JAMESTOWN - The Joshua Heintz Award for Humanitarian Achieve-ment was bestowed on Distinguished Research Professor of Law Emeritus M. Cherif Bassiouni at the Robert H. Jackson Center in Jamestown on Sunday, Aug. 26.
The ceremony was held at a dinner that kicked off the Jackson Center's sixth annual International Humanitarian Law Dialogs, hosted at the Chautauqua Institution Aug. 26 through 28. The dialogs help advance the work of Robert H. Jackson and the Nuremberg Trials as the genesis of modern international criminal law.
Bassiouni is a Distinguished Research Professor of Law Emeritus and founder and President Emeritus of the Inter-national Human Rights Law Institute, DePaul University College of Law. Bassiouni has previously served as: member, then chairman, of the Security Council's Commission to investigate war crimes in the former Yugoslavia from 1992-93; Commission on Human Rights' Independent Expert on The Rights to Restitution, Compensation and Rehabilitation for Victims of Grave Violations of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms from 1998-2000; vice-chairman of the General Assembly's Ad Hoc Committee on the Establishment of an International Criminal Court in 1995; and chairman of the Drafting Committee of the 1998 Diplomatic Conference on the Establishment of an International Criminal Court.
In 1999, Bassiouni was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for his contributions to international criminal justice and the creation of the International Criminal Court. He has received numerous medals and awards for his service to the international community.
The Joshua Heintz Award for Humanitarian Achievement's benefactor is Joshua Heintz of Syracuse. Heintz is a partner at Gilberti, Stinziano, Heintz & Smith, P.C. Outside of his law practice, Heintz is passionate about creating avenues for institutions of higher education to serve the community at large. He was a principal figure in the creation of the Syracuse University College of Law's internationally recognized Institute for National Security and Counterterrorism. Heintz also serves on the Board of Trustees at Syracuse University and is also on the Board of Directors of the Robert H. Jackson Center.
The inscription made on the crystal obelisk presented by Joshua Heintz honored Bassiouni as "A compassionate visionary dedicated to the pursuit of justice who leaves a legacy in international humanitarian law."
The Robert H. Jackson Center's mission is to advance the legacy of Robert H. Jackson - U.S. Supreme Court Justice and Chief U.S. Prosecutor of the major Nazi war criminals following WWII at the International Military Tribunal trial at Nuremberg - through education and exhibits and by pursuing the relevance of his ideas for future generations.
The Center is located at 305 E. Fourth St., in Jamestown.
Tours are available from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays. E-mail info@roberthjackson.org or visit www.roberthjackson.org for additional information, or contact the Robert H. Jackson Center directly at 483-6646.
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