Judge Gatti Santana appointed as the New President of the UN International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals.
29-06-2022
Grace ATALUI MOKANGO
International Justice and Human Rights Researcher
Global Human Rights Defence
In a press release dated 27 June 2022, the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals announces that the Secretary-General of the United Nations has appointed Judge Graciela Gatti Santana as the new President of the Mechanism for a term of office of two years, effective 1 July 2022.
Judge Graciela Gatti Santana was born on 1 June 1964 in Montevideo, Uruguay. Between 1987 and 1992, Ms. Gatti worked as a notary and lawyer in Uruguay. She subsequently joined the Uruguayan judiciary in 1992 and was called to serve in several national courts. The press release states that Judge Gatti Santana has been a judge of the Mechanism for over ten years. In this capacity, she has been called upon to perform functions for the Mechanism in various judicial matters, including as a judge of the Appeals Chamber in the Karadžić case and as a judge of the Trial Chamber in the ongoing Kabuga case. Since 2016, she has also played an active role as a judge member of the Rules Committee.
Judge Gatti Santana brings to the institution's presidency a solid experience as a judge, jurist, and renowned professor in Uruguay. It should be noted that Judge Gatti Santana is the first woman to be appointed President of the Mechanism, succeeding Judge Carmel Agius.
Source and further reading
UN International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals, Judge Gatti Santana appointed as new President of the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals, Press Release, ( 27 June 2020), from: https://www.irmct.org/en/news/judge-gatti-santana-appointed-new-president-irmct
UN International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals, Judge Graciela Gatti Santana, ( Description), 2020, from: https://www.irmct.org/en/about/judges/judge-graciela-s-gatti-santana