Review of the Verdict: Who is David Scheffer, Head of the BiH Expert Team?

The head of the BiH expert team that worked on collecting evidence for the review of the verdict in the lawsuit filed by BiH against Serbia for failing to prevent genocide is former US Ambassador for War Crimes David John Scheffer, writes Patria.

He was born on September 18, 1953. An American lawyer and diplomat who, in 1997, during President Bill Clinton's term, was the first US Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues.

David Scheffer is a professor of law and director of the Center for International Human Rights Law at Northwestern University School of Law.

He is also a professor of international law and war crimes at Georgetown, Columbia, Duke, and George Washington University. During Clinton's first term, he initially served as a senior advisor to Madeleine Albright, who was then serving as Ambassador to the United Nations, and together with her, he was a founder of the idea of the ICTY. From 1993-1996, he was Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs and Deputy General Counsel of the National Security Council of the United States.

As Ambassador, Scheffer participated in the establishment of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, the Special Court for Sierra Leone, and the Khmer Rouge Tribunals in Cambodia. He also led the United States negotiating team at the United Nations on the International Criminal Court (ICC), led a team of American experts of over 200 specialists, and was the chief of staff to Judge Theodor Meron, who was one of the members of that team.

On behalf of and by the authority of Bill Clinton, he signed the Rome Statute, was a leading advocate for the establishment of the ICC, and advocated for US citizens to be under the jurisdiction of the ICC. Clinton appointed him as a judge from the US quota for the Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, but after George Bush came to power, he was dismissed, and the Republicans appointed Theodor Meron in his place.

He is one of the foremost legal experts with significant influence in international legal circles.