WHAT: M. Cherif Bassiouni, world-renowned expert in international criminal law, will deliver the annual Sloan Lecture on International Law at Pace Law School. Bassiouni was a nominee for the 1999 Nobel Peace Prize based on his contribution to the establishment of the International Criminal Court.

WHO: The lecture is open to the general public and will be of particular interest to persons interested in international relations, international human rights, the work of the United Nations, and international law in general. There will be a reception with the speaker following the Lecture. The Lecture and reception are free and open to the public.

WHEN: 7:30 p.m., Thursday, March 23, 2000

WHERE: Pace Law School, 78 North Broadway, White Plains, New York. The Lecture will be held in the Moot Court Room of the Gerber Glass Building.

TO REGISTER: To register, or for information, contact Alta Levat (914) 422-4128.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER: M. Cherif Bassiouni has been a law professor at DePaul University College of Law for more than three decades and is one of the world’s leading authorities on international criminal law and human rights. He is president of DePaul’s International Human Rights Law Institute (IHRLI) which serves as an umbrella for several DePaul initiatives including the Weapons Control Center, the Rule of Law program, and the Human Rights in the Americas Project. Bassiouni is a world-renowned scholar who has authored and edited 60 books on United States criminal law, international and comparative criminal law, and some 200 articles published in law journals in the U.S. and other countries.

Bassiouni is president of the prestigious International Institute of Higher Studies in Criminal Sciences in Siracusa, Italy, and of the Association Internationale de Droit Pénal, a worldwide, scholarly international criminal justice organization with more than 3,000 members in 99 countries. In 1999, Bassiouni and the Association Internationale de Droit Pénal were nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by the International Scientific and Professional Advisory Council of the Untied Nations (ISPAC), which said that Bassiouni was the "single most driving force behind the global decision to establish the International Criminal Court." According to the ISPAC, under Bassiouni’s direction the association worked tirelessly to bring worldwide attention to the need for establishing the International Criminal Court (ICC). The ICC will be a standing court with jurisdiction over the most serious international crimes: genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes committed by individuals.

A longtime advocate of international peace and justice, Professor Bassiouni has held numerous posts with the United Nations since 1978. His most recent appointment was as chairman of the Drafting Committee of the United Nations Diplomatic Conference on the Establishment of an International Criminal Court. His work on the ICC goes back at least to 1995 when he chaired the United Nations General Assembly committee laying the groundwork for the establishment of the international court.

ABOUT THE LECTURE:
The Sloan Lecture Series honors Blaine Sloan, Professor Emeritus of International Law and Organization at Pace University School of Law, for developing the international law studies program at Pace.