René Oswaldo Blattmann Bauer (born 28 January 1948) is a Bolivian judge, lawyer and politician who is a judge of the International Criminal Court.[3] Prior to his appointment to the ICC Blattmann served as Bolivia's minister for justice and human rights.[4]

Judge
René Blattmann
Second Vice-President of the International Criminal Court
In office
11 March 2006 – 10 March 2009
Preceded byElizabeth Odio Benito
Succeeded byHans-Peter Kaul
Judge of the International Criminal Court
In office
11 March 2003 – 31 August 2012
Nominated byBolivia
Appointed byAssembly of States Parties
Personal details
Born (1948-01-28) 28 January 1948 (age 76)[1]
La Paz, Bolivia
NationalityBolivian-Swiss[1]
Alma materThe Southwestern Legal Foundation – International Comparative Law Center (1980)
Bolivian University, La Paz (1973)
Association Internationale de Droit Comparé (1972)
University of Basle (1972)[1]
OccupationJudge, attorney-at-law,[2] politician

Early life and education

edit

Blattmann was born to a father of Swiss descent and studied law at the University of Basel between 1967 and 1971.[5] After graduation, he taught at several universities in Bolivia and abroad.[5]

Political career

edit

In 1993 Blattmann entered politics with the Revolutionary Nationalist Movement (MNR), serving as the Minister of Justice.[5] He introduced several reforms with regard to human rights.[5] In the presidential elections of 2002, he was the presidential candidate for the Movimiento Ciudadano para el Cambio (MCC).[5] He campaigned for introducing the mechanism of the referendum inspired by the Swiss democracy in Bolivian politics,[5] but was not elected.

Juridical career

edit

Judge Blattmann was elected to the ICC from the Latin American and Caribbean group of states[3] as a member of List B, the list of judges whose experience is in the field of human rights law and international law. He was elected for a six-year term in 2003, and although that term expired in 2009 he remained in office[6] for the duration of the trial of Thomas Lubanga. He was assigned to the court's trial division and sat as a member of Trial Chamber I. Blattman's term ended in 2012.[3][6]

Personal life

edit

René is the grandson of Karl Blattmann, a Swiss immigrant to Cachuela Esperanza, Bolivia.[5] He is married to Marianne Schassner and has three children.[5] He does not have a Swiss passport.[5]

Awards

edit

1995 Emblema de Oro from the Bolivian police[7]

1998 Honorary doctorate from the University of Basel[7][8]

2001 Carl Bertelsmann Prize[7] for the transformation towards democracy during his term as a Minister of Justice.[9] Together with Ana Maria Romero.[9]

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c "Curriculum Vitae: Prof. Dr.h.c. Rene Blattmann" (PDF). Retrieved 26 April 2013.
  2. ^ "Nomination for Judge of the International Criminal Court" (PDF). United Nations Office of Legal Affairs. November 2002. Retrieved 26 April 2013.
  3. ^ a b c "Judge René Blattmann". International Criminal Court. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
  4. ^ "Profiles of war crimes court judges". BBC News. 11 March 2003. Retrieved 26 April 2013.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Candidato de origen suizo en las elecciones de Bolivia". SWI swissinfo.ch (in Spanish). Retrieved 7 November 2022.
  6. ^ a b "Gender Report Card on the International Criminal Court" (PDF). iccwomen. 2012. p. 82.
  7. ^ a b c "Candidatura para el cargo de Juez de la Corte Penal International" (PDF). United Nations. November 2002. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
  8. ^ "Ehrenpromotionen Juristische Fakultät". www.unibas.ch (in German). Retrieved 7 November 2022.
  9. ^ a b Ferraro, Agustín E. (2001). "Argentina: lecciones políticas de la crisis". Iberoamericana (2001-). 1 (4): 163–171. ISSN 1577-3388 – via JSTOR.