ICTY judges without legal qualification – New York Times

The quote below from the New York Times on 23 December 2017 illustrates the unique and indefensible selection of people with legal experience, let alone experience as a judge, to be ICTY judges:

“Another sensitive issue involved the uneven quality of the judges. Close to half the tribunal’s judges, who were commonly backed by their governments and elected by the General Assembly of the United Nations, had been diplomats or academics without trial experience, causing delays and frustration at times.

Wolfgang Schomburg, a German judge formerly at the tribunal, said that only judges with courtroom experience should be admitted in any future war crimes court. “How can we justify that defense lawyers required seven years’ experience to appear before this tribunal, and judges none at all?” he asked.”