Solome Bossa
Solome Balungi Bossa (also Solomy Balungi Bossa; born 14 April 1956) is a Ugandan judge on the International Criminal Court (ICC). Prior to her election to the ICC, she was a member of the Court of Appeal in Uganda, which also doubles as the Constitutional Court in the Judiciary of Uganda. She was elected to a nine-year term on 5 December 2017[2][3] and was sworn in on 9 March 2018.[1] Previously she was appointed to a six-year term on the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights in 2014.
Honorable Solome Bossa | |
|---|---|
| Judge of the International Criminal Court | |
| Assumed office 9 March 2018[1] | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | April 14, 1956 Nsambya Hospital, Uganda |
| Alma mater | Makerere University Law Development Centre Commonwealth Youth Centre University of London |
Early life and education edit
Solome Bossa was born on 14 April 1956 in Nsambya Hospital, in Uganda's capital city of Kampala.[4] Her father, Stanley Walusimbi Ssesanga, was a lawyer and her mother was a housewife.[5][6]
Bossa attended Ugandan schools for her primary and secondary school education. In 1976, she was admitted to Makerere University, in Kampala, to study law. She graduated with a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree in 1979. She obtained a Diploma in Legal Practice from the Law Development Centre in Kampala. In 1987, she obtained a Certificate in Law Reporting, from the Commonwealth Youth Centre, in Lusaka, Zambia. Later, in 2016, she was awarded a Master of Laws (LLM) degree, by the University of London, specializing in Public International Law.[7][8]
Activism edit
Bossa has been a human rights activist since 1980 and founded non-profit organisation including the East African Centre for Constitutional Development, the Uganda Network on HIV, AIDS, Ethics and the Law and the Uganda Law Society.[9][4]
Career edit
Bossa was a lecturer at the Law Development Centre of Uganda from 1981 until 1997.[9] She was a legal practitioner from 1988 until 1997, representing indigent women and expanding legal aid, including serving as president of the Uganda Law Society.[10]
She served as Judge at the Uganda High Court from 1997 until 2013. Bossa was a member of the East African Court of Justice for five years, from 2001 until 2006. She was a member of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (UNICTR) from 2003 until 2013.[7][8][6][9] Bossa was a judge on the East African Court of Justice from 2001 until 2006 and on the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda from 2003 until 2013.[9] She was appointed to the Ugandan Constitutional Court in 2013.[6] In 2014, Bossa was elected Judge of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, for a six-year term.[11]
In 2014, Bossa was one of the judges who annulled Uganda's Anti-Homosexuality Act for not being passed with the required quorum.[12] She received death threats on social media.[13]
In 2017, Bossa became a nominee for the International Criminal Court and was elected later that year.[10]
Other activities edit
- International Commission of Jurists, Member
- International Association of Women Judges, Member
- East African Judges and Magistrate Association, Member
- National Association of Women Judges, Member
- Uganda Association of Judges and Magistrates, Member[4]
Personal life edit
Bossa is married to Joseph Bossa, a lawyer and Uganda People's Congress politician, since 1981. She is the mother of four children.[5][14]
Publications edit
- Bossa, Solomy Balungi (2010). "A Critique of the East African Court of Justice As A Human Rights Court". In C. Eboe-Osuji (ed.). Protecting Humanity: Essays in International Law and Policy in Honour of Navanethem Pillay. Martinus Nijhoff. pp. 333–348. ISBN 9789004189577.
- Bossa, Solomy Balungi (2006). "Towards a protocol extending the jurisdiction of the East African Court of Justice". East African Journal of Human Rights & Democracy. 4: 31.
See also edit
References edit
- ^ a b Wesaka, Anthony (9 March 2018). "Uganda's justice Bossa takes oath as ICC judge". Daily Monitor. Kampala. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
- ^ Butagira, Tabu (5 December 2017). "Justice Solome Bossa elected ICC judge". Daily Monitor. Kampala. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
- ^ "judge". www.icc-cpi.int. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
- ^ a b c "Judge Solomy Balungi Bossa". United Nations Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals.
- ^ a b Nantume, Gillian (4 February 2018). "Justice Bossa at a glance". Daily Monitor. Kampala. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
- ^ a b c UNMICT (6 December 2017). "United Nations Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals: Judge Solomy Balungi Bossa". United Nations Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals (UNMICT). Retrieved 6 December 2017.
- ^ a b IAWJ (2016). "International Association of Women Judges: Pioneering Women Judges on International Courts: Honourable Solomy Balungi Bossa". International Association of Women Judges (IAWJ). Retrieved 6 December 2017.
- ^ a b ACHPE. "African Court on Human and People's Rights: Justice Solomy Balungi Bossa – Uganda". African Court on Human and People's Rights (ACHPE).
- ^ a b c d "Justice Solomy Balungi Bossa - Uganda". African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights.
- ^ a b "Bossa, Solomy Balungi (Uganda)" (PDF). International Criminal Court.
- ^ "Hon. Lady Justice Solomy Balungi Bossa Appointed to the African Court on Human and Peoples Rights". Judiciary of Uganda.
- ^ Wesaka, Anthony (30 September 2014). "We have received public backlash for annulling antigay law- judge". Daily Monitor. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
- ^ "Uganda: Judge Who Annulled Anti-Gay Law Faced Death Threats". Mamba. 1 October 2014. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
- ^ Kakaire, Sulaiman (16 May 2013). "Who are the new judges?". The Observer (Uganda). Kampala. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
External links edit
- Demolish Wall, KCC Tells Justice Bossa
- International Association of Women Judges profile and video