The Podcast
"Antonio Cassese: the Stubborn Sparrow"
Is a podcast series created on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the passing of Antonio Cassese, a giant of international law, as the former UN Secretary General called him.
Paola Gaeta, Salvatore Zappalà, Giulia Pinzauti and Antonio Coco discuss his impact on international law and institutions on five selected issues: genocide, terrorism, torture, human rights in the European Union, and war crimes.
Each of the five upcoming episodes focussed on a different institution for which Antonio Cassese worked and features a conversation with guests who worked with him, highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of his contribution.
Episode 0 - the Knight and the Sparrow
This episode introduces the figure of Antonio Cassese, a giant of international law who was known to his friends simply as \’Nino\’. Nino’s voice tells the story of the sparrow, to which the podcast owes its title.
Episode 1: Genocide and the Commission of Inquiry on Darfur
This episode discusses the findings on genocide and working methods of the UN Commission of Inquiry in Darfur, which Antonio Cassese chaired in 2004-2005. Paola Gaeta and Salvatore Zappalà interview Fannie Lafontaine, who worked…
Episode 2: The crime of terrorism and the Special Tribunal for Lebanon
Antonio Cassese (\’Nino\’) was the first President of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, a hybrid court established in 2007 to try those responsible for the attack that killed the former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri and oth…
‘A Man of Action’: Nino and the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture
In this episode the co-hosts Salvatore Zappalà and Giulia Pinzauti discuss the contribution of Antonio Cassese (‘Nino’) to the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) with Antonio Marchesi, a renowned expert on to…
The Human Rights Challenge in Europe: Nino’s work at the European University Institute
In the late 1980s, Antonio Cassese (\’Nino\’) contributed to the growth of the protection of human rights in the European Union by leading an impactful research project at the European University Institute (EUI). The co-hosts Paol…
War Crimes and the ICTY
In October 1995, the Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) delivered a decision stating for the first time that war crimes can also be committed in non-international armed confli…