• Professor, School of Law

Leila Sadat

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• B.A. at Douglass College
• J.D. at Tulane University
• LL.M. at Columbia University
• D.E.A. at University of Paris at Sorbonne

News Stories & Tip Sheets:

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Supreme Court Guantanamo decision International law expert comments on status of Guantanamo Bay detainees June 18, 2008 -- Sadat The Supreme Court's recent ruling giving the Guantanamo Bay detainees the right of habeas corpus "underscores the commitment of the United States to be governed by the rule of law even during times of national stress, and is a courageous response to the overreaching policies of the executive branch, buttressed by a compliant Republican Congress, that have caused world-wide criticism of U.S. interrogation and detention policies," says Leila N. Sadat, expert on international law and professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis. Sadat, the director of the Whitney R. Harris World Law Institute, is the author of the leading treatise on the international criminal court, "The International Criminal Court and the Transformation of International Law: Justice for the New Millennium," and is closely following the status of the detainees at Guantanamo.

Blue-ribbon steering committee drafting international treaty Harris World Law Institute kicks off landmark Crimes Against Humanity Project April 25, 2008 -- The Whitney R. Harris World Law Institute of Washington University School of Law announced a two-year project to study the international law regarding crimes against humanity and to draft a multilateral treaty condemning and prohibiting such crimes. Leila Sadat, J.D., the Henry H. Oberschelp Professor of Law and director of the Harris Institute, recently convened the first meeting of the project's steering committee.

Judgment at Nuremberg 60 Years Later WUSTL conference examines legacy of Nazi war trials Sept. 29-Oct. 1 Sept. 22, 2006 -- The Nuremberg trials of major Nazi war criminals spawned the idea of international human rights, but have the principles endured? Leading scholars from Washington University in St. Louis will join former Nuremberg prosecutors and distinguished experts on international criminal justice to examine the legacy of the war trials and their impact on international law, the judicial system and world peace. The conference, "Judgment at Nuremberg," marks the 60th anniversary of the Nuremberg trials and will take place Sept. 29-Oct. 1 on the Washington University campus.

Judgment at Nuremberg 60 Years Later Nazi war criminal trials spawned international human rights, but have the principles endured? Sept. 7, 2006 -- The Nuremberg trials still hold relevance today. The Nuremberg trials and the atrocities they revealed shocked the world 60 years ago and continue to resonate with increasing relevance. Yet, the Nuremberg principles have been implemented neither perfectly nor completely, according to a law professor at Washington University in St. Louis. Scholars from Washington University join other distinguished experts on international criminal justice, and the trials' three surviving U.S. prosecutors, to examine the legacy of Nuremberg and its impact on international law, the judicial system, and world peace. More...

Saddam on trial Is the Saddam Hussein trial one of the most important court cases of all time? Not necessarily, says international law expert Oct. 21, 2005 -- Sadat "In arguing that the Saddam Hussein trial is a 'Trial of the Century,' some experts appear to be suggesting that media interest is tantamount to success, importance and legitimacy. This is a mistake," says Leila N. Sadat, expert on international law and international war crimes tribunals and professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis. "Criminal trials, whether of important and notorious individuals, or of small-time offenders accused of petty crimes, are nothing more than show trials, unless three criteria are met: The judges must be independent, well-qualified and impartial; the accused must be properly and effectively represented; and the proceedings must be fair. Using these criteria, it is difficult not to be skeptical about the fairness, and therefore the ultimate significance, of the trial of Saddam Hussein."

Saddam on trial International law expert available to discuss the credibility of the Iraqi Special Tribunal and the case against the former Iraqi dictator Sept. 6, 2005 -- Hussein For the past 18 months, the Iraqi Special Tribunal (IST) for Crimes Against Humanity has emitted conflicting signals regarding the means and process by which it will ultimately bring Saddam Hussein to trial. "While it is not possible to predict the ultimate outcome of the current proceedings against Hussein, there is no doubt that skepticism remains as to the Iraqi Special Tribunal's credibility and legitimacy," says Leila N. Sadat, expert on international law and international war crimes tribunals and the Henry H. Oberschelp Professor of Law at Washington University in St. Louis. "The IST's decision to take up the Dujail case first, and the establishment of the IST itself, raise very interesting questions of international criminal law and procedure."

Growing Abu Ghraib scandal Iraqi abuse known to world long before U.S. public, says international law expert May 12, 2004 -- Sadat "The story of abuse at Abu Ghraib prison is shocking, and certainly requires a full investigation, and perhaps the criminal prosecution of some of those either directly or indirectly responsible," says Leila N. Sadat, vice-president and co-director of studies of the American branch of the International Law Association. "However, one thing the story is not, is new. While leading an International Bar Association training program for Iraqi lawyers, judges and prosecutors in Dubai in February, I saw a story on CNN International which reported that 17 soldiers had been relieved of command due to allegations of torture and abuse. Sadat comments on her discussions with Iraqi lawyers as well as the treatment of civilians in the prison.

International Criminal Court: Future Challenges Prince Zeid Ra'ad Zeid Al-Hussein of Jordan to deliver lecture March 18 March 2, 2004 -- Prince Zeid Ra'ad Zeid Al-Hussein of Jordan will deliver a lecture on "The International Criminal Court: Future Challenges," on March 18 at noon in Anheuser-Busch Hall, Room 309. Al-Hussein is the permanent representative of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan to the United Nations and president of the Assembly of States Parties for the International Criminal Court.

Saddam on trial "Iraqi Special Tribunal" a mistake, says international law expert Dec. 16, 2003 -- Sadat Should Saddam Hussein be tried through an "Iraqi Special Tribunal" or a U.N. Tribunal? This topic will be heavily debated in the aftermath of Saddam's capture. Leila Sadat, international law expert and professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis, says the U.S. government's push for a local Iraqi tribunal rather than a U.N Tribunal is a mistake. "The international community needs to support Iraq through this process, not abandon its responsibilities for Iraq's successful reconstruction, one of which is the need for justice and accountability," says Sadat. She outlined her views on the subject in a Dec. 16 commentary in USA Today. Sadat is available to discuss her views on the trial of Saddam and other international law issues surrounding trials of heads of state.

President Bush and the future of Iraq Professor Leila Sadat analyzes Bush?s address to the UN General Assembly on KWMU's St. Louis on the Air Sept. 24, 2003 -- Sadat Leila Sadat, professor of law at Washington University and one of the country's leading experts in international and comparative law, discusses Bush's address before the UN's General Assembly and his proposals for the future of Iraq with Mike Sampson of KWMU's St. Louis on the Air on Sept. 23. Listen to the program from the KWMU Web site.

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In addition to her teaching at Washington University, Sadat has taught abroad in France, Ireland, Italy and Greece. Sadat is a member of the Executive Committee of the American Branch of the International Law Association; a member of the Executive Committee of the American Society of Comparative Law; the secretary of the AALS section on comparative law; the vice-president of the American Branch of the International Association of Penal Law; and a Board member of the Revue Québécoise de Droit International, the International Law Students Association, the American Journal of Comparative Law, and the Société de Législation Comparée. She has been admitted to the French Bar as an avocat, is a member of the Board of Directors of the Alliance Française of St. Louis, and is bilingual in French, and proficient in several other languages.

Recent Publications

Journal Articles and Essays

* Terrorism and the Rule of Law (forthcoming)

* Universal Jurisdiction, National Amnesties, and Truth Commissions: Reconciling the Irreconcilable ( The Princeton Project on Universal Jurisdiction, University of Pennsylvania Press, 2003)

* ASIL Insight: The Trial of Slobadan Milosevic, American Society of International Law Newsletter (forthcoming, October, 2002)

*International Criminal Law and Alternative Modes of Redress, Proceedings, Kiel Symposium on INternational Law, Kiel, Germany, May 30-June 2, (2002)

* Religious Freedom and American Foreign Policy: The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (Symposium Keynote Address, New England Law Journal (2002)

* ASIL Insight: The International Criminal Court Treaty Enters into Force, American Society of International Law Newsletter, March-April 2002, at 8.

* L'influence reciproque des juridictions nationales et internationales sur la poursuite et la punition de génocide (work in progress)

* Redefining Universal Jurisdiction, 35 New England Law Journal 241 (2001)

* Custom, Codification and Some Thoughts About the Relationship Between the Two: Article 10 of the ICC Statute, 35 DePaul L. Rev. 909 (2000)

* The Legal Legacy of Maurice Papon, in THE PAPON AFFAIR: MEMORY AND JUSTICE ON TRIAL (Richard J. Golsan, ed., Rutledge, 2000)

* The International Criminal Court and the Transformation of International Law: Justice for the New Millenium, 88 Georgetown L. J. 381 (2000) (with S. Richard Carden) The Establishment of the International Criminal Court: From The Hague to Rome and Back Again, 8 Det. J. Int'l L. 97 (2000)

* The New International Criminal Court: An Uneasy Revolution, 88 Georgetown Law Journal 381 (2000) (with S. Richard Carden)

* The Proposed Permanent International Criminal Court: An Appraisal, 29 Cornell Int'l L. Journal 665 (1996)

* Official English, Nationalism and Linguistic Terror: A French Lesson, 71 Washington L. Rev. (Seattle) 285 (1996)

* The Proposed Permanent International Criminal Court: An Appraisal, 29 Cornell International Law Journal 665 (1996)

* Reflections on The Trial of Vichy Collaborator Paul Touvier for Crimes against Humanity in France, 20 J.L. & Soc. Inquiry 191 (1995)

* The Interpretation of the Nuremberg Principles by the French Court of Cassation: From Touvier to Barbie and Back Again, 32 Columbia J. Transnat'l L. 289 (1994)

Books and Book Chapters

* The New International Criminal Court: An Uneasy Revolution (Transnational, 2000)

* International Criminal Law: Cases and Materials (Carolina, 2000)(with Bassiouni, Paust, et al.)

* The Legal Legacy of Maurice Papon, in The Papon Affair: Memory and Justice on Trial (Richard J. Golsan, ed., Rutledge, 2000)

* The Establishment of the International Criminal Court: From the Hague to Rome and Back Again, in National Security and International Law: The United States and the International Criminal Court (American Academy of Arts and Sciences) (Sarah Sewall & Carl Kaysen, eds., Rowman & Littlefield, 2000)

* The French Experience, in III International Criminal Law (M. Cherif Bassiouni, ed., Transnational, 2d ed. 1999)

* A First Look at the 1998 Rome Statute for a Permanent International Criminal Court: Jurisdiction, Definition of Crimes, Structure and Referrals to the Court, III International Criminal Law (M. Cherif Bassiouni, ed., Transnational, 2d ed. 1998)

* Model Draft Statute for the International Criminal Court Based on the Preparatory Committee's Text to the Diplomatic Conference, Rome, June 15-July 17, 1998, 13ter Nouvelles Études Pénales (Leila Sadat Wexler, special ed. 1998)

* Observations on the Consolidated ICC Text Before the Final Session of the Preparatory Committee, 13bis Nouvelles Études Pénales (Leila Sadat Wexler, special ed. 1998)

* The Role of the European Court of Justice on the Way to European Union, in Europe after Maastricht: American and European Perspectives (Paul Michael Lützeler, ed., Berghahn, 1994)

Book Reviews and Symposia

* Leila Nadya Sadat, 94 Am. J. Int'l. L. 430 (1999) (reviewing, Virginia Morris and Michael P. Scharf, The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (1998))

* Panel Discussion, Association of American Law School Panel on the International Criminal Court, 36 Am. Crim. L. Rev. 223 (1999)

* International Criminal Law Comes of Age, 8 Crim. L. Forum 461 (1998) (reviewing, Jordan J. Paust, et al. (1998))

* The Euro: A New Single Currency for Europe? Chair and Organizer, Washington University School of Law and the European Studies Program Conference, October 30, 1997

* Prosecutions for Crimes Against Humanity in French Municipal Law: International Implications, American Society of International Law Proceedings of the 91st Annual Meeting 270 (1997)

* International Law Association (American Branch) First Committee Report on Jurisdiction, Definition of Crimes and Complementarity, 13 Nouvelles Études Pénales 159 (Spring 1997) (also published in 25 Denver J. Int'l L Pol.221)