Judge René BLATTMANN (Bolivia)

 
Judge as of 11 March 2003, for a term of six years. Elected from the Latin American and Caribbean Group of States (GRULAC), list B. Judge Blattmann remains in office until the completion of the Lubanga trial.

Judge Blattmann (1948) has extensive experience in international law, criminal law and human rights. He has been a professor of criminal and international law. As Minister of Justice and Human Rights, he focused his work on the systematisation and modernisation of the judiciary system and on implementing the protection and promotion of human rights and citizen guarantees. He launched the National Rural Mobile Public Defence and created human rights offices in conflict zones, especially in indigenous areas. Judge Blattmann served as Chief of the Human Rights and Justice Area of the United Nations Verification Mission in Guatemala, responsible for the verification of the Global Agreement on Human Rights, established by the Peace Agreements. For his commitment and achievements in human rights and justice reforms, Judge Blattmann has been distinguished with international awards, including the Robert G. Story International Award presented by the South-Western Legal Foundation - Academy of American and International Law (USA), the Monseñor Leonidas Proaño Latin American Prize for Human Rights, the 2001 Carl Bertelsmann Prize of the Bertelsmann Foundation (Germany), and has also been distinguished with the title of Doctor Honoris Causa by the University of Basel (Switzerland) and with title of Doctor Honoris Causa by the Humboldt University of Berlin (Germany).