German appointed as judge on UN war crimes tribunal for former Yugoslavia

Christoph Flügge has been appointed to serve on the United Nations war crimes tribunal dealing with the worst offences committed during the Balkan conflicts of the 1990s after the Security Council indicated its support for Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s intention to select the German jurist.

In an exchange of letters made public today, Ambassador Le Luong Minh of Viet Nam, which held the Council presidency last month, said he had consulted the 15-member panel and it had backed the appointment of Mr. Flügge to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY).

Mr. Flügge, 61, will replace Judge Wolfgang Schomburg, also of Germany, who has resigned from the ICTY, effective 18 November.

The incoming judge has a lengthy professional history that includes a stint as a criminal judge in Berlin between 1983 and 1989. Most recently he has served as an expert in criminal matters for the Council of Europe and for the German Foundation for International Legal Cooperation, specializing in reform of the prison system in Ukraine, Russia, Romania, Estonia and Lithuania.