William Schabas
Encyclopedia
William Schabas
is an author and academic in the field of international criminal
and human rights
law
. He is a professor of international law and Director of the Irish Centre for Human Rights at the National University of Ireland
, Galway
, and an internationally respected expert on human rights law, genocide
, and the death penalty. In 2009 he has been elected President of International Association of Genocide Scholars
. He is an Officer of the Order of Canada
and a Member of the Royal Irish Academy
. As of September 2011, he will be the Professor of International Law at Middlesex University
in London.
, and LL.B., LL.M. and LL.D. degrees from the University of Montreal, Canada
. He has also been awarded honorary doctorates from Dalhousie University
, Halifax, Case Western Reserve University
, Cleveland and Northwestern University
, Chicago
. From 1991-2000 he was a professor of human rights law and criminal law at the University of Quebec, and chaired the Juridical Department from 1994-1998. He has taught as a visiting or adjunct professor at several other institutions, including McGill University
, Queen’s University Belfast
, LUISS University in Rome
, Cardoza Law School, Université de Paris II and the National University of Rwanda
. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Technical Cooperation in the Field of Human Rights. Schabas served as one of seven commissioners on the Sierra Leone Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
. His influential book The Abolition of the Death Penalty in International Law (Cambridge University Press, 3d ed., 2003) and his other writings on the subject have been referred to in judgments of national and international tribunals, including the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, the United States Supreme Court, the Supreme Court of Canada and the Supreme Court of the Philippines. Schabas regularly lectures on capital punishment in China and the United States. In 2009, he was the consultant to the United Nations responsible for preparing the Secretary-General's quinquennial report on the status of capital punishment. Schabas is the Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board of the International Academic Network Against the Death Penalty and for a Universal Moratorium on Capital Punishment and Advisor to the International Centre for Death Penalty Research which is based at Beijing Normal University
, Beijing
.
, the Jewish and Gypsy Holocaust, and the Rwandan Genocide
. Thus his book, Genocide in International Law: The Crimes of Crimes (Cambridge University Press, 2d ed., 2009), supports the view that Stalin’s atrocities in the Ukraine, the killings of Slav and Soviet citizens under the Nazi occupation, and the Holodomor
were not, legally, genocide.
The same book treats the Bosnian atrocities as ethnic cleansing
and not as genocide
, in contrast to the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Court of Justice (ICJ) which ruled the crimes committed in Srebrenica to constitute genocide.
However, it criticizes the United Nations General Assembly
for recognizing ethnic cleansing as genocide. His later book, War Crimes and Human Rights (Cambridge University Press, 2008), states that the killings by the Khmer Rouge
in Cambodia
during the late 1970s lacked “the ethnic dimension that is part of the essence of the crime [of genocide].”
Schabas took the same position in 2001 in Cambodia: Was it Really Genocide?. Further, while strongly condemning the atrocities in Darfur
, Schabas says that they should not be labelled genocide because, he argues in War Crimes and Human Rights, “the summary execution” of non-Arabs in Darfur “does not establish genocidal intent.” The book War Crimes and Human Rights also criticizes the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia for finding a joint criminal enterprise to commit genocide in Srebrenica
.
The relatively restrictive interpretation of the crime of genocide that
Schabas has advocated has been largely confirmed in the case law of such
institutions as the International Court of Justice and the International
Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.
is an author and academic in the field of international criminal
Criminal law
Criminal law, is the body of law that relates to crime. It might be defined as the body of rules that defines conduct that is not allowed because it is held to threaten, harm or endanger the safety and welfare of people, and that sets out the punishment to be imposed on people who do not obey...
and human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
. He is a professor of international law and Director of the Irish Centre for Human Rights at the National University of Ireland
National University of Ireland
The National University of Ireland , , is a federal university system of constituent universities, previously called constituent colleges, and recognised colleges set up under the Irish Universities Act, 1908, and significantly amended by the Universities Act, 1997.The constituent universities are...
, Galway
Galway
Galway or City of Galway is a city in County Galway, Republic of Ireland. It is the sixth largest and the fastest-growing city in Ireland. It is also the third largest city within the Republic and the only city in the Province of Connacht. Located on the west coast of Ireland, it sits on the...
, and an internationally respected expert on human rights law, genocide
Genocide
Genocide is defined as "the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group", though what constitutes enough of a "part" to qualify as genocide has been subject to much debate by legal scholars...
, and the death penalty. In 2009 he has been elected President of International Association of Genocide Scholars
International Association of Genocide Scholars
The International Association of Genocide Scholars is a global, interdisciplinary, non-partisan organization that seeks to further research and teaching about the nature, causes, and consequences of genocide, and advance policy studies on prevention of genocide. The Association, founded in 1994 by...
. He is an Officer of the Order of Canada
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
and a Member of the Royal Irish Academy
Royal Irish Academy
The Royal Irish Academy , based in Dublin, is an all-Ireland, independent, academic body that promotes study and excellence in the sciences, humanities and social sciences. It is one of Ireland's premier learned societies and cultural institutions and currently has around 420 Members, elected in...
. As of September 2011, he will be the Professor of International Law at Middlesex University
Middlesex University
Middlesex University is a university in north London, England. It is located in the historic county boundaries of Middlesex from which it takes its name. It is one of the post-1992 universities and is a member of Million+ working group...
in London.
Education and career
Schabas received his B.A. and M.A. degrees in History from the University of TorontoUniversity of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
, and LL.B., LL.M. and LL.D. degrees from the University of Montreal, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. He has also been awarded honorary doctorates from Dalhousie University
Dalhousie University
Dalhousie University is a public research university located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The university comprises eleven faculties including Schulich School of Law and Dalhousie University Faculty of Medicine. It also includes the faculties of architecture, planning and engineering located at...
, Halifax, Case Western Reserve University
Case Western Reserve University
Case Western Reserve University is a private research university located in Cleveland, Ohio, USA...
, Cleveland and Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
, Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
. From 1991-2000 he was a professor of human rights law and criminal law at the University of Quebec, and chaired the Juridical Department from 1994-1998. He has taught as a visiting or adjunct professor at several other institutions, including McGill University
McGill University
Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
, Queen’s University Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
, LUISS University in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, Cardoza Law School, Université de Paris II and the National University of Rwanda
National University of Rwanda
The National University of Rwanda is the largest university in Rwanda. It is located at in the city of Butare and was established in 1963 by the government in cooperation with the Congregation of the Dominicans from the Province of Quebec.When it was established, the NUR had three divisions The...
. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Technical Cooperation in the Field of Human Rights. Schabas served as one of seven commissioners on the Sierra Leone Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
Publications
Schabas has authored twenty-one books dealing in whole or in part with international human rights law including Genocide in International Law: The Crime of Crimes (Cambridge University Press, 2d ed., 2009), An Introduction to the International Criminal Court (Cambridge University Press, 3d ed. 2007), The Abolition of the Death Penalty in International Law (Cambridge University Press, 3d ed., 2003), The U.N. International Criminal Tribunals: The Former Yugoslavia, Rwanda and Sierra Leone (Cambridge University Press, 2006), War Crimes and Human Rights: Essays on the Death Penalty, Justice and Accountability (Cambridge University Press, 2008), and The International Criminal Court: A Commentary on the Rome Statute (Oxford University Press, 2010). He has also published more than 300 articles in academic journals, primarily in the field of international human rights law and international criminal law.Abolition of the Death Penalty
Schabas has been very active in the movement for world-wide abolition of capital punishmentCapital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
. His influential book The Abolition of the Death Penalty in International Law (Cambridge University Press, 3d ed., 2003) and his other writings on the subject have been referred to in judgments of national and international tribunals, including the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, the United States Supreme Court, the Supreme Court of Canada and the Supreme Court of the Philippines. Schabas regularly lectures on capital punishment in China and the United States. In 2009, he was the consultant to the United Nations responsible for preparing the Secretary-General's quinquennial report on the status of capital punishment. Schabas is the Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board of the International Academic Network Against the Death Penalty and for a Universal Moratorium on Capital Punishment and Advisor to the International Centre for Death Penalty Research which is based at Beijing Normal University
Beijing Normal University
Beijing Normal University , colloqiually known as 北师大 or Beishida, is a public research university located in Beijing with strong emphasis on basic disciplines of humanities and sciences...
, Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
.
Views on Genocide
Schabas argues that the legal term “genocide” is a loaded one that should not be used to describe every atrocity involving mass killings. In the strict legal sense, the only true "genocides" in recent history, he argues, were the Armenian GenocideArmenian Genocide
The Armenian Genocide—also known as the Armenian Holocaust, the Armenian Massacres and, by Armenians, as the Great Crime—refers to the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I...
, the Jewish and Gypsy Holocaust, and the Rwandan Genocide
Rwandan Genocide
The Rwandan Genocide was the 1994 mass murder of an estimated 800,000 people in the small East African nation of Rwanda. Over the course of approximately 100 days through mid-July, over 500,000 people were killed, according to a Human Rights Watch estimate...
. Thus his book, Genocide in International Law: The Crimes of Crimes (Cambridge University Press, 2d ed., 2009), supports the view that Stalin’s atrocities in the Ukraine, the killings of Slav and Soviet citizens under the Nazi occupation, and the Holodomor
Holodomor
The Holodomor was a man-made famine in the Ukrainian SSR between 1932 and 1933. During the famine, which is also known as the "terror-famine in Ukraine" and "famine-genocide in Ukraine", millions of Ukrainians died of starvation in a peacetime catastrophe unprecedented in the history of...
were not, legally, genocide.
The same book treats the Bosnian atrocities as ethnic cleansing
Ethnic cleansing
Ethnic cleansing is a purposeful policy designed by one ethnic or religious group to remove by violent and terror-inspiring means the civilian population of another ethnic orreligious group from certain geographic areas....
and not as genocide
Genocide
Genocide is defined as "the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group", though what constitutes enough of a "part" to qualify as genocide has been subject to much debate by legal scholars...
, in contrast to the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Court of Justice (ICJ) which ruled the crimes committed in Srebrenica to constitute genocide.
However, it criticizes the United Nations General Assembly
United Nations General Assembly
For two articles dealing with membership in the General Assembly, see:* General Assembly members* General Assembly observersThe United Nations General Assembly is one of the five principal organs of the United Nations and the only one in which all member nations have equal representation...
for recognizing ethnic cleansing as genocide. His later book, War Crimes and Human Rights (Cambridge University Press, 2008), states that the killings by the Khmer Rouge
Khmer Rouge
The Khmer Rouge literally translated as Red Cambodians was the name given to the followers of the Communist Party of Kampuchea, who were the ruling party in Cambodia from 1975 to 1979, led by Pol Pot, Nuon Chea, Ieng Sary, Son Sen and Khieu Samphan...
in Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
during the late 1970s lacked “the ethnic dimension that is part of the essence of the crime [of genocide].”
Schabas took the same position in 2001 in Cambodia: Was it Really Genocide?. Further, while strongly condemning the atrocities in Darfur
Darfur
Darfur is a region in western Sudan. An independent sultanate for several hundred years, it was incorporated into Sudan by Anglo-Egyptian forces in 1916. The region is divided into three federal states: West Darfur, South Darfur, and North Darfur...
, Schabas says that they should not be labelled genocide because, he argues in War Crimes and Human Rights, “the summary execution” of non-Arabs in Darfur “does not establish genocidal intent.” The book War Crimes and Human Rights also criticizes the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia for finding a joint criminal enterprise to commit genocide in Srebrenica
Srebrenica
Srebrenica is a town and municipality in the east of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the Bosnian Serb entity of Republika Srpska. Srebrenica is a small mountain town, its main industry being salt mining and a nearby spa. During the Bosnian War, the town was the site of the July 1995 massacre,...
.
The relatively restrictive interpretation of the crime of genocide that
Schabas has advocated has been largely confirmed in the case law of such
institutions as the International Court of Justice and the International
Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.