Former International Criminal Court President Chile Eboe-Osuji to be CCJ judge

Former president of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Dr Chile Eboe-Osuji, has been selected to join the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) as a judge.

The Nigerian-Canadian will fill the vacancy created by Justice Andrew Burgess's retirement on April 11.

He was selected by the Regional Judicial and Legal Services Commission (RJLSC), the independent body responsible for recruiting staff and judges for the Trinidad-based CCJ, a statement from the court said Monday.

Chairman of the Commission and CCJ President Justice Adrian Saunders commended the independent and meritocratic process used to recruit judges.

"The RJLSC prides itself on a recruitment process that is both meritocratic and fiercely independent. Each appointment reflects our unwavering commitment to selecting individuals of the highest calibre based solely on their expertise, integrity, and dedication to justice," he said.

The commission received 26 applications from the United States of America, Canada, Nigeria, Barbados, Jamaica, Guyana, Sri Lanka, Saint Lucia, Fiji, Cameroon, Kenya, Pakistan, Australia, and Trinidad and Tobago.

Justice Saunders said five candidates, three males and two females, were shortlisted and subsequently interviewed.

Dr Eboe-Osuji served as a judge of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands, from March 2012 to March 2018, and then as president from March 2018 to March 2021.

Prior to joining the ICC, Dr Eboe-Osuji was the legal advisor to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. In that capacity, he led the writing of submissions to the European Court of Human Rights and the United States Supreme Court.

He also served as principal appeals counsel for the Prosecution in the Charles Taylor Case at the Special Court for Sierra Leone.

Dr Chile Eboe-Osuji

- Held several posts at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, including Head of Chambers and Lead Prosecution Trial Counsel.

-Practised law as a barrister before trial courts in Nigeria and Canada and conducted appeals before the Court of Appeal for Ontario (Canada) and the Supreme Court of Canada.

- Taught international criminal law as an adjunct professor at the Faculty of Law of the University of Ottawa, Canada

-Has an extensive record of legal scholarship and publications, including the books titled International Law and Sexual Violence in Armed Conflicts, and Protecting Humanity (ed).

- Editor-in-chief of the Nigerian Yearbook of International Law.

- Served as the legal expert to Nigeria's delegation to the ICC-ASP Special Working Group on the Definition of the Crime of Aggression.

- Called to the Bar in Nigeria (1986), Ontario, Canada (1992), and British Columbia, Canada (1992).

- Received his PhD from the University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands; LLM degree from McGill University, Canada; LLB degree from the University of Calabar, Nigeria.

The CCJ is effectively two courts in one entity - it has an original jurisdiction which gives it exclusivity in interpreting and applying the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas, which governs CARICOM. In appellate jurisdiction, the CCJ serves as the final court of appeal in civil and criminal matters for five of the CARICOM's 15 members.

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