Dr. Henry M. Joko-Smart (born 15 June 1934

Bonthe Bonthe is a coastal town located on Sherbro Island in Bonthe District in the southern Province of Sierra Leone. The town lies on the eastern shore of Sherbro Island, on the Sherbro River estuary. Bonthe is about 60 miles south-west of Bo and 1 ...

British Sierra Leone The Colony and Protectorate of Sierra Leone (informally British Sierra Leone) was the British colonial administration in Sierra Leone from 1808 to 1961, part of the British Empire from the abolitionism era until the decolonisation era. The Crow ...

) is a former

Sierra Leonean Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...

law professor, educator and Supreme Court of Sierra Leone, Supreme Court justice.

Early life

Joko-Smart attended St. Edward's Secondary School in

Freetown Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, educational and po ...

and

Fourah Bay College Fourah Bay College is a public university in the neighbourhood of Mount Aureol in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Founded on 18 February 1827, it is the first western-style university built in Sub-Saharan Africa and, furthermore, the first university-l ...

. He obtained a B.A. in classics and a diploma in education from the

University of Durham Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by royal charte ...

, UK, LL.B. (first class honours) and LL.M. from the

University of Sheffield , mottoeng = To discover the causes of things , established = – University of SheffieldPredecessor institutions: – Sheffield Medical School – Firth College – Sheffield Technical School – University College of Sheffield , type = Pu ...

, UK, and a Ph.D. in law from the Law School at the School of Oriental and African Studies,

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

. He was called to the bar at Gray's Inn in London in 1965.

Career

He had a lucrative practice in Freetown in the 1960s. From 1966 to 2000, he was a lecturer, senior lecturer, professor of law, and dean of the faculty of law of Fourah Bay College, a constituent college of the

University of Sierra Leone The University of Sierra Leone is the name of the former unitary public university system in Sierra Leone. Established in February 1827, it is the oldest university in Africa. As of May 2005, the University of Sierra Leone was reconstituted int ...

. From 1998 to 2005, he served as a justice of the Supreme Court of Sierra Leone. Joko-Smart was the chairman of the

Sierra Leone Anti-corruption Commission The Sierra Leone Anti-corruption Commission (ACC-SL) commonly known as ACC is an independent agency of the Sierra Leone Sierra Leone Government, that investigates and prosecutes corruption cases in Sierra Leone. The ACC is supervised by the Sierra ...

between 2006 and 2007, replacing Val Collier. He has also served the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

in several capacities, including as chairman of the 21st and 35th sessions of the

United Nations Commission on International Trade Law The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) ( French: ''Commission des Nations Unies pour le droit commercial international (CNUDCI)'') is a subsidiary body of the U.N. General Assembly (UNGA) responsible for helping to f ...

(in 1988 and 2002, respectively), and a member of the panel of arbitrators of the

International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) is an international arbitration institution established in 1966 for legal dispute resolution and conciliation between international investors and States. ICSID is part of ...

in Geneva, Switzerland.

Personal life

Joko-Smart is married to Daisy Smart, née Tucker. They have four children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Joko-Smart, Henry 1934 births Living people Academic staff of Fourah Bay College 20th-century Sierra Leonean judges Sierra Leonean politicians Alumni of St. Edward's Secondary School, Freetown Alumni of SOAS University of London People from Bonthe District Fourah Bay College alumni 21st-century Sierra Leonean judges