AfCHPR

Justice Gérard Niyungeko
[President of the Court] - Burundi -

Justice Gérard Niyungeko, a national from Burundi, was elected Judge of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights in 2006 for a term of six years. He was the first President of the Court (2006-2008) and is currently the President of the Court having been re-elected in September 2010 for a term of two years.

He is a Professor of International Law, Constitutional Law and Human Rights Law in the University of Burundi.

He is a holder of a Bachelors Degree in Law from the University of Burundi (1979), a Masters Degree in International Law from the University of Brussels (1983), the Diploma of The Hague Academy of International Law (1984) and a PHD in Law from the University of Brussels (1988).

He was a visiting Professor at the Summer Courses of International Humanitarian Law in Dijon (France, September 1992) and Nottwill  (Switzerland, September 1994); at the University of Brussels (2002-2003); at the Hague Academy of International Law (July-August 2007); at the Ottawa University (January 2009) and at the International Institute of Human Rights (Strasbourg, France, July 2010). He has been Chair-Holder of UNESCO Chair in Education for Peace and Conflict Resolution at the University of Burundi (1999-2003).

He was the Vice-Rector of the University of Burundi (1997-2000);  President of the Constitutional Commission of Burundi (1991-1992); President of the Constitutional Court of Burundi (1992-1996); Member of the Tribunal of the Preferential Trade Area of the Eastern and Southern African Countries (PTA) (1991-1996); Counsel before the International Arbitral Tribunal (Brussels, 1991-1992) and before the International Court of Justice  (1999-2001 and 2002-2005); Consultant in the United Nations System (2001 and 2002) and within the African Union Commission (2005-2006). He is currently a member of the Panel of Arbitrators of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).

He is the author of several works, including the following: Les droits de l’homme, cours destiné aux formateurs, Bujumbura, 1994, 92 p.; La preuve devant les juridictions internationales, Bruxelles, Bruylant, 2005, 480 p.

Justice Sophia A. B. Akuffo
[ Vice-President of the Court ] - Ghana -

Justice Sophia A. B. Akuffo is from Ghana and was first elected as a Judge in 2006 for a two-year term and re-elected in 2008 for a six-year term. She was elected as Vice-President of the African Court in September 2008 for a two-year term and re-elected in September 2010 for a final two-year term. She is a Judge of the Supreme Court of Ghana and a member of several organisations, including the Advisory Committee of the Commonwealth Judicial Education Institute.

Her publications include: The Application of Information & Communication Technology in the Judicial Process - The Ghanaian Experience, presented to the African Judicial Network, Ghana (2002).

Justice Jean Mutsinzi
- Rwanda -

Justice Jean Mutsinzi is from Rwanda. He was elected in 2006 for a six-year term of office and is eligible for re-election for a further term of six years. He was elected President of the Court for a term of two years from September 2008 to September 2010 and is eligible for re-election as President for a second and final term of two years.

Jean Mutsinzi is a Judge at the Supreme Court of Rwanda and a former President of the Supreme Court and the Superior Council of the Judiciary of Rwanda. He was a Secretary of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights and holds a Ph.D. in Law from the University of Brussels, Belgium. Justice Mutsinzi is also a former Professor of Law at the National University of Zaire and the Kigali Independent University.

Justice Bernard Makgabo Ngoepe
- South Africa -

Judge Bernard Makgabo Ngoepe was one of the first Judges of the Court, appointed in July 2006; he is a South African national. He was re-appointed in 2008.

Judge Ngoepe holds graduate (B.Iuris) and post-graduate (LLB) law degrees from two different universities in South Africa.  He practised law for more than 20 years in various fields, including that of human rights before his appointment as a Judge of the High Court in South Africa in 1995, and Judge President in 1999.  Judge Ngoepe has also acted as Justice of both the Supreme Court of Appeal and the Constitutional Court of South Africa.

 Judge Ngoepe has presented papers at various international conferences on human rights.  He has also served as a member of the executive committee of the International Association of Refugee Law Judges; participated in nuclear disarmament workshop, and is a regular participant in international workshops on human rights issues, York University, Toronto.

 Judge Ngoepe has received several awards in recognition of his contribution in the field of human rights, including three honorary Doctor of Laws (LLD) degrees from different universities, as also an appointment as honorary Professor of Law.  A post-graduate scholarship has been launched in his name; the society of advocates has also launched and named an award in his name. He has rendered service and advice on human rights to some universities.  He is the Chancellor of the University of South Africa since 2000.

Justice Modibo Tounty Guindo
- Mali -

Justice Modibo Tounty Guindo is from Mali. He was elected in 2006 for a term of six years. He served as the Court’s first Vice-President from September 2006 to September 2008.

He has previously worked as technical consultant at the Ministry of Justice, Mali, and served as a Judge at the Court of First Instance in Timbuktu, Mali.

Judge Modibo is a trained Judge, a graduate of the National School of Administration.  Where he graduated with a Certificate in Magistracy.

He has been Judge for the past 29 years and has assumed various responsibilities both at the level of the Courts (President of the Justice of Peace, President of the Criminal Court, President of the Children’s Court; “Procureur de la République” (Attorney General), Puscine Judge at the Court of Appeal (the Civil Chamber, Rehabilitation Court) where he presided over sessions, President of the Trial Chamber, President of theLabour Court, Deputy Procureur General of the Appeal Court.

In the administration of the Judiciary, he was Advisor in the Ministry of Justice in charge of human rights; to that end, he presented the second Periodic Report of Mali on the implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Liberties before the Human Rights Committee in Geneva, he was a panellist in the United Nations inter-Agency Workshop on the human rights-based approach which started in 2002 in Stanford, the USA, he was an Expert at the Conference of governmental bodies in charge of human rights in Francophone countries, which held in Brazzaville from 25 – 28 April 2003; he proofreadthe draft document establishing the National Human Rights Commission, he was UNFPA Consultant for the realization of the Hurist Programme in collaboration with the OHCHR in Mali, in April 2003 for the implementation of the Project to strengthen human rights and support democratic institutions.

He was a Legal Consultant for the UNPFPA in Mali for civil status registration matters and this lead to the drafting of a new civil status legislation (laws and civil status registration documents).

Justice Fatsah Ouguergouz
- Algeria -

An Algerian national, Judge Fatsah Ouguergouz is graduated in Law from the University of Saint-Etienne (France) and hold a Ph. D. in International Law from the Graduate Institute of International Law (Geneva, Switzerland). Until November 2006, he was Secretary of the International Court of Justice (The Hague) where he worked for 12 years. Before joining the World Court, he was a Legal Officer at the Office of Legal Affairs of the United Nations (New York) and then a Human Rights Officer in Rwanda for the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. Judge Ouguergouz taught Public International Law at the Law School of the University of Geneva for four years. He is a former Orville H. Schell Fellow (Yale Law School), Guest Professor at the University Panthéon-Assas (Paris II, France) and Father Robert F. Drinan Professor of Human Rights at Georgetown University Law Center (Washington D.C.). He is regularly invited as guest lecturer by numerous universities, international organizations, or other institutions like the International Institute of Human Rights (Strasbourg, France) or the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR, Geneva). Judge Ouguergouz is a founding member and the Executive Director of the African Foundation for International Law (The Hague) as well as Associate Editor of the African Yearbook of International Law. He is Member of the International Editorial Advisory Board of the African Human Rights Law Journal (Centre for Human Rights, Université of Pretoria) and of the International Law in Domestic Courts Online (Amsterdam/Oxford). He is the author of numerous publications in the field of international law, including two books: The African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights - A Comprehensive Agenda for Human Dignity and Sustainable Democracy in Africa (Nijhoff Publishers, 2003, 1016 pages) and La Charte Africaine des droits de l'homme et des peuples - Une approche juridique des droits de l'homme entre tradition et modernité (Presses Universitaires de France, 1993, 479 pages).

Justice Joseph Nyamihana Mulenga
- Uganda -

Justice Joseph Nyamihana Mulenga S.C., a Uganda national was elected a Judge of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights in 2008 for a term of six years. He is a Legal Consultant with Messrs Kampala Associated Advocates, a private legal firm based in Kampala Uganda. He holds a Bachelor of Laws Degree (LL.B) of London University and is a Barrister-at-Law of the Royal Society of the Middle Temple of London.

Previously, Mr. Justice Mulenga held two senior judicial offices at national and regional levels. In 1997 he was appointed a Justice of the Supreme Court of Uganda and held the office until retirement in January, 2009. Secondly, in 2001, he was appointed to the East African Court of Justice for a fixed term of seven years, which he served initially as Vice-President and finally as President of the Court.  

Prior to the judicial appointments, he practiced law at the Uganda Bar for a period that span over three decades (1967 -1997), briefly (1967-1970) as a legal officer in the Ministry of Justice, but mainly as a private practitioner in the firm he established and developed: Messrs Mulenga and Karemera Advocates. During that period, he held inter alia the following professional positions: President of the Uganda Law Society (1973-1979), Member of Uganda Law Council (1973-1979); Member of Uganda Judicial Service Commission (1974-1980); Member of Commonwealth Legal Bureau–Africa Representative (1974-1976); Member of Uganda Constituency Assembly (1993-1995).

He has made many presentations at national and international conferences on diverse human rights issues and in particular on the Independence of the Judiciary and the Rule of Law as foundation stones for the protection of Human Rights.

During the period 1986 to 1989 he served as Minister of Justice and Attorney-General and received the award of Senior Counsel.

Justice Augustino S. L. Ramadhani
- Tanzania-

Justice Augustino S.L. Ramadhani hails from the United Republic of Tanzania. He was elected Judge of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights in 2010 for a six year term.

He holds a Bachelor of Laws Degree from the University of East Africa (1970), a Master of Laws from the University of Dar es Salaam (1978) in International Law (the law of armed conflict) and a Bachelor of Divinity from the University of London (2004). 

Immediately after obtaining his first degree Justice Ramadhani joined the Tanzania Peoples’ Defence Forces. After training in the Tanzania Military Academy, he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant and reached the rank of Brigadier General when he was voluntarily released in 1996 when Tanzania resumed multiparty democracy..

Prior to being appointed Judge of the African Court, Justice Ramadhani was a Justice of Appeal of the United Republic of Tanzania from 1989 to 2010 when he retired after attaining the compulsory retirement age of 65 years. In his last three years on the bench he was the Chief Justice of Tanzania from 2007 to 2010. Justice Ramadhani was also the Chief Justice of Zanzibar from 1980 to 1989. He had served as a Judge of the East African Court of Justice from 2001 to 2007.

From 1993 to 2003 Justice Ramadhani was the Vice Chairman of the National Electoral Commission which conducts presidential, parliamentary and local government elections in the United Republic of Tanzania. He held the same position in the Zanzibar Electoral Commission from 2002 to 2007. He was the Chairman of Executive Council of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Electoral Commission Forum in 2006 and 2007.

            He has published articles on Human rights, such as ‘Promoting a New Economic Order in Developing Countries: A Role for Human Rights Organizations’, published in Speaking about Rights (Canada Human Rights Foundation Newsletter), Vol. XI No. 3/1996, and ‘Electoral Process in a Multiparty Democracy’, a chapter in the book Fundamental Rights and Freedoms in Tanzania, (Mkuki na Nyota Publishers, 1978).  

Justice Duncan Tambala
- Malawi-

Justice Elsie Nwanwuri Thompson
- Nigeria-

Elsie Nwanwuri Thompson is from Nigeria and was elected to the Court for a term of six years on 27^th July 2010. She is a serving Judge of the High Court of Rivers State Nigeria.  Called to the English bar in 1984 after an LLB Honours degree from the Queen Mary College University of London and Nigerian bar in 1985.

Judge Thompson,  prior to her appointment as a High Court Judge was in active private legal practice for 20 years and worked  on human rights cases. She has served in several associations notably the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) were she held several posts including Regional Vice President for Africa.  Judge Thompson is a resource person at seminars and conferences. She has presented several papers on women and children’s rights as well as other topical legal issues. She is a member of the honourable society of Gray’s Inn and also a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators UK.

Justice Sylvain Ore
- Ivory Coast-

Justice Sylvain Oré is a national of Côte d’Ivoire. He was elected Judge of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights in 2010 for a four-year term.

He has been an Advocate and Member of the Ivorian Bar since 1998.

He is a holder of a Master’s degree in Law and an Advocates Proficiency Certificate (CAPA) obtained from the University of Abidjan-Cocody. He is also a holder of a Postgraduate degree (DESS) in Human Rights awarded by the “Institut de la dignité et des droits humains” of the Centre for Research and Action for Peace (Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire). 

He attended an advanced course in human rights litigation at the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Court of Justice in Abuja, Nigeria. He also pursued higher studies in international and comparative law of human rights at the International Institute of Human Rights (Strasbourg, France).

In 2001, he won the public speaking competition for Advocates organized by the Ivorian Bar and was awarded the prestigious title of “Secrétaire de Conférence”.

Justice Oré is the author of a postgraduate dissertation on “The protection of human rights by the ECOWAS Court of Justice”.