2022 M.C. Bassiouni Justice Award winner
David J. Luban
Professor David J. Luban has been granted the 2022 M.C. Bassiouni Justice Award in recognition of (a) his outstanding scholarship in international criminal law, ethics and philosophy spanning 45 productive years, with significant publications on topics such as torture, integrity and the notions of ‘humanity’, ‘nation-state’ (“Romance of the Nation-State”), ‘sovereignty’, ‘modernism’, ‘atonement’ and ‘lawfare’; (b) his contributions towards the emergence of a philosophy of international criminal law, through important publications on, inter alia, the category of crimes against humanity and the concept of hostis generis humani; (c) his development, together with late Deborah L. Rhode, of the discipline of legal ethics (including his comprehensive textbook Legal Ethics published in its ninth edition in 2024), which has inspired the efforts to create a sub-discipline of ethics of international criminal justice focusing on the integrity standard; (d) his courage in public discourse as exemplified by his defence of the prohibition against torture (“a hard-won achievement of civilization”, in his words), including his testimonies in the United States House Judiciary Committee (2008) and Senate Judiciary Committee (2009); and (e) his dedication to his university teaching and his personal qualities of kindness towards colleagues and students, attentiveness, willingness to assist and open-mindedness.
Professor Luban is Distinguished University Professor at Georgetown University Law Center (‘Distinguished University Professor’ is Georgetown University’s highest academic rank). He also serves as Class of 1965 Distinguished Chair in Ethics at the Stockdale Center for Ethical Leadership, United States Naval Academy. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a Distinguished Fellow of the National Institute of Military Justice, and has held Guggenheim and Woodrow Wilson fellowships. His research interests centre on moral and legal responsibility in organizational settings such as law firms, government and the military. His books include Lawyers and Justice: An Ethical Study (1988), Legal Ethics (1992, 9th ed. in 2024), Legal Modernism (1994), Legal Ethics and Human Dignity (2007), International and Transnational Criminal Law (2010, 4th ed. in 2023), and Torture, Power, and Law (2014). He has published more than 200 journal articles, book chapters and review essays. He holds a B.A. from the University of Chicago; and M.A., M.Phil. and Ph.D. degrees in Philosophy from Yale University.
The Award is granted by the Centre for International Law Research and Policy (CILRAP). The 2022 Award Committee consisted of Professor Ling Yan (China University of Political Science and Law, Beijing), Professor Claus Kreβ (Cologne University), Professor William A. Schabas (Middlesex University London), Associate Professor Cheah Wui Ling (National University of Singapore), Mr. Arne Willy Dahl (former Judge Advocate General, Norway), Committee Secretary Devasheesh Bais (CILRAP Fellow and Advocate before the High Court of Indore), and CILRAP Director Morten Bergsmo (Committee Chair). The decision was made by consensus. The Award has been associated with CILRAP’s department FICHL (the Forum for International Criminal and Humanitarian Law) since 2012, but is an Award of CILRAP.
