Mohamed Chande Othman (born 1 January 1952) is a Tanzanian lawyer and a former Chief Justice of Tanzania. Internationally he is highly respected for his deep understanding of political, legal and other dimensions relating to International Humanitarian Law, Refugee Law, Criminal Law and Evidence, and Peacekeeping. He held various positions as expert advisor and UN prosecutor at criminal tribunals such as the

UNDP The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human development. The UNDP emphasizes on developing local capacity towar ...

Cambodia Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...

, the

East Timor Timor-Leste, also known as East Timor, officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is a country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the coastal exclave of Oecusse in the island's northwest, and ...

( UNTAET), the

International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR; ; ) was an international court, international ''ad-hoc'' court established in November 1994 by the United Nations Security Council in United Nations Security Council Resolution 955, Resolutio ...

( ICTR),

UN Human Rights Council The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) is a United Nations body whose mission is to promote and protect human rights around the world. The Council has 47 members elected for staggered three-year terms on a regional group basis. The ...

for a) the Israel-Lebanon Armed Conflict and b) the Southern Sudan. Currently he is head of the UN Independent Panel of Experts that examine new information on Dag Hammarskjölds death.

Education

* ''LL.B (Hon),

University of Dar es Salaam The University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) (Swahili: ''Chuo Kikuu cha Dar es Salaam'') is a public university located in Ubungo District, Dar es Salaam Region, Tanzania. It was established in 1961 as an affiliate college of the University of London. ...

, 1974'' * ''M.A (International Relations) Webster University, Geneva, Switzerland, 1982'' * ''Certificate, The Hague Academy of International Law, the Netherlands, 1983''

Biography

United Nations High Level positions

* Head of the UN Independent Panel of Experts, charged with the assessment and examination of new information relating to the tragic death of the former UN Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld (since Mar. 2015) *

's: Member of the High-Level Commission of Inquiry into the Situation in Lebanon following the Israel-Lebanon Armed Conflict (2006) *

's: Independent Expert on the human rights situation in the Sudan (2009–2010). He visits Southern Sudan and the

Abyei The Abyei Area () is an area of on the border between South Sudan and Sudan that has been accorded "special administrative status" by the 2004 Protocol on the Resolution of the Abyei Conflict (Abyei Protocol) in the Comprehensive Peace Agree ...

area. * Prosecutor general of

( UNTAET) (Jun-1999 – Jul-2002) * Chief of Prosecutions of the

( ICTR) (1998–2000)

Tanzania Justice Department positions

* Chief Justice of

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

(Dec. 2010 – Jan. 2017 ) * High Court Judge (Dec. 2003 – Oct. 2004) * Appeal Court Judge (Aug. 2004 – Feb. 2008)

Other Legal and Professional experience

Member of the board of trustees
of the Aga Khan University (since 2017) * Expert advisor for the Africa Group for Justice and Accountability – Wayamo Foundation. * Senior Legal and Justice Reform Advisor for

* Chairman of the Presidential Commission on Inquiry on the Relocation of Pastoralists and their Livestock from Usanga Valley in Ihefu, Mbarali District, Tanzania * Public Prosecutor for the Bank of Tanzania * Working with the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies * Co-founder of the Sidéco Group Ltd., International Development and Trade Corporation in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

(1983)

Publications

* ''Accountability for International Humanitarian law Violations: The Case of Rwanda and East Timor'', Springer Publishers, Heidelberg, Germany, 2005 * '''The Framework of Prosecutions and the Court System in East Timor in New Approaches in International Criminal Justice, Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany, 2003 * ''"Defense Practices and the Khmer Rouge Tribunal"'', in Bohlander, M, Boed, R, Wilsn, R.J, (Eds.) Defense in International Criminal Proceedings, Transitional Publishers Inc., N.Y, 2006 * ''The Protection of Refugee Witnesses by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda'', International Journal of Refugee Law, Volume 14, No. 4, May 2003 * ''The Gulf Wars and Termination of Captivity for Prisoners of War'', Revue de Droit International des Sciences Diplomatiques et Politiques (The International Law Review) Jan-Mars 1993, 11–36, Geneva, 1993

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Othman, Mohamed 1952 births Chief justices of Tanzania University of Dar es Salaam alumni Webster University alumni Living people United Nations special rapporteurs