The AIDP Blog is the official blog of the American National Section of the AIDP (L’Association Internationale de Droit Penal/The International Association of Penal Law). The AIDP Blog will provide a forum for expert debate and thought-provoking commentary on contemporary issues of comparative criminal justice, international criminal law, international humanitarian law, international criminal tribunals, human rights and counterterrorism law & policy.

Founded in Paris in 1924, the AIDP is the oldest association of specialists in penal law in the world and one of the oldest scientific associations. Since 1950, the Association has been a U.N. accredited NGO. It is also a member of the United Nations alliance of NGOs on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice in New York and Vienna, which have frequently been chaired by an Association’s representative. It also cooperates with the United Nations Secretariat, ECOSOC, the Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Division (as it was called until 1998), the Division of Narcotic Drugs, the Center for Human Rights and other specialized United Nations institutes, such as UNSDRI (Rome), HEUNI (Helsinki), UNAFEI (Tokyo), ILANUD (San Jose), ISPAC (Milan), ASTC (Riyadh), UNAFRI (Kampala), ISISC (Siracusa). The American National Section is a subsidiary of the 3,000-member international Association. The Association, by its manifold activities, meetings, and publications, has played a significant role in the promulgation of the Torture Convention, the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, and other important international instruments.

We count among our experts Bloggers the former U.S. Ambassador at Large for War Crimes Issues, a former Under Secretary General of the United Nations and Chief Prosecutor for the Special Court for Sierra Leone, a Nobel Peace Prize nominee, former U.S Department of State legal advisors, participants from the negotiation of the ICC treaty, defense attorneys from international tribunals, and former military officers with operational and advisory experience in counterterrorism and post-conflict states. All of our experts are accomplished academics with multiple books and scholarly articles, many cited by the international criminal tribunals, the Supreme Court of the United States, the Supreme Court of Israel, and other high Courts. Our experts appear frequently in the media, and you can follow their appearances as they occur under our Expert Appearances section.

As it now enters its second centennial, the Association, larger than ever, and with growing activities, continues a tradition of scholarship and intellectual exchange in an effort to foster the humanization of society. The new AIDP Blog (http://www.aidpblog.org ) is a new and exciting part of that effort.
Please visit us and engage in the discussion.
Sincerely, the bloggers of the AIDP Blog:

Michael Scharf, Deputy Secretary-General of the AIDP and President of the AIDP American National Section

Mark Drumbl, Vice President of the AIDP American National Section

Christopher Blakesley, Vice President of the AIDP American National Section

Michael Kelly, Director of Studies, AIDP American National Section

Gregory McNeal, Director of Studies, AIDP American National Section

Dorean Koenig, Secretary, AIDP American National Section

David Crane, AIDP American National Section Executive Council member

Amos Guiora, AIDP American National Section Executive Council member

Linda Malone, AIDP American National Section Executive Council member

Michael Newton, AIDP American National Section Executive Council member

Jordan Paust, AIDP American National Section Executive Council member

David Scheffer, AIDP American National Section Executive Council member