February 26, 2020

U.S. Engagement with the International Criminal Court - Where do we go from here?

Todd F. Buchwald
State Department’s Office of Global Criminal Justice

Todd F. Buchwald served as Special Coordinator for the State Department’s Office of Global Criminal Justice from December 2015 through July 2017, and was conferred the rank of Ambassador by President Obama in July 2016. Prior to assuming this position, Mr. Buchwald served as a career lawyer in the Department’s Office of the Legal Adviser, including as the Assistant Legal Adviser for Political-Military Affairs during the Clinton and Bush Administrations, and the Assistant Legal Adviser for United Nations Affairs during the Bush and Obama Administrations. Before becoming Assistant Legal Adviser, Mr. Buchwald served as an attorney in the Office of White House Counsel under President Reagan.

Following his departure from the State Department, Mr. Buchwald was appointed as the inaugural Tom A. Bernstein Genocide Prevention Fellow at the Simon-Skjodt Center for the Prevention of Genocide of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, and served as a fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars from September 2018 to August 2019. In addition, he is currently serving as co-head of the Task Force of the American Society of International Law on U.S. Engagement with the International Criminal Court and as Professorial Lecturer in Law at George Washington University Law School.

Mr. Buchwald has been the recipient of numerous Presidential Rank Awards, Superior Honor Awards, and State Department performance awards, as well as recipient of the Justice Tom C. Clark Award (outstanding attorney in the federal government). He has published a variety of scholarly articles, including on the legality of use of force in Iraq, United States security assistance programs, and the crime of aggression.

Most importantly, he was “Coach of the Year” in McLean Little League (2007) and McLean Youth Basketball (2015). He is a graduate of Cornell University and the Yale Law School.