Spanish Investigating Judge Garzón To Speak
"The Prosecution of Crimes Against Humanity From the Perspective of National Jurisdictions"
International Justice: Crimes Against Humanity Lecture Series
Thursday, April 12, 2001, 5:30 p.m., Ames Courtroom
free and open to the public

Judge Baltazar Garzón Real is the Investigating Judge of Spain's National Court. He is well known for his efforts to use Spanish national law to prosecute leaders, such as General Augusto Pinochet of Chile, who have committed crimes against humanity, as well as for his leading role in many of Spain's high profile cases involving drug trafficking, corruption at high levels, the terrorist activities of the Basque separatist group ETA, and the GAL death squads.

Judge Garzón was appointed provincial judge in 1981 and in 1987 was named Inspector for the General Counsel of Judicial Power at the Tribunals of Andalucía. In 1993, Judge Garzón won a seat in the Spanish Parliament for the Socialist party, holding his seat there for one year before returning to a position within the National Court.

Judge Garzón has been a professor of law at the Center for European Studies, Spain's Center for Judicial Studies, and the Complutense University of Madrid. He was the Spanish representative to the first Congress of European Magistrates Against Corruption, as well as Spain's representative to the Congress on Corruption, which was held in Argentina in 1994. He has also been a frequent advisor to organizations worldwide on issues of terrorism, organized crime, and drug trafficking.

Judge Garzón has published extensively on these subjects, and recently published a book entitled Narcotics: Drug Trafficking as an Instrument of Organized Crime. For his contributions to international prosecution and human rights, he is the recipient of numerous prizes, including the Leaders of the Future Award at the 1996 World Economic Forum and the 1995 International Peace and Solidarity Award.

The Project on Justice in Times of Transition is co-sponsoring Judge Garzón's speech. The Project is an inter-faculty program of Harvard University under the auspices of the Law School, the John F. Kennedy School of Government, and the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, created at the urging of Czech President Vaclav Havel, with the purpose of bringing together individuals from a broad spectrum of countries to share experiences in ending conflict, establishing peace and building a civil society. The International Justice lecture series brings to Harvard scholars and practitioners involved in issues relating to transitional justice and seeks to facilitate discussion at Harvard on current developments in international prosecution.