Theodor Meron
Encyclopedia
Theodor Meron was the President of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
(ICTY) until 2005, and now serves as a judge on the Appeals Chambers of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
and the ICTY. On October 19, 2011, he was elected to a second two-year term as President of the ICTY, starting November 17, 2011. He also serves as Honorary President of the American Society of International Law.
Born in Kalisz
, Poland
, Judge Meron received his legal education at the Hebrew University (M.J.), Harvard Law School
(LL.M., J.S.D.) and Cambridge University (Diploma in Public International Law). Since 1977, he has been a Professor of International Law and, since 1994, the holder of the Charles L. Denison Chair at New York University School of Law
. In 2000-2001, he served as Counselor on International Law in the U.S. Department of State.
Judge Meron is a member of the Institute of International Law, the Council on Foreign Relations and the Shakespeare Institute among other organizations. He was awarded the 2005 Rule of Law Award by the International Bar Association and the 2006 Manley O. Hudson Medal of the American Society of International Law. He was made Officer of the Legion of Honor by the government of France in 2007. He received the Charles Homer Haskins Prize of the American Council of Learned Societies for 2008. In 2009, Judge Meron was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He was awarded a doctorate of law honoris causa by the University of Warsaw in 2011.
In the late 1960s, Judge Meron was legal counsel to the Israeli Foreign Ministry and wrote a secret 1967 memo
for Prime Minister Levi Eshkol
, who was considering creating an Israeli settlement at Kfar Etzion
. This was just after Israel's victory in the Six-Day War
of June 1967. Judge Meron's memo concluded that creating new settlements in the Occupied Territories would be a violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention
. Eshkol went ahead to create the settlement anyway, and therefore set the conditions which began the Movement for Greater Israel
and Israel's settlement enterprise.
Judge Meron's books include: Investment Insurance in International Law (Oceana-Sijthoff, 1976); The United Nations Secretariat (Lexington Books, 1977); Human Rights in International Law (Oxford University Press, 1984); Human Rights Law-Making in the United Nations (Oxford University Press, 1986) (awarded the certificate of merit of the American Society of International Law); Human Rights in Internal Strife: Their International Protection (Sir Hersch Lauterpacht Memorial Lectures, Grotius Publications, 1987); Human Rights and Humanitarian Norms as Customary Law (Oxford University Press, 1989); Henry’s Wars and Shakespeare’s Laws (Oxford University Press, 1993); Bloody Constraint: War and Chivalry in Shakespeare (Oxford University Press, 1998); War Crimes Law Comes of Age: Essays (Oxford University Press, 1998), International Law In the Age of Human Rights (Martinus Nijhoff, 2004), and The Humanization of International Law (Hague Academy of International Law and Nijhoff, 2006). His latest book, a selection of his speeches entitled The Making of International Justice: A View from the Bench, appeared in 2011 (Oxford University Press).
International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
The International Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia since 1991, more commonly referred to as the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia or ICTY, is a...
(ICTY) until 2005, and now serves as a judge on the Appeals Chambers of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda is an international court established in November 1994 by the United Nations Security Council in Resolution 955 in order to judge people responsible for the Rwandan Genocide and other serious violations of international law in Rwanda, or by Rwandan...
and the ICTY. On October 19, 2011, he was elected to a second two-year term as President of the ICTY, starting November 17, 2011. He also serves as Honorary President of the American Society of International Law.
Born in Kalisz
Kalisz
Kalisz is a city in central Poland with 106,857 inhabitants , the capital city of the Kalisz Region. Situated on the Prosna river in the southeastern part of the Greater Poland Voivodeship, the city forms a conurbation with the nearby towns of Ostrów Wielkopolski and Nowe Skalmierzyce...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, Judge Meron received his legal education at the Hebrew University (M.J.), Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
(LL.M., J.S.D.) and Cambridge University (Diploma in Public International Law). Since 1977, he has been a Professor of International Law and, since 1994, the holder of the Charles L. Denison Chair at New York University School of Law
New York University School of Law
The New York University School of Law is the law school of New York University. Established in 1835, the school offers the J.D., LL.M., and J.S.D. degrees in law, and is located in Greenwich Village, in the New York City borough of Manhattan....
. In 2000-2001, he served as Counselor on International Law in the U.S. Department of State.
Judge Meron is a member of the Institute of International Law, the Council on Foreign Relations and the Shakespeare Institute among other organizations. He was awarded the 2005 Rule of Law Award by the International Bar Association and the 2006 Manley O. Hudson Medal of the American Society of International Law. He was made Officer of the Legion of Honor by the government of France in 2007. He received the Charles Homer Haskins Prize of the American Council of Learned Societies for 2008. In 2009, Judge Meron was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He was awarded a doctorate of law honoris causa by the University of Warsaw in 2011.
In the late 1960s, Judge Meron was legal counsel to the Israeli Foreign Ministry and wrote a secret 1967 memo
for Prime Minister Levi Eshkol
Levi Eshkol
' served as the third Prime Minister of Israel from 1963 until his death from a heart attack in 1969. He was the first Israeli Prime Minister to die in office.-Biography:...
, who was considering creating an Israeli settlement at Kfar Etzion
Kfar Etzion
Kfar Etzion is a religious Israeli settlement and kibbutz located in the Judean Hills between Jerusalem and Hebron in the southern West Bank. It has a population of 400 and falls under the jurisdiction of Gush Etzion Regional Council...
. This was just after Israel's victory in the Six-Day War
Six-Day War
The Six-Day War , also known as the June War, 1967 Arab-Israeli War, or Third Arab-Israeli War, was fought between June 5 and 10, 1967, by Israel and the neighboring states of Egypt , Jordan, and Syria...
of June 1967. Judge Meron's memo concluded that creating new settlements in the Occupied Territories would be a violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention
Fourth Geneva Convention
The Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, commonly referred to as the Fourth Geneva Convention and abbreviated as GCIV, is one of the four treaties of the Geneva Conventions. It was adopted in August 1949, and defines humanitarian protections for civilians...
. Eshkol went ahead to create the settlement anyway, and therefore set the conditions which began the Movement for Greater Israel
Movement for Greater Israel
The Movement for Greater Israel was a political organisation in Israel during the 1960s and 1970s which subscribed to an ideology of Greater Israel....
and Israel's settlement enterprise.
Judge Meron's books include: Investment Insurance in International Law (Oceana-Sijthoff, 1976); The United Nations Secretariat (Lexington Books, 1977); Human Rights in International Law (Oxford University Press, 1984); Human Rights Law-Making in the United Nations (Oxford University Press, 1986) (awarded the certificate of merit of the American Society of International Law); Human Rights in Internal Strife: Their International Protection (Sir Hersch Lauterpacht Memorial Lectures, Grotius Publications, 1987); Human Rights and Humanitarian Norms as Customary Law (Oxford University Press, 1989); Henry’s Wars and Shakespeare’s Laws (Oxford University Press, 1993); Bloody Constraint: War and Chivalry in Shakespeare (Oxford University Press, 1998); War Crimes Law Comes of Age: Essays (Oxford University Press, 1998), International Law In the Age of Human Rights (Martinus Nijhoff, 2004), and The Humanization of International Law (Hague Academy of International Law and Nijhoff, 2006). His latest book, a selection of his speeches entitled The Making of International Justice: A View from the Bench, appeared in 2011 (Oxford University Press).