2016 M.C. Bassiouni Justice Award winner
SONG Tianying
SONG Tianying has been granted the 2016 M.C. Bassiouni Justice Award dedicated to “an outstanding, young East Asian lawyer in the field of international criminal law and justice”, in recognition of (a) her role as co-editor in significant book projects such as On the Proposed Crimes Against Humanity Convention, Military Self-Interest in Accountability for Core International Crimes, and Historical Origins of International Criminal Law: Volumes 3 and 4; (b) the way she has become the leading expert in the Chinese language space on legal questions in the process towards a possible crimes against humanity convention, as evidenced by her recent academic articles; (c) her contributions on the issues of compliance and accountability, including the taxonomy of self-interests developed in Military Self-Interest in Accountability for Core International Crimes, as recognized in the recently published 2015 Chinese Yearbook of International Law; (d) her substantial contributions over several years to the dissemination of international humanitarian and criminal law through the organization of international moot court competitions in East Asia; and (e) her qualities of self-discipline, fearless confrontation with new issues, and verbal economy.
SONG Tianying has been working as Legal Officer in the Regional Delegation for East Asia of the International Committee of the Red Cross since 2011. She holds a Master Degree in International Law (2013) and a Bachelor Degree in Law (2010) from China University of Political Science and Law. She passed the National Judicial Exam of China in 2009. She has served as an intern in the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, the Department of Judicial Assistance and Foreign Affairs of the Ministry of Justice of China, and China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission. She represented China in the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition (2009) and in the International Air Law Moot Court Competition (2012). She was oralist of the winning team of the Red Cross International Humanitarian Law Moot in China (2008).
The 2016 Award Committee consisted of Professor Emeritus M.C. Bassiouni, Professor LING Yan (China University of Political Science and Law, Assistant Professor CHEAH Wui Ling (National University of Singapore), Mr. Arne Willy Dahl (former Judge Advocate General, Norway), Mr. Alf Butenschøn Skre (Secretary), and Professor Morten Bergsmo (Chair). Its decision was made by consensus.
