Antonio Cassese

Antonio Cassese (1 January 1937 – 21 October 2011) was an Italian jurist who specialized in public international law. He was the first President of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and the first President of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon which he presided over until his resignation on health grounds on 1 October 2011.

Early life 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.

Academic career Cassese was the Professor of International Law at the University of Pisa from 1972 to 1974. In 1975 he joined the University of Florence, where he served as professor until 2008. He was a visiting fellow at All Souls College, Oxford, from 1979 to 1980 and professor of law at the European University Institute from 1987 to 1993.

He published extensively on international human rights law and international criminal law. He was the author of International Law and International Criminal Law published by the Oxford University Press, the co-founder and co-editor of the European Journal of International Law, and founder and editor-in-chief of the Journal of International Criminal Justice.

Cassese was granted Doctorates honoris causa by Erasmus University Rotterdam, Paris X University and the University of Geneva, and was a member of the Institut de Droit International. 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".

Judicial and public career

Cassese was Chairman of the Council of Europe Steering Committee for Human Rights from 1987 to 1988 and President of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture from 1989 to 1993. He represented the Italian Government on many occasions at UN meetings on human rights and served as the representative at the Geneva Diplomatic Conference on the Humanitarian Law of Armed Conflicts from 1974 to 1977. After his tenure as President, he continued to sit as a Tribunal judge until February 2000.

In October 2008, Cassese was legal advisor to the European Committee for Delisting the PMOI (People's Mujahedin of Iran).

Cassese was elected as the President of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) in March 2009. He was the first president of STL. He resigned on health grounds on 1 October 2011 and was succeeded by David Baragwanath.

Death Antonio Cassese died in Florence on 21 October 2011, after a long fight with cancer. He was 74.