PUBLISHED:March 23, 2012

International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia judge visits Duke Law March 28

Wednesday, March 28, 2012
12:15-1:15 pm | Room 3041
Duke Law School

Judge Patrick Robinson, a permanent judge on the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), will visit Duke Law on Wednesday, March 28. He will discuss the role of international criminal courts like the ICTY and reflect on his extensive career in international law during the lunchtime presentation which begins at 12:15 p.m. in Room 3041.

The ICTY was established in 1993 by the United Nations to deal with war crimes that took place during the Balkan conflicts in the 1990s. It is the first war crimes court created by the UN and the first international war crimes tribunal created since the Nuremberg and Tokyo tribunals. Located in The Hague, the ICTY has charged over 160 people, and convicted 60 to date. Robinson was elected to the position of permanent judge by the UN General Assembly in 1998 and served as the court’s president from 2009 to 2011.

A native of Jamaica, Robinson came to the ICTY with extensive international law. In 1972 he became Jamaica’s representative to the Sixth (Legal) Committee of the UN General Assembly; during his 26 years in the position he helped define aggression and draft the statute for an international criminal court.

From 1981 to 1998, Robinson led Jamaica’s delegations for the negotiation of treaties on such matters as extradition, mutual legal assistance, maritime delimitation, and investment promotion and protection.

Robinson, who also sits on the Appeals Chamber for the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, is the 2011 recipient of honorary membership to the American Society of International Law. The award’s previous recipients include Kofi Annan and Boutros Boutros-Ghali.

This event is sponsored by Duke's Center for International and Comparative Law and the Kenan Institute for Ethics in association with the Law & History Society, International Law Society, International Criminal Court Student Network, Human Rights Law Society, and Black Law Students Association.

Robinson’s presentation will be webcast.