Jump to content

Christoph Flügge

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Griczic (talk | contribs) at 11:40, 31 May 2011. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Christoph Flügge
Permanent Judge at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
Incumbent
Assumed office
18 September 2008
Appointed byBan Ki-Moon
Personal details
Born (1947-07-14) 14 July 1947 (age 77)
NationalityGermany
Alma materFree University of Berlin, University of Bonn
ProfessionLawyer, public prosecutor, civil servant, judge

Christoph Flügge (born 14 July 1947) is a controversial German jurist and judge. From June 2001 to February 2007, he was Secretary of State in the Department of Justice of the State of Berlin. On 18 September 2008, he was appointed permanent judge at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY).[1] As a result of controversial[2][3] comments made in 2009, he has been accused by genocide scholars and victims' groups of genocide denial in relation to the Bosnian Genocide and more specifically the Srebrenica genocide.[2][4][5][3]

Career

Flügge studied law from 1967 to 1973 at the Free University of Berlin and the University of Bonn. He graduated with the first state exam in 1973 and the second in 1976. He worked as an assistant for an SPD Member of Parliament during his studies from 1969 to 1971, and was employed at a West Berlin law firm in 1973.

In 1976 he became secretary to Senator Kurt Neubauer (SPD). In 1977 he became a public prosecutor, and from 1978, he worked in the Berlin Department of Justice. He was appointed as criminal judge at the Berlin Amtsgericht in 1983. In 1989, he returned to the Berlin Department of Justice. In 2001, he was appointed Secretary of State by Senator Wolfgang Wieland. He was dismissed as Secretary by Senator Gisela von der Aue in February 2007.

At the proposal of the Federal Ministry of Justice of Germany, he was appointed as permanent judge at the ICTY by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon in 2008.

He was a member of the trial chamber in the case against Serbia's former interior minister Vlastimir Đorđević and of the trial chamber in the case against Radovan Karadžić;[6] however, he was removed from the latter case after controversial comments.[7] On 27 May 2011, he was appointed President of the trial chamber in the case against Ratko Mladić.[8]

He is a member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany.

Accusations of genocide denial

In 2009, Christoph Flügge made controversial[2][3] public comments in an interview with Der Spiegel[9] that were criticized for denying the Bosnian Genocide.[10] Flügge claimed the term genocide was "unnecessary" while describing the Srebrenica genocide, which has been determined to be genocide by the United Nations and the ICTY itself.[2] Several genocide scholars protested against his comments, accusing him of denial of the genocide in Bosnia and Herzegovina.[4] The Congress of North American Bosniaks demanded that Flügge be removed from his position as judge, stating that the organisation was "shocked and confounded" by his statements "in which he openly questions the Srebrenica genocide", accusing him of genocide denial. The organisation demanded "a complete retraction of the statement" and "a full apology to all the victims of the genocide who have been hurt by this statement, at a time when they are getting ready to commemorate the 14th anniversary of the genocide and bury more victims who are still being identified from the many mass graves".[5][3]

Flügge was removed from the Radovan Karadžić case following the protest by Bosniak victims' groups.[7] The Congress of North American Bosniaks applauded the decision, but demanded an official apology. The organisation cited former ICTY President Theodor Meron, who stated in 2005:[7]

"By seeking to eliminate a part of the Bosnian Muslims [Bosniaks], the Bosnian Serb forces committed genocide. They targeted for extinction the 40,000 Bosnian Muslims living in Srebrenica, a group which was emblematic of the Bosnian Muslims in general.
They stripped all the male Muslim prisoners, military and civilian, elderly and young, of their personal belongings and identification, and deliberately and methodically killed them solely on the basis of their identity. The Bosnian Serb forces were aware, when they embarked on this genocidal venture, that the harm they caused would continue to plague the Bosnian Muslims.
The Appeals Chamber states unequivocally that the law condemns, in appropriate terms, the deep and lasting injury inflicted, and calls the massacre at Srebrenica by its proper name: genocide. Those responsible will bear this stigma, and it will serve as a warning to those who may in future contemplate the commission of such a heinous act."

Following the appointment of Flügge as presiding judge in the Ratko Mladić case, three major associations of Muslim victims of the Bosnian Genocide—the Association of Bosnia-Herzegovina Camp Inmates, the Association of Women Victims of War and the Movement of Mothers of Srebrenica and Žepa Enclaves—wrote a letter to the ICTY, protesting against the appointment of Flügge and accusing him of having "denied that the crime of genocide had been committed in Srebrenica". The organisations stated that Flügge has showed that he "does not deserve to be a judge with the Hague Tribunal" and that he has "demonstrated that he is prone to prejudice".[11][12][13][14]

Private life

Flügge is married. His wife is the head prison doctor at Moabit Prison in Berlin.

Publications

  • DDR-Strafvollzug. Recht statt Drill. In: Neue Kriminalpolitik, 1990
  • Alter Geist - neue Probleme. Strafvollzug nach der Wiedervereinigung. In: Neue Kriminalpolitik, 1991
  • Assessment of the Ukrainian Prison System (Lakes/Fliigge/Philip/Nestorovic-Report), Council of Europe, Strasbourg 1997 (UKR V.B. 4 [97]1)
  • ... und sie bewegt sich doch. Debatte um die Todesstrafe in der Ukraine. In: ai-Journal 6/1997
  • Berlin zeigt Mut zur Reform. In: Neue Kriminalpolitik, 1/1998
  • Untersuchungshaftanstalten des MfS. In: Strafvollzug in den neuen Bundesländern. Kriminologische Zentralstelle, Wiesbaden 1999
  • Reassessment of the Needs of the Ukrainian Prison System. Council of Europe, Strasbourg 2004 (SG/Ukraine [2003] 1REV)

References

  1. ^ http://www.icty.org/x/file/About/Chambers/judges_bios_en/pj_flugge_bio_en.pdf
  2. ^ a b c d "Judge in Mladic case a veteran of debate". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2011-05-29.
  3. ^ a b c d "Judge for Mladic case in row over 'genocide'". The Irish Times. 2011-05-30. Retrieved 2011-05-30.
  4. ^ a b "Protest from the Scientific Discussion". Institute for the Research of Genocide Canada. Retrieved 2011-05-29.
  5. ^ a b "CNAB Demands Removal of ICTY Judge Christoph Flügge". Congress of North American Bosniaks. 2009-07-08. Retrieved 2011-05-29.
  6. ^ "UN Tribunal Judge on the Karadzic Trial: 'A Victory for Justice'". Der Spiegel. Retrieved 2011-05-30.
  7. ^ a b c "CNAB Welcomes Removal of Judge Flügge from the Karadzic Case". Congress of North American Bosniaks. 2009-09-11. Retrieved 2011-05-30.
  8. ^ "Christoph Flügge: Deutscher ist Chef-Richter bei Mladic-Verfahren" (in Template:De icon). Handelsblatt. Retrieved 2011-05-29.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  9. ^ "Mladic und sein Richter: Völkermord oder Massenmord?". Kleine Zeitung. Retrieved 2011-05-29.
  10. ^ "German denying genocide of Muslims in Bosnia will try Mladic". Voice of Russia. Retrieved 2011-05-29.
  11. ^ "Mladic: polémique autour d'un juge allemand du TPIY". Rtl.be. Retrieved 2011-05-30.
  12. ^ "Srebrenica-Opfer fordern Rückzug von deutschem Richter in Den Haag". Stern. Retrieved 2011-05-30.
  13. ^ "Deutscher Richter in Den Haag: Srebrenica-Opfer fordern Rückzug" (in Template:De icon). n-tv.de. Retrieved 2011-05-30.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  14. ^ "Muslim associations call for Hague judge exemption". B92. Retrieved 2011-05-31.

Template:Persondata

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Christoph_Flügge&oldid=431809772"