| Justice Chande speaks on ICC | Send to a friend |
| Friday, 28 October 2011 21:07 |
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Dar es Salaam. The Chief Justice, Mr Othman Chande, says he is pleased that his name was among four leading candidates nominated to succeed Mr Luis Moreno Ocampo, the chief prosecutor at the International Criminal Court (ICC). In an interview following the revelation this week that he could land the top job, Justice Chande said it was a big honour for him to make the cut. However, he said he would still ponder the possibility of taking up the position if he succeeds. “I was naturally surprised and shocked that my name popped up. I had been made aware that the short listing exercise was going on, but did not expect I would be in the final list for the job,” he said in a telephone interview yesterday. According to him, there are also seven other positions for judges of the ICC that are to be filled this year. Justice Chande said he was surprised because all the nominations were in the past made by respective countries. “This time, however, the process to get the prosecutor was done differently and no country was involved in the selection,” he explained. The term of Luis Moreno-Ocampo is due to expire in June 2012 and cannot be renewed. Others who have been shortlisted were from Gambia, Britain and Spain. His successor will assume, among other cases, the high profile prosecution of the five Kenyan leaders and a journalist implicated in the post election violence of 2008. Asked if he would be ready to quit his equally plum job as Tanzania’s top judicial official for the ICC, Justice Chande, who was appointed by President Jakaya Kikwete in December 2010 was non-committal. “It is too early to say anything because the process is still on. There would be several other things to consider before making the final decision,” he said. He mentioned some of them as contractual terms, personal commitment or choice on his side and the government’s position.But Justice Chande would likely face no blockade from the government as President Kikwete has already indicated his willingness to let him leave for the ICC if he was selected. On Wednesday, Mr Kikwete issued a statement, saying it would be a big honour for Tanzania to land the Prosecutor’s job at the Hague-based court. CJ Chande has served as a Judge of High Court and Court of Appeal for seven years and was an independent expert on the Situation of Human Rights in Southern Sudan up to August this year.Justice Chande, who is 59 years old, obtained his first degree in law at the University of Dar es Salaam and a Masters from Webster University in Geneva, Switzerland. He has served as a prosecutor at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in Arusha. The ICC is the first permanent international court capable of trying perpetrators of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites           |
