René Blattmann

René Oswaldo Blattmann Bauer (born 28 January 1948) is a Bolivian judge, lawyer and politician who is a judge of the International Criminal Court.^[3] Prior to his appointment to the ICC Blattmann served as Bolivia's minister for justice and human rights.^[4]

Judge René Blattmann
Second Vice-President of the International Criminal Court
In office 11 March 2006 – 10 March 2009
Appointed by	Judges of the ICC
Preceded by	Elizabeth Odio Benito
Succeeded by	Hans-Peter Kaul
Judge of the International Criminal Court
In office 11 March 2003 – 31 August 2012
Nominated by	Bolivia
Appointed by	Assembly of States Parties
Personal details
Born	(1948-01-28) 28 January 1948 (age 77)[1] La Paz, Bolivia
Nationality	Bolivian-Swiss[1]
Alma mater	The Southwestern Legal Foundation – International Comparative Law Center (1980) Bolivian University, La Paz (1973) Association Internationale de Droit Comparé (1972) University of Basle (1972)[1]
Occupation	Judge, attorney-at-law,[2] politician

Early life and education

Blattmann was born to a father of Swiss descent and studied law at the University of Basel between 1967 and 1971.^[5] After graduation, he taught at several universities in Bolivia and abroad.^[5]

Political career

In 1993 Blattmann entered politics with the Revolutionary Nationalist Movement (MNR), serving as the Minister of Justice.^[5] He introduced several reforms with regard to human rights.^[5] In the presidential elections of 2002, he was the presidential candidate for the Movimiento Ciudadano para el Cambio (MCC).^[5] He campaigned for introducing the mechanism of the referendum inspired by the Swiss democracy in Bolivian politics,^[5] but was not elected.

Juridical career

Judge Blattmann was elected to the ICC from the Latin American and Caribbean group of states^[3] as a member of List B, the list of judges whose experience is in the field of human rights law and international law. He was elected for a six-year term in 2003, and although that term expired in 2009 he remained in office^[6] for the duration of the trial of Thomas Lubanga. He was assigned to the court's trial division and sat as a member of Trial Chamber I. Blattman's term ended in 2012.^[3][6]

Personal life

René is the grandson of Karl Blattmann, a Swiss immigrant to Cachuela Esperanza, Bolivia.^[5] He is married to Marianne Schassner and has three children.^[5] He does not have a Swiss passport.^[5]

Awards

1995 Emblema de Oro from the Bolivian police^[7]

1998 Honorary doctorate from the University of Basel^[7][8]

2001 Carl Bertelsmann Prize^[7] for the transformation towards democracy during his term as a Minister of Justice.^[9] Together with Ana Maria Romero.^[9]