Antonio Cassese (‘Nino’) was the first President of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), established by the Security Council of the United Nations to prosecute those responsible for war crimes and other international crimes committed in the territory of the former Yugoslavia since 1 January 1991. In his capacity as President of the ICTY, Nino was also the President of the ICTY Appeals Chamber when it delivered a landmark decision in 1995, in the Tadić case, asserting that the notion of war crimes is not limited to international armed conflict, but also applies in the context of non-international armed conflict. This decision therefore contributed to narrowing the divide between the international regulation of international and non-international armed conflict.

In this episode, the co-hosts discuss the background and the impact of the decision with Georges Abi-Saab, honorary professor of the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva, and at the time a Judge at the ICTY serving in the Appeals Chamber. Professor Abi- Saab also describes the early days at the ICTY, highlighting the challenges that the Tribunal had to face but also the enthusiasm of all those involved in the building of this newly established institution. The episode also features an excerpt of an interview of Nino when he was President of the ICTY, explaining the evidentiary challenges to bring the political and military leaders of a country to account for the commission of war crimes and other international crimes. 

The episode ends the mini-series dedicated to Antonio Cassese, in the hope that this will help continue the legacy of a giant of international law and would be of inspiration to all those who want to contribute to make the world a better place. 

Links

- ICTY Appeals Chamber decision in the Tadić case, 2 October 1995 (Decision on the Defence Motion for Interlocutory Appeal on Jurisdiction)

- Separate Opinion of Judge Georges Abi-Saab, appended to the ICTY 1995 Appeals Chamber’s decision in the Tadić  case (Separate Opinion of Judge Abi-Saab to the Decision on the Defence Motion for Interlocutory Appeal on Jurisdiction)

- UN Audiovisual Library - World Chronicle Program 572: Michael Littlejohns interviews Judge Antonio Cassese, President of the International Criminal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia

- A. Cassese, International Law in a Divided World, Oxford, Clarendon Press; New York, Oxford University Press, 1986

- A. Cassese (ed.), The New Humanitarian Law of Armed Conflict, 2 vol., Napoli, Editoriale scientifica, 1979-c1980

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Credits for the production go to Janet Anderson, Stephanie van den Berg and Ilaria Molinari. The logo for this podcast has been designed by https://delrossostudio.com/

In the late 1980s, when Antonio Cassese (‘Nino’) was a professor of International Law at the European University Institute (‘EUI’), the European Community — as the now European Union was named at the time — asked him to lead a research group on the state of the protection of human rights in the Community. The group produced a three-volume study, edited by Nino himself, Joseph Weiler and Andrew Clapham, which was published in 1992 under the title ‘European Union: the Human Rights Challenge’. This pioneering study paved the way for the further development of human rights law in the European legal space.

In this episode, the co-hosts — Paola Gaeta and Antonio Coco — discuss that work with guest Andrew Clapham (Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva), one of the researchers working with Nino on the project. Professor Clapham describes the state of legal protection of human rights in Europe at the beginning of the 1990s and the role they played in the process of European integration. Nino Cassese was also a member of the ‘Comité des Sages’ (namely, Committee of the Wise People), who were tasked by the European Union to devise and propose a Human Rights Agenda for the European Union for the Year 2000. The episode features a testimony about that endeavour by Philip Alston, who led that study at the EUI. The study eventually contributed to the adoption of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union in 2000, showcasing the EUI as a vibrant intellectual and political hub that ultimately facilitated the adoption of the Charter — as the EUI President, Professor Renaud Dehousse, recently put it.

Links

- A. Cassese, A. Clapham, J. Weiler, ‘What are our Rights? Agenda for a Human Rights Action Plan’, European University Institute, 1990

- A. Cassese, A. Clapham, J. Weiler, ‘European Union: the Human Rights Challenge’, Nomos, 1992

- A. Cassese, C. Lalumiere, P. Leuprecht, M. Robinson, J. Weiler, P. Alston, ‘Leading by Example: a Human Rights Agenda for the European Union for the Year 2000’, European University Institute, 1998

- Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, 2000

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The Committee for the Prevention of Torture of the Council of Europe, or CPT, is the supervisory body established by the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. Its most distinctive feature is that it can inspect places of detention in member states with the aim to strengthen the protection of persons who were deprived of their liberty. As its first President, Nino was a driving force behind the Committee’s institutionalisation, and played a major role in prompting States to publish the Committee’s (otherwise confidential) reports. We get a glimpse of what inspections were like through Nino’s voice, as he was dictating the report of an inspection to his secretary. Then we hear how Nino continued to be attentive to conditions of detention as he was President of the Yugoslavia Tribunal, this time through the voice of his legal officer at the time, the late John Jones. The co-hosts discuss the Committee’s powers and its role in inducing states to comply with their international obligations with Antonio Marchesi, who at the time of Nino’s election as CPT President was writing his PhD on torture under Nino’s supervision and then became President of Amnesty International Italy. Andrew Clapham reads an excerpt explaining why Nino chose to take part in the Committee’s work, and more generally to take an active role in the protection of human rights.

Links

• European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
• John Jones tells the story of Nino inspecting the cells at the UN Detention Unit in The Hague (video from the tribute to Nino organised by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon in 2011, “Walking the Road he Paved”, Antonio Cassese 1937-2011) 
• Antonio Cassese, Human Rights in a Changing World

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Credits for the production go to Janet Anderson, Stephanie van den Berg and Ilaria Molinari. The logo for this podcast has been designed by https://delrossostudio.com/

The co-hosts, Antonio Coco and Giulia Pinzauti, introduce the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL), of which Antonio Cassese ('Nino') was the first President. The Tribunal was created in 2007 to prosecute those responsible for the killing, among others, of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri. Nino explains the Tribunal’s mandate with his own voice. His best-known contribution to the Tribunal's work is the controversial Appeals Chamber’s Interlocutory Decision on the definition of the crime of terrorism, issued on 16 February 2011. The co-hosts discuss the decision, the struggle to define terrorism in international law, and the lessons learned from the Tribunal’s experience with Guido Acquaviva, who worked as Chef de Cabinet during Nino’s presidency. Guido describes Nino’s energetic and optimistic approach and his determination to fight terrorism through the rule of law. 

Links

- Antonio Cassese explains the mandate of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, and what he hoped the Lebanese people could get from the Tribunal’s success (videos from the Special Tribunal for Lebanon’s YouTube channel)

- Special Tribunal for Lebanon, Appeals Chamber, Interlocutory Decision on the Applicable Law, 16 February 2011

- Special Tribunal for Lebanon: website

- Antonio Cassese, L’esperienza del male (2011)

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Credits for the production go to Janet Anderson, Stephanie van den Berg and Ilaria Molinari. The logo for this podcast has been designed by https://delrossostudio.com/

The co-hosts, Paola Gaeta and Salvatore Zappalà, introduce the UN Commission of Inquiry on Darfur that was established by the UN Security Council in 2004 and was chaired by Antonio Cassese, and its final Report, which famously found no evidence that the government of Sudan was committing genocide in Darfur at the time. Antonio Cassese himself explains, through his own voice, what is genocide and the difference between genocide and persecution as a crime against humanity. The co-hosts then welcome the guest of this episode, Fannie Lafontaine, who worked for the Commission as special assistant to Antonio Cassese. In a dialogue with the co-hosts, Fannie explores a variety of issues related to the Commission’s findings, the referral of the situation in Darfur to the International Criminal Court, the indictment of the then President of Sudan (Omar Al Bashir) and the working methods of Antonio Cassese within the Commission. 

Links

- Nino explains the meaning of genocide and the difference between genocide and the crime against humanity of persecution, while delivering the Judgement in Kupreškić et al. (14 January 2000, audio & video on ICTY youtube channel)

- Report of the International Commission of Inquiry on Darfur to the United Nations Secretary-General, 2005

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Credits for the production go to Janet Anderson, Stephanie van den Berg and Ilaria Molinari. The logo for this podcast has been designed by https://delrossostudio.com/

The co-hosts — Paola Gaeta, Salvatore Zappalà, Giulia Pinzauti and Antonio Coco — introduce the late Professor Antonio Cassese, a giant of international law (as the former UN Secretary General called him)  who was known to his friends simply as 'Nino'. They explain how they got to know Nino and why they decided to dedicate this new podcast series to his work and legacy. Nino himself tells the story of the knight and the sparrow, which gives the name to the podcast. The story is a metaphor about working seriously and thoughtfully to achieve the greater good, even against impossible odds and no matter how little one’s contribution may be. The co-hosts explain the content of the podcast series, which will be composed of five episodes. Each episode will focus on a different institution for which Nino worked and will feature a conversation with guests who worked with him, highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of Nino’s contribution.

Links

Nino tells the story of the sparrow: audio & video on https://vimeo.com/31543612, at 1:06:23 to 1:07:40.

Follow and contact us at:

https://cassese-initiative.org/

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https://www.facebook.com/casseseinitiative/

http://info@cassese-initiative.org/

Credits for the production go to Janet Anderson, Stephanie van den Berg and Ilaria Molinari. The logo for this podcast has been designed by https://delrossostudio.com/