Nicolas Michel (born 7 November 1949) is a Swiss lawyer who serves as an adjunct professor of international law at the Geneva

Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies The Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (, abbreviated IHEID), commonly referred to as Geneva Graduate Institute, is a graduate-level research university in Geneva, Switzerland dedicated to international relations, dev ...

Early life and education

Michel obtained his PhD in law from the

University of Fribourg The University of Fribourg (; ) is a public university located in Fribourg, Switzerland. The roots of the university can be traced back to 1580, when the notable Jesuit Peter Canisius founded the Collège Saint-Michel in the City of Fribourg ...

and his Master of Arts in international relations from

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

in Washington D.C. He has authored numerous books and articles on international and European law.

Career

From 1987 to 1998, Michel taught as professor of

international law International law, also known as public international law and the law of nations, is the set of Rule of law, rules, norms, Customary law, legal customs and standards that State (polity), states and other actors feel an obligation to, and generall ...

and

European law European Union law is a system of Supranational union, supranational Law, laws operating within the 27 member states of the European Union (EU). It has grown over time since the 1952 founding of the European Coal and Steel Community, to promote ...

at the

in Switzerland. Michel subsequently served as the Legal Adviser of Switzerland's

Federal Department of Foreign Affairs The Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA, , , , ), so named since 1979, is one of the seven Departments of the Swiss government federal administration of Switzerland, and corresponds in its range of tasks to the ministry of foreign affa ...

, where he also acted as the Director of the International Law Directorate from 1998 to 2003. In this capacity, he headed the Swiss delegation in such international conferences as the Preparatory Commission for the

International Criminal Court The International Criminal Court (ICC) is an intergovernmental organization and International court, international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute ...

and the Assembly of States Parties to 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 ...

and in presenting national reports before international committees on racial discrimination, rights of the child, and minorities. Michel served as Chairman of the Committee of the Legal Advisor on Public International Law of the

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; , CdE) is an international organisation with the goal of upholding human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it is Europe's oldest intergovernmental organisation, represe ...

(CAHDI) and as Chairman of several other international committees and meetings, including the Chairman of the Workshop on Article 51 of the

United Nations Charter The Charter of the United Nations is the foundational treaty of the United Nations (UN). It establishes the purposes, governing structure, and overall framework of the United Nations System, UN system, including its United Nations System#Six ...

in Light of Future Threats to International Peace and Security in Geneva in March, 2004. Previously, he served, inter alia, as the Chairman of the Drafting Committee of the International Conference on "The Missing" in Geneva in 2003 and the Consultation and Preparatory Meeting on a Third Protocol to the

Geneva Conventions upright=1.15, The original document in single pages, 1864 The Geneva Conventions are international humanitarian laws consisting of four treaties and three additional protocols that establish international legal standards for humanitarian t ...

in 2000. Prior to his appointment at the Graduate Institute, Michel was

Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations An under-secretary-general of the United Nations (USG) is a senior official within the United Nations System, normally appointed by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the secretary-general for a renewable term of four years. Under ...

for Legal Affairs and United Nations Legal Counsel, overseeing the

United Nations Office of Legal Affairs The United Nations Office of Legal Affairs (OLA) is a United Nations office currently administered by Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and Legal Counsel of the United Nations Elinor Hammarskjöld. History Established in 1946, the Uni ...

. In that role he was closely involved in setting up the

Special Tribunal for Lebanon The Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL), also referred to as the Lebanon Tribunal or the Hariri Tribunal, was a tribunal of international character that was active between 2009 and 2023. It applied Lebanese criminal law under the authority of ...

. Ahead of the

Vienna peace talks for Syria The Vienna peace talks for Syria, as of 14 November 2015 known as the talks of the International Syria Support Group (ISSG), were negotiations of foreign powers that began in Vienna, Austria in October 2015 at the level of foreign ministers, to r ...

in 2015, Michel was appointed by

United Nations Secretary-General The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or UNSECGEN) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the United Nations System#Six principal organs, six principal organs of ...

Ban Ki-moon Ban Ki-moon (born 13 June 1944) is a South Korean politician and diplomat who served as the eighth secretary-general of the United Nations between 2007 and 2016. Prior to his appointment as secretary-general, Ban was the South Korean minister ...

to head the working group on political and legal issues, in this capacity supporting United Nations Special Envoy for Syria

Staffan de Mistura Staffan de Mistura (born 25 January 1947) is an Italian- Swedish diplomat, United Nations official and former member of the Italian government. After a 40-year career in various United Nations agencies, he was appointed Undersecretary of State f ...

.Tom Miles (September 22, 2015)
U.N. picks four Europeans to lead groups in Syria talks
''

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...

''. Michell is a member of the

Crimes Against Humanity Initiative The Crimes Against Humanity Initiative is a rule of law research and advocacy project of the Whitney R. Harris World Law Institute. Started in 2008 by Professor Leila Nadya Sadat, the Initiative has as its goals the study of the need for a comp ...

Advisory Council, a project of the

Whitney R. Harris World Law Institute The Whitney R. Harris World Law Institute at Washington University School of Law was established in 2000 as the Institute for Global Legal Studies. It serves as a center for instruction and research in international and comparative law. Backg ...

Washington University School of Law The Washington University School of Law (WashU Law) is the law school of Washington University in St. Louis, a private research university in St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1867, it is the oldest continuously operating law school west of the ...

in St. Louis to establish the world's first treaty on the prevention and punishment of crimes against humanity.

Lectures

''Justice pénale internationale: progrès et défis''
in th

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Michel, Nicolas Academic staff of the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies 1949 births Living people Academic staff of the University of Fribourg 20th-century Swiss lawyers Swiss officials of the United Nations Georgetown University alumni 21st-century Swiss lawyers