2006); independent expert on the Rights to Restitution, Compensation, and Rehabilitation for Victims of Grave Violations of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (1998–2000); chair, Drafting Committee of the Diplomatic Conference on the Establishment of an International Criminal Court (1998); vice-chair of the General Assembly's Preparatory Committee on the Establishment of an International Criminal Court (1996–1998); vice-chair of the General Assembly's Ad Hoc Committee on the Establishment of an International Criminal Court (1995); chair of the Commission of Experts Established Pursuant to Security Council 780 (1992) to Investigate Violations of International Humanitarian Law in the Former Yugoslavia (1993–1994) and the commission's Special Rapporteur on Gathering and Analysis of the Facts (1992–1993); consultant to the Sixth and Seventh United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention (1980 and 1985); consultant to the Committee on Southern African of the Commission on Human Rights (1980–1981); co-chair of the Independent Committee of Experts Drafting the Convention on the Prevention and Suppression of Torture (1978); and honorary vice-president at the Fifth United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention (1975).
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 to 1985, consultant to the Committee on Southern African Commission on Human Rights from 1980 to 1981 (as consultant to the Committee on Southern African Commission on Human Rights, Bassiouni prepared a Draft Statute for the Creation of an International Criminal Court to prosecute apartheid).
[9] He also made an appearance in the PBS broadcast documentary Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet (2002), produced by Unity Productions Foundation.
One of his latest articles is a contribution to the book Constitutionalism, Human Rights and Islam after the Arab Spring edited by Rainer Grote and Tilmann Röder.
His publications have been translated into Arabic, Chinese, English, Persian, French, Georgian, German, Hungarian, Italian, Russian and Spanish.
Perspectives on Post-conflict Justice [13] in the Lecture Series of the United Nations Audiovisual Library of International Law.
In a letter to the United States Department of Justice in 2002,[18] Bassiouni argued that information retained by the FBI violated subsection (e)(7) of the Privacy Act of 1974, which states: "Each agency that maintains a system of records shall maintain no record describing how any individual exercises rights guaranteed by the First Amendment unless expressly authorized by statute or by the individual about whom the record is maintained or unless pertinent to and within the scope of an authorized law enforcement activity."
In the interview, Bassiouni praised the cooperation that the BICI has received from the Interior Ministry and states that there was never a policy of excessive use of force.
