The PGA Secretariat and the PGA membership of 1350 Parliamentarians from 142 countries around world are mourning the death of Professor Dr. M. Cherif Bassiouni, one of the greatest legal scholars of our time.

PGA recognized his leadership role in the creation of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and in the global movement for justice formally in 1998, when Prof. Bassiouni received PGA’s Defender of Democracy Award on account of his enormous contribution to the world community as Chairperson of the Drafting Committee of the Rome Statute of the ICC.

Prof. Bassiouni interacted with parliamentarians, government officials, NGOs, practitioners and the general public in a way that inspired and mobilized, attracted support and generated outcomes. He was an extraordinary leader, with a unique capacity to make his voice heard.

He has been a source of inspiration for generations of lawyers, scholars and policy makers, in Egypt, in the United States, in Italy and in all corners of the world where his teachings and phenomenal discourses reached into the hearts, minds and souls of his students.

Professor Bassiouni was a friend, a mentor and a living inspiration to so many of us. His words and teachings will stay with us through his books and his scholarship, and his legacy will be continued through the ICC and its supporters.

We all were blessed to be able to learn from him. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family during this difficult time.