In Sunday Times magazine piece, Theodor Meron discusses work at international criminal tribunal

In Sunday Times magazine piece, Theodor Meron discusses work at international criminal tribunal

Theodor MeronA long feature in the May 20 Sunday Times magazine examined the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), whose president is Theodor Meron, Charles L. Denison Professor of Law Emeritus and Judicial Fellow at NYU School of Law.

Deeming Meron’s biography, including a childhood in a Nazi work camp and a distinguished legal and academic career that made him an authority on international criminal law, “remarkable,” the writer asked Meron about parallels between his formative experiences as a Polish Jew under the Nazi regime and his ICTY work, in which he hears war crime cases on appeal.

"My experience during the war was a total loss of autonomy," Meron told the Sunday Times. "It had a tremendous impact on me at that time.... [When I was nominated] as a judge in this tribunal, I thought it was some kind of fate, some kind of poetic justice."

Meron said that he had the ability to remain objective despite his background: "I think that I would not have remained at The Hague for so many years if I had any doubts that my approach was not totally cool, objective, detached and professional.... [I]t is not something I am actively thinking of when I'm sitting on the bench, no."

Posted on May 29, 2012