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Miatta Maria Samba

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Miatta Maria Samba
Judge of the International Criminal Court
Assumed office
11 March 2021
Nominated bySierra Leone
Appointed byAssembly of States Parties
Justice of the Supreme Court of Sierra Leone
In office
2021
Personal details
Born (1971-10-03) 3 October 1971 (age 53)
EducationUniversity of Dundee
Alma materFourah Bay College

Miatta Maria Samba (born 3 October 1971) is a Sierra Leonian jurist and current Judge at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Netherlands. Before she was a judge for the Residual Special Court and Supreme Court of Sierra Leone.

Education

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She earned a Bachelor of Laws from the Fourah Bay College of the University of Sierra Leone[1] and obtained a Master of Law (MSc) in Human Rights and Democratization of Africa from the Centre for Human Rights at the University of Pretoria, South Africa in 2001.[2] In addition she also received an LL.M from the Centre for Energy, Petroleum and Mineral Law and Policy at the University of Dundee in Scotland.[1] Since 1999 she is a member of the Bar of Sierra Leone.[1]

Professional career

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Her professional career Samba began in 2002, working as a lawyer for the prosecution at the Special Court for Sierra Leone[3] concerning crimes during the civil war in Sierra Leone. In 2003 she became a lecturer for law at the Fourah Bay College.[4][1] In 2006 she left for Uganda, where she joined the countries Field Office of the International Criminal Court.[5] Having returned to Sierra Leone in 2009,[3] she served as a Senior Prosecutor for the Anti Corruption Commission of Sierra Leone in two occasions, once from 2010 to 2012 and also between 2014 and 2015.[1] In 2015 she assumed as a Judge for the High Court of Sierra Leone,[3] a post she held until March 2019.[1] In 2019, she was elected as a Judge at the Court of Appeal in Sierra Leone.[3] In January 2020, she was appointed as a Judge to the Residual Special Court for Sierra Leone (RSCSL)[4] which replaced the Special Courts for Sierra Leone.[6] The court was integrated by sixteen judges, which in part were nominated by the United Nations and six by the Government of Sierra Leone.[7] In May 2020, Samba was nominated to the International Criminal Court (ICC) by the Government of Sierra Leone.[3] She was elected in December 2020[4] and assumed in March 2021 for nine years.[8] She presides over the chambers concerning Paul Gicheru[8] from Kenya and Mahamat Said Abdel Kani from the Central African Republic.[9] In February she was also appointed a judge to the Supreme Court of Sierra Leone by President Julius Maada Bio.[10] From the post at the Supreme Court in Sierra Leone she was granted leave in August 2021.[11]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f "ATLAS: Justice Miatta Samba". ATLAS. Retrieved 2021-12-27.
  2. ^ Khumalo, Simphiwe. "Centre wishes to congratulate Justice Miatta Maria Samba who has just been elected as a Judge of the ICC". Centre for Human Rights. Retrieved 2021-12-28.
  3. ^ a b c d e Tommy, Ibrahim (2020-11-03). "Assessing the Competence and Process of Nominating Sierra Leone's Justice Miatta Samba for Election as ICC Judge". International Justice Monitor. Retrieved 2021-12-27.
  4. ^ a b c Dawuni, J. Jarpa (2020-12-29). "Another Judicial Win for Women of Africa: Judge Miatta Maria Samba Elected to the ICC Bench". African Women in Law. Retrieved 2021-12-27.
  5. ^ "Miatta Maria Samba". Giraffe (magazine). Retrieved 2021-12-27.
  6. ^ "Miatta Maria Samba (Sierra Leone), Statement of Qualifications" (PDF). International Criminal Court. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
  7. ^ "The Special Court for Sierra Leone, the Residual Special Court for Sierra Leone - Roster of Judges". Residual Special Court for Sierra Leone. Retrieved 2021-12-28.
  8. ^ a b "Miatta Maria Samba". International Criminal Court. Retrieved 2021-12-27.
  9. ^ "Decision on Defence request to suspend the trial preparations" (PDF). International Criminal Court. 14 January 2022.
  10. ^ "Justice Miatta Maria Samba – Embassy of the Republic of Sierra Leone". Retrieved 2021-12-27.
  11. ^ "Justice Miatta Samba Takes Leave of President Julius Maada Bio, Assures of Quality Representation at the International Criminal Court in The Hague". Sierra Leone State House – The Republic of Sierra Leone State House. 2021-08-25. Retrieved 2021-12-27.