A JUDGE will share his experiences in helping to bring war criminals to justice following the harrowing Kosovo conflict.
Bolton Crown Court Judge Timothy Clayson will deliver a lecture to law students at the University of Bolton on how international law restores justice to the killing fields.
Judge Clayson’s lecture, Working for the United Nations and War Crimes, will focus on his time presiding over war crimes trials.
It is one of a series of law lectures from judges designed to give students unique insights into their profession.
Judge Clayson is Honorary Recorder of Bolton and is also a member of the University’s Bolton Business School Advisory Board, where the Law School is now based.
He qualified as a barrister in 1974 and was working as a Recorder when the UN appointed international judges to help deal with the aftermath of the NATO intervention in Kosovo.
In the 1990s, ethnic Albanian guerrilla movement the Kosovo Liberation Army stepped up its attacks on Serbian targets.
The attacks triggered a Yugoslav military crackdown.
NATO began air strikes against targets in Kosovo and Serbia in March, 1999, and when Serbian forces were driven out that summer, the UN took over the administration of the province.
Judge Clayson found himself presiding over international law, which did not use jurors to find verdicts, and decisions were left to the judges to make on their own.
Stephen Hardy, Diamond Jubilee Professor of Law at the university, said: “We forget that the legal systems of many countries are very different to our own.
“Judge Clayson’s lecture will bring to bear a vivid, captivating example of how the international law helps bring justice in tragic circumstances.
“But it is also a compelling story and one we know will be of great benefit to our students.”
His address will take place on Thursday, March 20, in the Deane Lecture Theatre, Senate House.
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