Report of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry

Report of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry
PHILIPPE KIRSCH
One of today’s most distinguished experts of public international law and
international criminal law, Judge Kirsch has more than 40 years of
experience in the international arena, most notably as ambassador of Canada
and President of the International Criminal Court, which he was instrumental
in establishing.
At present, Judge Kirsch is the Chair of the International Commission of
Inquiry for Libya and ad hoc Judge of the International Court of Justice,
before which he has also appeared on several occasions as a representative
of Canada. Judge Kirsch has served on the bench of two international courts,
including as Appeals Judge and President of the International Criminal
Court, and ad hoc Judge of the International Court of Justice. He has also
been a Member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration.
At the United Nations, Judge Kirsch was chair of numerous bodies including
the Sixth (Legal) Committee of the UN General Assembly, the Committee
of the Whole of the 1998 UN Diplomatic Conference on the Establishment
of an International Criminal Court, the Preparatory Commission for the
International Criminal Court, the UN Ad Hoc Committee for the
Suppression of Acts of Terrorism and the UN Ad Hoc Committee which
elaborated the International Convention on the Safety of United Nations and
Associated Personnel.
Over the course of his extensive career he has served the Canadian
Government as Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative to the
United Nations, Director General of the Bureau of Legal affairs, Legal
Advisor to the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, and
Ambassador to the Kingdom of Sweden.
He is the recipient of national medals from Belgium, Canada and
Luxembourg, human rights awards from a variety of institutions and
honorary degrees from universities in Canada, Ireland and Ukraine. Judge
Kirsch has been recognized as Queen’s Counsel for his work.
Judge Kirsch has also authored more than 40 articles on the International
Criminal Court and international criminal law.
502