Lankan elected to UN Internal Justice Council

A Sri Lankan will be playing a pivotal role in improving the system of internal justice in the United Nations.

The Internal Justice Council was created after the General Assembly decided to reshape the UN justice system, given that a 2006 "redesign" panel concluded that the administration of justice in the UN "fails to meet many basic standards of due process established in international human rights instruments."

Addressing reporters in New York, the Council's Chair, Kate O'Regan, said that the new five-member body "is a small but key part of the process for the reform of the internal justice system at the United Nations."

The two members nominated by management are Maria Vicien-Milburn of Argentina, Director of OLA's General Legal Division, and Sinha Basnayake of Sri Lanka, who previously served in the same position and has since served the Organization in various advisory capacities on legal and administrative issues.

The two members nominated by staff, following a process inclusive of all staff unions, are Jenny Clift of Australia, a Vienna-based senior legal officer with the International Trade Law Division of the Office of Legal Affairs (OLA), and Geoffrey Robertson of the United Kingdom and Australia, who served as the first President of the UN Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL).

The Council which seeks to be operational by January 1, 2009, is tasked with advising on suitable candidates for judges in a two-tier arrangement: the UN dispute tribunal, which will be the key avenue for dealing with disputes arising within the Organization's staffing system, and the appeals tribunal.

The Council's Chair stressed the "cost-effective" nature of the new body, with two panel members being permanent UN employees and the other three being paid an honorarium and per diem expenses.

To date, the Council, which was modelled on similar mechanisms at other international public organizations, has received more than 230 applications from 54 Member States for positions on the two future tribunals.