Luis del Castillo was the Dean of the Bar Association of Barcelona, founder and President of the International Criminal Bar, President of the Mediterranean Commission of the Federation of Bar Associations of Europe, and also of the Criminal Law Commission of the Federation. He was also a professor at the University of Barcelona. He was the founder of the Foundation "Jurists without Borders" and founder of an own publishing house called "Editions of Popular Culture", dedicated to the publication of works of Social Sciences. Luis del Castillo was an intellectual who dedicated part of his life, also as a writer and collaborator in newspapers and magazines such as La Vanguardia, Diario de Barcelona, Destino, Cuadernos para el Diálogo and Revista Jurídica de Cataluña among others. He was in possession of the highest decorations and recognitions of the State and Law, in the field of Law and Justice.
But above all, his pride was being a lawyer, profession to which he devoted his entire life. He remained a constant fighter in the defense of fundamental rights, freedoms, and the right of defense in all corners of the world.
He was a pioneer in Spain in the commitment and work for International Criminal Justice. A generation of excellent lawyers has pursued this carrer because of his guidance in Barcelona, committed to International Criminal Justice and the struggle for human rights. We are also his generation, among many other lawyers who were fortunate to be at his side on this path.
His voice, his work, his commitment and his defense of the International Criminal Justice were constant, to cease the most serious crimes of transcendence for the international community, and in any case so they didn’t continue to be unpunished, and so that the victims were protected, and the violations of human rights would cease.
Hence his contribution to the fact that the International Criminal Court (founded in The Hague, created by the Rome Statute in 1998) has been a reality, presiding the International Criminal Bar, founded in Montreal in 2002 and developing his mandate with a complete dignity, and honoring the advocacy with his daily work commanding the ICB.
Luis del Castillo has been a humanist, who has embodied the values of the legal profession: vocation, sacrifice, dedication to the profession, and commitment to the defense of human rights, the dignity of the person, and especially the protection of human rights of the more vulnerable. He has developed all of them with absolute honesty.
He was also a good father and husband.
Thank you very much Luis, you will always remain in our hearts. Your commitment with the most vulnerable human beings, with human rights, with the International Criminal Justice, will be our motivation. And thank you very much for being a part of one of the best pages in the history of the legal profession, which will always be an example for all of us and for future generations.
Rest in peace Luis del Castillo Aragón, who, as Antonio Machado would say, has been in the good sense of the word, good.
Blas Jesús Imbroda Ortiz
President of the International Criminal Bar.
Dean of the Melilla Bar Association.
