Mr. Antonio Balsamo
Mr. Antonio Balsamo, an Italian citizen, graduated with a Degree in Law from the Faculty of Jurisprudence, University of Palermo, Italy, in December, 1986. He received his specialisation Diploma in Regional and Local Government Law from the University of Palermo in 1991.
He worked as a judge at the Court of Palermo from 1995 to 2007 and dealt with many important proceedings, including the Giulio Andreotti trial, concerning the intricate relationship that existed between organized crime and public institutions. Mr. Balsamo presided over the Court that ordered the confiscation of assets valued at hundreds of millions of Euros from the Sicilian Mafia in 2002. Mr. Balsamo is employed by the Italian Supreme Court of Cassation since 2007 and is responsible for the professional training of judges and prosecutors of the Italian Supreme Court. He is a member of the Directive Board of the Italian Association of Judges, and a director of the review “La Magistratura”. He is also a Professor of Criminal law in the postgraduate School of Specialisation for the legal profession.
Mr. Balsamo is a judicial expert in European law, human rights and international legal cooperation in criminal matters. He was also a member of the Scientific Committee of the Italian High Council of the Judiciary of the Commission for the Reform of the Italian Criminal Code and of the Regional Scientific Committee of the International Institute of Higher Studies in Criminal Science. He also participated, as an expert consultant, in European Union projects concerning the reform of the criminal code of Bulgaria as well as the establishment of a Public Prosecutors Office to deal with organised crime and corruption in the FYROM and human trafficking in Turkey.
He edited the book “Giurisprudenza europea e processo penale italiano” on the case law of the European Court of Human Rights and its impact on the Italian criminal law procedure. He also published a book on hearsay evidence as well as several articles for specialized scientific journals and book chapters on various topics related to the protection of human rights at both national and international level.
Mr. Balsamo was appointed as a member of the EULEX Human Rights Review Panel by the EULEX Acting Head of Mission on 4 May, 2010 and he was designated Chairperson by his fellow Panel members on 5 May, 2010.
