Posted on 22 March 2021
The inventory of the Antonio Cassese fonds, deposited at the Historical Archives of the European Union (HAEU) in May 2015, was enriched with a new Artifacts series. The various objects present in the fonds were inventoried item-by-item, and digitised for their long-term preservation and public access. The project is a first step towards the inventorying of all artefacts present in the various archival fonds preserved at the HAEU. An online exhibition is currently under preparation to shed light on the various objects found among the archival deposits.
The various objects now described and digitised, allow researchers to retrace Cassese’s life and activities through material evidence of his achievements over his brilliant career as professor and jurist. The objects inventoried include judicial gowns, a typing-machine, and various awards and honorary degrees. Among others, the fonds includes the Award ‘Man for Peace’ issued by Together for Peace Foundation, the Award ‘2007 Wolfgang Friedmann Memorial' issued by the Columbia Journal of Transnational Law, as well as an historical judicial gown (red and black with white neckwear). Furthermore, it includes a seal "S. Pax et Defensio Libertatis", featuring a dove in the middle and bearing an olive branch, which is a replica of the Florentine Commune's seal from 1429 to 1530.
Antonio Cassese represented the Italian Government at the Commission on Human Rights, at the General Assembly at the United Nations (UN) and at the Geneva Diplomatic Conference on the Humanitarian Law of Armed Conflicts in the 1970s. He was member and chairman of the Council of Europe Steering Committee for Human Rights (CDDH) (1984-1988), as well as president of the Council of Europe's “European Commitee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment” (CPT) (1989-1993). He served as judge and president of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) (1993-2000), chairman for the International Commission of Inquiry on Darfur (2004-2005), and was subsequently nominated by the Secretary-General of the UN Independent Expert for the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) in 2006. In the last years of his life, since 2009, he served as judge and President of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL). He passed away on 22 October 2011.
Discover the Artifacts composing Antonio Cassese’s fonds.