Speaker details

Biography

Since 2013, Michael Scharf has been the Co-Dean of Case Western Reserve University School of Law. He is a Chaired Professor who has authored 20 books, including five that have won national book of the year honors. During the elder Bush and Clinton Administrations, Scharf served as Attorney Adviser for U.N. Affairs in the Office of the Legal Adviser of the U.S. Department of State, where he represented the United States at the U.N. Human Rights Commission and U.N. Legal Committee. Scharf and the Public International Law and Policy Group, a Non-Governmental Organization he co-founded 25 years ago, were nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by six governments and the Prosecutor of an International Criminal Tribunal for the work they have done to help in the prosecution of major war criminals. He has served as Special Assistant to the International Prosecutor of the Cambodia Genocide Tribunal and has argued as Amicus before the Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Court. Since 2011, Scharf has produced and hosted the radio program “Talking Foreign Policy,” broadcast quarterly on Cleveland’s NPR station, WKSU 89.7 FM and available as a podcast. Scharf is the President of the American Branch of the International Law Association, a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and a member of the Executive Council of the American Society of International Law.