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Professor Michael Scharf will be addressing a Gates Scholars Society meeting on 5th December at a public lecture at the Cambridge Union Society Debating Chamber.

Professor Scharf is Director of the Frederick Cox Institute for War Crimes Research at Case Western Reserve ̽��ֱ�� and will be speaking about his new book, “Enemy of the State,” which provides an insider’s account of the trial of Saddam Hussein and lessons for the future of war crimes trials.

̽��ֱ��book is co-written with fellow law professor Michael Newton. Both men wrote the rules of the Iraqi High Tribunal for the trial of Saddam Hussein, which resulted in his execution.

In the book, they look at the legal complexities involved in trying to give him a fair and unbiased trial. It includes a day by day expose of the most tense part of the trial.

They look at the issues the trial threw up including whether the death penalty should apply, how to run a fair trial when political and military passions were running high and which of Saddam’s crimes he should be prosecuted for.

After writing the rules for the Tribunal, Scharf and Newton conducted a mock trial in Stratford upon Avon and provided legal analysis for many of the issues that the trial threw up. Scharf was formerly an official in the State Department and helped to create the Yugoslavia Tribunal in 1993.

He was invited to Cambridge by Ian Ralby, external officer for the Gates Scholars Council. Ralby, who is based at St John's College and did his undergraduate degree and MA at the ̽��ֱ�� of Maryland, Baltimore County, and his Jurisdoctorate at William & Mary. He is also a lawyer and has just begun a PhD in International Studies, funded by a Gates scholarship. In 2005, he worked as part of a team of young lawyers and law students assisting Professor Scharf in advising the Iraqi High Tribunal as it prepared for and began the trials of Saddam Hussein and his top lieutenants. For his MPhil, for which he was also awarded a Gates scholarship, Ian did a critical analysis of the trial of Saddam Hussein from a legal perspective. His PhD is looking at legal loopholes in the international system to find out how private military firms have been, are being and could be used to circumvent or subvert international law.

Ian said: “Michael Scharf is one of the leading scholars and practitioners in the field of international criminal law. His contributions to post-conflict justice have been instrumental and highly influential. It is a great honour to have him here in Cambridge speaking as part of this year's Gates Scholars Distinguished Lecture Series. I have no doubt he will provide an engaging and interesting talk on some of the complexities and challenges of trying the former Iraqi leaders amid fierce criticism and ongoing conflict.”

̽��ֱ��event is part of a series of public lectures which the Gates Scholars Council puts on during the academic year. ̽��ֱ��Gates Cambridge Trust was established in 2000 as a result of a $210million benefaction to Cambridge from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. ̽��ֱ��Trust awards full-cost scholarships to students from outside the UK to study as postgraduates at Cambridge. Since 2001, over 800 Gates Cambridge Scholarships have been awarded to students from more than 85 countries. There are currently 250 Scholars in Cambridge, and this year's intake saw the arrival of 97 students from 28 countries. ̽��ֱ��scholarship is different from other international programmes because, in addition to academic skills, candidates must show a keen interest in social responsibility and leadership.
Professor Scharf will be speaking at 7.30pm on 5th December.
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