Judge Antonio Cassese, a great international lawyer who gave the tone to developments in international criminal justice since his election as an international judge and the first President of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in 1993, has passed away yesterday in his house in Florence, Italy.
A few days ago when I wrote the post on his resignation as President of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, I had no idea that he was so ill. His passing away is a great loss for his family, friends, colleagues and students. Judge Cassese will be remembered as a great international legal scholar and warm and modest person. The STL had issued a press release which reflects on Judge Cassese’s life and his many achievements.
I never met him, but read his book on Int’l Criminal Law. It was a useful source while I was working as an international judge of the UN at The Hague. I have also used his book for teaching LLM students as a visiting professer of int’l law. He has left intellectual imprints as perennial remainders of his contribution in the area of intl. criminal law. May his soul rest in peace.