M. Cherif Bassiouni Facts for Kids

Professor Bassiouni lecturing in 2005

Mahmoud Cherif Bassiouni (born December 9, 1937 – died September 25, 2017) was an important Egyptian-American law professor. He taught at DePaul University from 1964 to 2012. He also worked in many roles for the United Nations and advised the U.S. government.

He helped start the International Human Rights Law Institute at DePaul University in 1990. People often called him "the Godfather of International Criminal Law" because of his big impact. He was also known as a "war crimes expert." He worked on creating a new international agreement to prevent and punish crimes against humanity.

In 2010, Professor Bassiouni gave his personal papers to DePaul University. These papers are now available for researchers to study.

Early Life
Career Highlights
Awards and Honours
Lectures
See also

Early Life

Mahmoud Cherif Bassiouni was born in Cairo, Egypt. He received his education in both Egypt and France.

Career Highlights

Professor Bassiouni was a lawyer in many places, including Illinois and Washington, D.C. He also practiced law before the United States Supreme Court. He handled many international legal cases. These cases often involved countries working together on criminal matters.

Academic Work

In 1972, Bassiouni helped create the International Institute of Higher Studies in Criminal Sciences (ISISC) in Italy. He led this institute for many years. He also served as the leader of the International Association of Penal Law in Paris, France.

He was a visiting professor at several universities, including New York University and the University of Freiburg in Germany. He also taught criminal law at the University of Cairo.

Professor Bassiouni wrote a lot! He authored 27 books and edited 45 more. He also wrote 265 articles about international criminal law, human rights, and U.S. criminal law. His writings were used as references by major courts around the world. These included the International Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights. His work was also cited by the highest courts in countries like Australia, Canada, and the United States. Many of his books and articles were translated into several languages.

United Nations Roles

Professor Bassiouni held many important positions at the United Nations. He often worked to investigate serious human rights issues.

Here are some of his key roles:

He chaired a committee that investigated human rights in Libya from 2011 to 2012.
He was an expert on human rights for Afghanistan from 2004 to 2006.
He worked on the rights of victims of serious human rights violations from 1998 to 2000.
He helped draft the rules for the International Criminal Court (ICC) in 1998. He also served as vice-chair for the committees setting up the ICC.
He led a commission that investigated violations of international law in the former Yugoslavia from 1993 to 1994. He also gathered facts for this commission from 1992 to 1993.
He advised the UN on crime prevention in the 1980s.
He helped draft a treaty to prevent torture in 1978.
He also chaired the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry in 2011.

US Government Advice

Besides his UN work, Professor Bassiouni also advised the U.S. Department of State and Justice. For example, he was a consultant for the U.S. Department of State regarding the American hostages in Iran from 1979 to 1980.

Awards and Honours

Professor Bassiouni earned several law degrees from different universities. These included Indiana University, John Marshall Law School, and George Washington University. He also studied law in France and Switzerland.

He received many awards and honours for his work:

He was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1999 for his work in international criminal justice.
He won the Hague Prize for International Law in 2007. This award recognized his important contributions to international law.
He received the Via Sapientiae Award from DePaul University in 2009.
He was given the Cesare Beccaria Justice Medal in 2007.
He received the Defender of Democracy Award in 1998.
He was inducted into The Lincoln Academy of Illinois in 2001, receiving the Order of Lincoln. This is the highest honour in Illinois.
A part of the street where he lived in Chicago was named in his honour.

He also received many honorary degrees from universities around the world. These included the University of Salzburg, the University of Ghent, and the National University of Ireland.

Professor Bassiouni was also awarded several medals from different countries:

Order of Military Valor (Egypt, 1956)
Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (Italy, 1976, 1977, 2006)
Order of Scientific Merit (Egypt, 1984)
Grand Cross Order of Merit of the Austrian Republic (Austria, 1990)
Grand Cross of the Order of Merit (Germany, 2003)
Légion d’Honneur (France, 2003)
Ordre des Palmes Académiques (France, 2006)

He appeared in the documentary Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet in 2002.

Lectures

Professor Bassiouni gave a lecture called Perspectives on Post-conflict Justice. This was part of the United Nations Audiovisual Library of International Law series.

M. Cherif Bassiouni facts for kids

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