Who Are the Judges?

The Judges of the International Criminal Court
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The first 18 judges of the International Criminal Court were elected in February 2003 by the Assembly of States Parties and sworn into office at a gala celebration in The Hague on March 11, 2003. All 18 judges hail from countries rated as "Free" by the non-profit Freedom House. They represent every region of the world, include experts on both criminal law and international law, and consist of seven women and 11 men.

From among their ranks, the judges elected Judge Sang-Hyun Song of South Korea to serve as the President of the ICC.  Judges serve nine-year non-renewable terms (though the terms of the first bench are staggered; in the future, six judges will be elected every three years).  Judges are assigned either to the trial chambers or else the appellate chamber; they are not allowed to cross over.  If a judge fails to uphold his or her duty or demonstrates impartiality, he or she can be removed by a vote of the Assembly of States Parties.

Credentials of the Judges:

• Fatoumata Dembele Diarra (Mali): ad litem judge for the UN tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, National Director of the Administration of Justice (1999-2001), President of the Criminal Chamber of the Bamako Court of Appeal (1996-1999); 

• Adrian Fulford (United Kingdom): Judge in the Crown Court since 1996, senior prosecutor of criminal cases, co-author of leading legal textbooks; 

• Hans-Peter Kaul (Germany): German negotiator of the ICC's Rome Statute, Director of the Office for Public International Law, diplomat; 

• Erkki Kourula (Finland): Director General for Legal Affairs within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Finnish agent before the European Court of Human Rights and the European Court of Justice, professor and researcher of law; 

• Akua Kuenyehia (Ghana): Acting Director and Dean of the Ghana School of Law, professor of law, expert on women's rights; 

• Elizabeth Odio Benito (Costa Rica): Judge for the UN tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (1993-1998), Attorney-General, Minister of Justice, law professor for over 25 years; 

• Sylvia H. de Figueiredo Steiner (Brazil): Appeals Court Judge since 1995, federal prosecutor since 1982, Brazilian delegate to ICC negotiations; and 

• Anita Usacka (Latvia): Constitutional Court Judge since 1996, law professor.