Bertram Schmitt (born September 9, 1958) is a German

jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyzes and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal education in law (a law degree) and often a Lawyer, legal prac ...

. He was a judge at the Bundesgerichtshof and has been a judge of the International Criminal Court since 2015.

Career

Early career

Between 2005 and 2015, Schmitt served as judge at the

Federal Court of Justice The Federal Court of Justice ( , ) is the highest court of Private law, civil and Criminal law, criminal jurisdiction in Germany. Its primary responsibility is the final appellate review of decisions by lower courts for errors of law. While, le ...

(BGH), Germany's supreme court for civil and criminal matters. In 2009, Schmitt was appointed as an ad-hoc judge at the

European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The court hears applications alleging that a co ...

(ECHR). From 2009, he represented Germany on the Eurojust Joint Supervisory Body in The Hague. Since 2000, Schmitt has been an

adjunct professor An adjunct professor is a type of academic appointment in higher education who does not work at the establishment full-time. The terms of this appointment and the job security of the tenure vary in different parts of the world, but the term is gen ...

for

criminal law Criminal law is the body of law that relates to crime. It proscribes conduct perceived as threatening, harmful, or otherwise endangering to the property, health, safety, and Well-being, welfare of people inclusive of one's self. Most criminal l ...

criminal procedure Criminal procedure is the adjudication process of the criminal law. While criminal procedure differs dramatically by jurisdiction, the process generally begins with a formal criminal charge with the person on trial either being free on bail ...

and

criminology Criminology (from Latin , 'accusation', and Ancient Greek , ''-logia'', from λόγος ''logos'', 'word, reason') is the interdisciplinary study of crime and deviant behaviour. Criminology is a multidisciplinary field in both the behaviou ...

at the

University of Würzburg The Julius Maximilian University of Würzburg (also referred to as the University of Würzburg, in German ''Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg'') is a public research university in Würzburg, Germany. Founded in 1402, it is one of the ol ...

. He is one of two authors of the standard German commentary on criminal procedure, which includes the annotation of the

European Convention on Human Rights The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR; formally the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms) is a Supranational law, supranational convention to protect human rights and political freedoms in Europe. Draf ...

(ECtHR). In 2010, he unsuccessfully ran against Angelika Nußberger in the election to succeed Renate Jaeger as the judge representing Germany at the

Judge of the International Criminal Court, 2015-present

In December 2014, Schmitt was proposed as a judge at the International Criminal Court by the German government. On December 10, 2014, he was elected in the sixth ballot, and he assumed office on March 11, 2015. He serves in the trial division of the court. In his capacity as judge on the Trial Chamber VII, Schmitt in 2017 added a year to

Jean-Pierre Bemba Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo (born 4 November 1962) is a Congolese politician and former rebel leader. He currently serves as the Deputy Prime Minister of Ministry of Transport and Channels of Communication, Transportation and Channels of Communicat ...

's 18-year jail term following his conviction for attempting to bribe witnesses during his war crimes trial. In September 2023,

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

issued an

arrest warrant An arrest warrant is a warrant issued by a judge or magistrate on behalf of the state which authorizes the arrest and detention of an individual or the search and seizure of an individual's property. Canada Arrest warrants are issued by a jud ...

for Schmitt on unspecified charges, allegedly in retaliation for the ICC having issued a warrant against President

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...

. His nine-year term at the ICC ended in March 2024, but he is continuing in office pursuant to Article 36 (10) of the

Rome Statute The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court is the treaty that established the International Criminal Court (ICC). It was adopted at a diplomatic conference in Rome, Italy on 17 July 1998Michael P. Scharf (August 1998)''Results of the R ...

to complete the trial of Alfred Yekatom and

Patrice-Edouard Ngaïssona Patrice-Edouard Ngaïssona (born 30 June 1967) is the former Central African minister of sports, president of the Central African Football Federation and leader of Anti-balaka. He was arrested in 2018 on a warrant by the International Criminal C ...

References

1958 births Living people German legal scholars International Criminal Court judges 21st-century German judges German judges of international courts and tribunals Judges of the Federal Court of Justice Fugitives wanted by Russia {{Germany-law-bio-stub