You are here

The Prosecutor

Justice Hassan Bubacar Jallow, a Gambian lawyer and jurist, was appointed Prosecutor of the  International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda by the UN Security Council on 15 September 2003.

Mr. Jallow was also appointed Prosecutor of the Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals on 1 March 2012 for a term of four years.

Born in 1951, Prosecutor Jallow began his legal career in 1976 as a State Attorney in The Gambia until his appointment as the Solicitor-General of The Gambia in 1982. He also served as a legal expert for the Organization of African Unity, and participated in drafting and concluding the African Charter on Human and People's Rights, which was adopted in 1981. From 1984 to 1994, he served as The Gambia's Attorney-General and Minister of Justice. He subsequently worked as a Judge of the Supreme Court of The Gambia from 1998 - 2002.

In 1998 Prosecutor Jallow was appointed by the United Nations Secretary-General to carry out a judicial evaluation of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the International Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia. He has also served the Commonwealth in various respects including chairing the Governmental Working Group of Experts in Human Rights and as member of the Commonwealth Arbitral Tribunal. Prior to becoming the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, he was a Judge of the Appeals Chamber of the Special Court for Sierra Leone on the appointment of the UN Secretary-General in 2002.

Prosecutor Jallow studied law at the University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (1973), the Nigerian Law School (1976) and the University College, London (1978).  He is bilingual in English and French and author of a series of publications, notably on issues relating international criminal law, public international law, human rights law as well as on international peace and justice.

Prosecutor Jallow is the recipient of the honor of Commander of the National Order of the Republic of The Gambia.