The Secretary-General has appointed four new ad litem judges to serve at the ICTR. Judges Taghrid Hikmet (Jordan), Karin Hökborg (Sweden), Gberdao Gustave Kam (Burkina Faso), and Seon Ki Park (Republic of Korea) will join the Tribunal within the coming week.
Judge Hikmet was appointed to the High Criminal Court in Jordan in 2003. She became the first female judge in Jordan in 1996 and has served as an Appellate Judge and Assistant Prosecutor General. Before that, she was an attorney-at-law before the Jordanian criminal and civil courts. Judge Hikmet was a member of the Jordanian International Assembly to the International Criminal Court and a member of the Preparatory Committee for the Beijing Conference. She has chaired various committees on human rights issues.
Judge Hökborg has been Vice President of Chamber in the Court of Appeal in Sweden from 1997. She was previously an Associate Judge in the Court of Appeal and subsequently an Appeal Court Judge. She has held prominent positions in the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Judge Hökborg has also been delegate to numerous intergovernmental organizations, including UNESCO, GATT, the Hague Conference for International Private Law and the Council of Europe.
Judge Kam is presently the National Coordinator of the Democracy, Rule of Law and Good Governance Support Program in Burkina Faso. He has also held other positions in the Ministry of Justice. Prior to this, he was the President of two regional courts and a Public Prosecutor in the Appeals Court. Before that, he practised as a lawyer before the courts. Judge Kam also participated in drafting the Statute, Rules and Regulations of the International Criminal Court.
Judge Park held various legal positions within the Ministry of National Defence in Korea, prior to opening his own law firm in Seoul. He served as General Counsel and Chief of the Legal Affairs Division in the Ministry. Prior to this, he was Staff Judge Advocate and Judge Advocate General in the Korean Army. Judge Park is licensed to practise law in Korea and in the State of Pennsylvania (USA).
On 14 August 2002, the Security Council adopted Resolution 1431 which enabled the appointment of four ad litem judges to serve at the ICTR. On 27 October 2003, following a request by the Tribunal, the Security Council adopted Resolution 1512, increasing the number of ad litem judges that may be used at any given time, from four to nine. With the appointment of the four judges, the Tribunal will be staffed with the maximum of nine ad litem judges envisaged in the Resolution. The arrival of the four new judges will facilitate the commencement of two new trials in September 2004.