Former International Criminal Court Judge to join Caribbean Court of Justice

Last Updated on Monday, 24 March 2025, 22:02 by Writer

Nigeria-born Canadian international jurist, Dr Chile Eboe-Osuji has been appointed a judge at the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) to replace Justice Andrew Burgess who retires next month, the regional court said on Monday.

Dr Eboe-Osuji, who served as a judge at the International Criminal Court in the Hague from March 2012 to March 2018, is expected to be sworn in as a CCJ judge next month.

He was appointed by the Regional Judicial and Legal Services Commission (RJLSC), the independent body responsible for recruiting staff and judges for the CCJ.

The CCJ said that in making the announcement, the Chairman of the RJLSC and President of the CCJ, Justice Adrian Saunders, took the opportunity to commend the independent and meritocratic process used to recruit Judges of the Court, stating, “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… This process ensures that our Court continues to be a beacon of fairness and excellence, characterised by the utmost professionalism and impartiality,” he was quoted as saying.

Justice Saunders explained that during the recruitment process, 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 were received. He said of the applications received, five candidates, three males and two females, were shortlisted for further consideration and subsequently interviewed.

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 amicus curiae submissions to the European Court of Human Rights and the United States Supreme Court. He served as principal appeals counsel for the Prosecution in the case against former Liberian President, Charles Taylor at the Special Court for Sierra Leone. He has held several posts at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, including Head of Chambers and Lead Prosecution Trial Counsel.

He 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.

Dr Eboe-Osuji also taught international criminal law as an adjunct professor at the Faculty of Law of the University of Ottawa, Canada, and 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). He is the editor-in-chief of the Nigerian Yearbook of International Law. He served as the legal expert to Nigeria’s delegation to the ICC-ASP Special Working Group on the Definition of the Crime of Aggression.

He was called to the Bar in Nigeria (1986), Ontario, Canada (1992), and British Columbia, Canada (1992). Dr Eboe-Osuji received his PhD from the University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands. He received his LLM degree from McGill University, Canada, and received an LLB degree from the University of Calabar, Nigeria.