Martin Scheinin

Professor, Dean | European University Institute

Martin Scheinin is Professor of International Law and Human Rights and Dean at the European University Institute. He joined the EUI in 2008 after 15 years as professor in Finland. In 1993-1998 he was Professor of Constitutional Law at the University of Helsinki where he also got his doctorate in 1991. In 1998-2008 he was Professor of Constitutional and International Law and Director of the Institute for Human Rights at Åbo Akademi University in Turku, Finland. During his time at Åbo Akademi he was involved in many new initiatives in the human rights field in Finland and in the Nordic and Baltic subregion. In 1997-2004 he was a member of the United Nations Human Rights Committee, the treaty body acting under the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. In 2005 he was appointed as the first United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights and counter-terrorism, a position of trust he held until July 2011. As Special Rapporteur, he reported regularly to the Human Rights Council and General Assembly, briefed Security Council committees involved in counter-terrorism, was a member of the UN-level Counter-terrorism implementation task force and liaised with European and other regional counter-terrorism structures. After his term at the UN, he has remained active within academia in issues related to terrorism, surveillance and privacy, including by leading in 2012-2015 an interdisciplinary research project SURVEILLE (Surveillance: Ethical Issues, Legal Limitations, and Efficiency), financed by the European Union through the 7th Framework Programe. He has served as Chairperson of the Committee on human rights law and practice within the International Law Association (ILA) and as President of the International Association of Constitutional Law (IACL)