International and humanitarian law scholar Professor Nehal Bhuta has been awarded the prestigious Toscana Giorgio La Pira Prize for his paper, questioning the fairness of Saddam Hussein's trial in Baghdad three years ago, published in the Journal of International Criminal Justice (JICJ) in March 2008.
Entitled "Fatal Errors: The Trial and Appeal Judgments of the Iraqi High Tribunal in the Dujail Case," the article is based on Bhuta's observations of the Saddam Hussein 2005-2006 trial and a review of the decisions of the court that found him guilty and sentenced him to death.
"Based on my observation of the trial and a review of the trial dossier and trial judgment, I concluded that the decision was seriously flawed both in its evidence and its legal analysis," says Bhuta. "As a result, I concluded that Saddam Hussein had not received a fair trial and that the decision to convict was unsustainable as a matter of law and fact."
The Giorgio La Pira Prize is named after a former mayor of Florence who was well-known as an activist and politician committed to human rights, social justice and the cause of peace.
Faculty of Law Dean Mayo Moran says that Professor Bhuta's achievement is both a noteworthy scholarly award and one that also highlights our faculty's ongoing interest in critical human rights issues throughout the world. "We congratulate Nehal on this tremendous accomplishment - it is a significant scholarly achievement for a faculty member at such an early stage in his career," says Dean Moran.
This prize is awarded to a young scholar by the Board of Editors of the Journal of International Criminal Justice, in conjunction with the Tuscany region of Italy.
Each year, the prize winner is invited to Florence to receive the prize, which includes a $3000 cash award from the local government of the Tuscany region, $500 worth of books provided by Oxford University Press, and a free one-year subscription to the Journal. The prize was awarded on January 19, at a public ceremony in Florence, hosted by the Premio Regione Toscana and the JICJ. The award was presented by journal editor Professor Antonio Cassese, a leading international criminal lawyer and former President of the International Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia and the Vice President of the Tuscany Region. Attendees were addressed by the Chief Military Prosecutor of Italy Antonio Intelisano. A number of high-ranking members of the Italian military and regional government officials were also in attendance.
Read more about the award and past winners.
Read about Prof. Bhuta's work in U of T's Edge magazine.
