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Uganda’s Justice Solomy Balungi Bossa elected ICC judge

By Joseph Lubandi

Posted on December 5, 2017

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New York, USA | THE INDEPENDENT | After four rounds of voting in the ongoing judicial election to the International Criminal Court (ICC), Justice Solomy Balungi Bossa has been elected to be a judge at the Hague-based Court.

Japan and Peru’s candidates Tomoko Akane and Bañez Carranza Luz Del Carmen with 88 and 77 votes respectively, were the first to be elected, coming top in round one. Six places are being filled.

Uganda’s Permanent Representative to the UN Adonio Ayebare confirmed the result late Tuesday. “Glad to announce the election of Justice Barungi Bosa of Uganda as Judge of the ICC. Thank you team Uganda,” he tweeted.

After round one, Justice Bossa was third best with 67 votes, and had to go into the next round, which she topped with 71 votes but did not get the minimum required. Bossa and Benin’s candidate Alapini-Gansou Reine hit the mark thereafter, to join the ICC judges list.

ICC member states had nominated 12 candidates for election to six vacant judicial positions at The Hague-based Court. ICC member states Lesotho, Uganda, Croatia, Mongolia, Benin, Japan, Bosnia, Peru, Uruguay, Canada, Ghana and Italy were nominated

The election of judges at the 16th Assembly of States Parties (ASP) session in New York, follows the Court’s regular judicial elections process, which replaces a third of the 18 judges’ bench every three years. The new judges will serve a nine-year term from March 2018.

Results of the first round

Number of ballot papers:	119
Number of invalid ballots:	10
Number of abstentions:	0
Number of valid ballots:	109
Number of States Parties voting:	109
Two-thirds required majority:	73

	Name	Nationality	Votes	Elected?
1.	AITALA, Rosario Salvatore	Italy	55	No
2.	AKANE, Tomoko	Japan	88	Yes
3.	ALAPINI-GANSOU, Reine	Benin	66	No
4.	BOSSA, Solomy Balungi	Uganda	67	No
5.	ĐURĐEVIĆ, Zlata	Croatia	59	No
6.	IBAÑEZ CARRANZA, Luz del Carmen	Peru	77	Yes
7.	KHOSBAYAR, Chagdaa	Mongolia	24	No
8.	MAJARA, Nthomeng Justina	Lesotho	37	No
9.	MENSA-BONSU, Henrietta	Ghana	49	No
10.	PERALTA DISTEFANO, Ariela	Uruguay	61	No
11.	PROST, Kimberly	Canada	66	No
12.	VUKOJE, Dragomir	Bosnia and Herzegovina	3	No

Who is Justice Bossa?

The campaign to elevate Justice Solomy Balungi Bossa started in January and was led by President Yoweri Museveni is in Addis Ababa at the 28th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union (AU).

Justice Bossa’s name was submitted to the AU Commission for an early consideration to allow her adequate time to campaign. Justice Bossa is competing with two other candidates from Lesotho and Benin. (Who is Justice Bossa?)

According to African-court.org, She is a highly accomplished judge with over 27 years of legal and judicial work experience at national, regional and international level. She has considerable exposure and experience in international judicial practice, international human rights, international humanitarian law, international criminal law and constitutional law.

She was elected Judge of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights in June 2014, for a term of six years.

Bossa has served as Judge with the High Court or Uganda for sixteen years (1997-2013). The East African Court of Justice for five years (2001-2006), United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (UNICTR) for nine and half years (2003-2013) and currently serves as Judge on the Court of Appeal/Constitutional Court for Uganda.

VIDEO: Bossa rated highly

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kN0ZZJJhDNI]

SOURCE:

The post Uganda’s Justice Solomy Balungi Bossa elected ICC judge appeared first on The Independent Uganda:.

via: Independent