Former STL president judge Antonio Cassese dies

The Special Tribunal for Lebanon announced on Saturday the death of former President of STL Judge Antonio Cassese, who passed away in Florence last night after a long fight with cancer.        

Judge Cassese was one of the most distinguished figures in international justice. He was the first President of both the STL and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. Judge Cassese also had a long career in academia.        

The news of Judge Cassese's death has been met with profound sadness amongst staff at the STL. Nino, as he was known to many in the Tribunal, was much admired as an outstanding leader with generosity of spirit, a brilliant intellect and a mischievous sense of humor.       

Judge Cassese stepped down as President of the Tribunal on 9 October this year due to ill-health, after more than two years as the head of the institution (March 2009-October 2011). He was a serving Appeals Chamber judge when he died.    

This was just the latest of many international legal roles. In 2004 the UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan, appointed Judge Cassese chairperson of the UN International Commission of Inquiry on Darfur. He was later appointed by the Secretary General as an independent expert to review the judicial efficiency of the Special Court for Sierra Leone.         

Throughout his career Judge Cassese worked to curtail extrajudicial killings, as well as to assert individual responsibility for international crimes in domestic and international jurisdictions.     

Judge Cassese was professor of international law at the University of Florence from 1975 until 2008. Between 1987 and 1993 he was professor of law at the European University Institute. Judge Cassese was also a visiting fellow at All Souls College, Oxford University (1979-80). He was a member of the Institut de Droit International and former president of the Council of Europe Committee for the Prevention of Torture.    

An enthusiastic proponent of self-determination and human rights throughout his whole life, Judge Cassese wrote extensively on all aspects of international law, with a particular focus on international criminal law. He was the recipient of many honorary degrees and awards.