UN APPEALS TRIBUNAL JUDGES
On 26 October 2023 the new bureau for 2024 was elected. For 2024, Judge Gao is the President of the Appeals Tribunal, Judge Ziadé is the First Vice-President, and Judge Savage is the Second Vice-President.
UNAT is composed of seven Judges, appointed by the General Assembly. The current composition of the Tribunal is as follows:
Judge Gao Xiaoli, President (China)
Judge Gao serves as Deputy Chief Judge of the 6th Circuit Court since 2021 and as Senior Judge of the International Commercial Court of the Supreme People’s Court of the People’s Republic of China since 2018.
Prior to the above positions, Judge Gao served as Deputy Chief Judge of the 4th Civil Division of the Supreme People’s Court of the People’s Republic of China between 2017 and 2020, as Presiding Judge of the 1st Circuit Court of the Supreme People’s Court of the People’s Republic of China between 2015 and 2017, and as Judge and then Senior Judge of the 4th Civil Division of the Supreme People’s Court of the People’s Republic of China between 2001 and 2017. Her judicial experience spans from 2001 to the present.
Judge Gao holds a Bachelor of Laws from the China University of Politics and Law (1994), a Specialized Graduate Diploma from the University of Montreal (2000), a Master of Laws from Peking University (2001), and a Ph.D. in Law from the University of International Business and Economics (2005).
Judge Gao is associated with the Council of China Law Society, the Council of Chinese Society of International Law, the Council of China Judicial Research Association, and the Council of Asia Business Law Institute. She is the author of numerous publications, including a monograph entitled “Application of Public Policy in Private International Law” (2008). Judge Gao was elected FIRST Vice-President of UNAT as of 1 July 2023.
Judge Nassib G. Ziadé, First Vice-President (Lebanon)
Judge Nassib G. Ziadé serves as President since 2022 and as Judge since 2019 of the International Monetary Fund Administrative Tribunal, Member of the Sanctions Panel of the Geneva-based Global Fund since 2022, Chief Executive Officer of the Bahrain Chamber for Dispute Resolution (BCDR) since 2013 and founder and Editor of its International Arbitration Review. He is Visiting Professor of the University of Miami School of Law, since 2010, and Visiting Professor of the Saint-Joseph University Beirut Faculty of Law, since 2015. Judge Ziadé has acted as Arbitrator and Tribunal President in over 30 major arbitrations relating to international commerce, construction, investment, and public international law since 2012. He served as Director of the Dubai International Arbitration Centre (DIAC) between 2011 and 2013, as Deputy Secretary-General/Acting Secretary-General of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) between 2007 and 2011, as Executive Secretary of the World Bank Administrative Tribunal between 1997 and 2007, and as Legal Counsel at ICSID between 1990 and 1997. Judge Ziadé holds a Licence in Public Law and a Licence in Private Law from the St. Joseph University of Beirut (1983), a Bachelor of Business Administration from the American University of Beirut (1984), a Licence in Administrative and Political Studies from the St. Joseph University of Beirut (1984), and an LL.M in International Law from the University of Cambridge (1985).
Judge Katharine Mary Savage, Second Vice-President (South Africa)
Judge Katharine Savage serves as Judge of the High Court in South Africa. Since 2012 and during her tenure, Judge Savage has also served as an Acting Judge of the Supreme Court of Appeal, the Labour Appeal Court and the Labour Court of South Africa. Prior to these positions, Judge Savage was a Director at Bowman Gilfillan Attorneys from 2008 to 2012, Partner at Haffegee Roskam Savage Attorneys between 2000 and 2008, Commissioner of the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration in Johannesburg between 1997 and 2000, Attorney of the Constitutional Litigation Unit at the Legal Resources Centre between 1996 and 1997, Director of the South African Legal Information Institute (SAFLIII), a non-profit organisation dedicated to free access to law. Judge Savage holds a Bachelor of Arts (1988) and a Bachelor of Laws (1991) from the University of Cape Town, a Master of Laws (1997) from the University of Notre Dame (summa cum laude) and has been enrolled for a Ph.D. in Public Law at the University of Cape Town since 2020.
Judge Graeme Colgan, Judge (New Zealand)
Judge Colgan was the thirteenth President of the United Nations Appeals Tribunal (1 January to 31 December 2022). Judge Colgan graduated LLB(Hons) from the University of Auckland in 1976 and was admitted to the New Zealand bar in the same year. He practiced as a barrister and solicitor in the fields of employment law, family law, criminal law and general civil litigation until 1987 when he became a barrister sole. In 1989 he was appointed as a Judge of the Labor Court of New Zealand. In 2005, Judge Colgan was appointed as Chief Judge of the New Zealand Employment Court. He retired from judicial office in 2017 after 28 years on the bench, the last 12 as the Chief Judge. Judge Colgan has delivered many lectures at several New Zealand universities. He has presented papers to numerous NZ and international employment law conferences and, in 1994, lectured at the Royal School for Judges in Cambodia where he also chaired an ILO project for the reform of the labor laws of that country.
Judge Colgan is a member of New Zealand and international organizations including LAWASIA, the Australian Labor Law Association, the NZ Labor Law Society, and the Arbitrators and Mediators Institute of NZ, of which he is an Associate Member (AAMINZ). He is a member of the (North American) Association of Workplace Investigators and is the holder of a Training Certificate (AWI-CH) from that body. He is also an active member, and on the organizing committee, of the Australasian Association of Workplace Investigators. He is a member of the NZ Football Appeals Committee and a member of the Editorial Board of, and contributor to, Butterworths (LexisNexis) Employment Law Bulletin.
Judge Kanwaldeep Sandhu, Judge (Canada)
Judge Sandhu is the fourteenth President of the United Nations Appeals Tribunal. She currently serves as the Chair of the Civil Resolution Tribunal of BC in Canada. Previously she was Chair and Vice Chair of Property Assessment Appeal Board of B.C. in Canada, and Vice Chair of the Surface Rights Board. She received her Bachelors of Laws from University of B.C Law School in 1989 and was called to the B.C. Bar in 1990. Judge Sandhu has extensive experience in quasi-judicial proceedings, having acted as a chairperson of the Board of Referees (now the Social Security Tribunal of Canada) for over six years. She also has training and experience in conflict resolution and mediation and worked with the Board in developing alternate dispute resolution processes such as Online Dispute Resolution, mediations, med/arbs, and appeal management to resolve its appeals. . She was a member of the Canadian Bar Association (BC Branch)’s Equality and Diversity Committee and past President and Director of the British Columbia Council of Administrative Tribunals (BCCAT) She also teaches and has instructed many adjudicators or administrative judges on administrative law, hearing skills and decision writing, including the Benchers of the Law Societies of B.C and Alberta . As a result of her volunteer work, in 2014, Judge Sandhu was awarded BCCAT’s Award for Exceptional Service to the Administrative Tribunal Community in Canada.
Judge Leslie Formine Forbang, Judge (Cameroon)
Judge Leslie Formine Forbang serves as Deputy Attorney General of the Court of Appeal, South West Region in Cameroon since 2020.Prior to this position, Judge Forbang served as State Counsel at the Court of First Instance between 2017 and 2020, State Counsel at the Court of Ambam and High Court of the Ntem Valley Division (South Region) between 2014 and 2017, State Counsel at the Court of First Instance in Muyuka (South West Region) between 2012 and 2014, Judge at the High Court of Fako Division, Buea between 2005 and 2012, Presiding Magistrate at the Court of First Instance in Tombel between 2001 and 2005, and Deputy State Prosecutor in Mbengwi between 1998 and 2001. Judge Forbang holds a Bachelor of Arts (1988) and a Post Undergraduate Diploma (1990) in English Private Law from the University of Yaoundé, a Post Graduate Diploma in Magistracy from the National School of Administration and Magistracy (1998), an LL.M in International Criminal Law from the University of Buea, and is concluding a Ph.D. in International Law at the University of Buea.Criminal Law from the University of Buea, and is concluding a Ph.D. in International Law at the University of Buea.
Judge Abdelmohsen Ahmed Sheha, Judge (Egypt)
Judge Abdelmohsen Ahmed Sheha serves as Senior Judge at the Egyptian Council of State. He is the current Chief Judge of the Pre-trial Chamber of the administrative tribunal of Qena, competent to deal with civil service suits. He also serves as adjunct professor of public law at the School of Law of the British University in Egypt (BUE). Since his appointment in 2011, Judge Sheha served both in the judicial and consultative sections of the Council of State, gaining a wide experience in substantive and procedural aspects of national and comparative administrative law. He was also a member and deputy director of the Center of Judicial Training and Research. In parallel to these duties, Judge Sheha was seconded as a part-time Legal Advisor to the Egyptian Ministry of Trade and Industry (2021/2022) and the Ministerial Committee for Settlement of Investment Contracts Disputes (The Cabinet) (2017/2018). Judge Sheha was also an arbitrator at the Egyptian Ministry of Justice (2018), and an adjunct faculty at the School of Law of the BUE (2017/2018). Judge Sheha holds a Bachelor of Laws from Beni-Suef University (2009), a Master of Laws in Public Law from Cairo University (2011), a Master of Public Administration from the University of Strasbourg (2014), a Diploma (hors-classement) from the French National School of Public Administration (ENA) (2014), a Master of Public Finance from the University of Auvergne (2016), and a Ph.D. in Administrative Law from the University of Strasbourg (2021). He is the author of numerous publications in French, Arabic, and English.
Judges who served on the Appeals Tribunal
Judge Rose Boyko (Canada)
(1 July 2009 - 15 January 2011)
Judge Kamaljit Singh Garewal (India)
(1 July 2009 - 30 June 2012)
1st Vice President (1 July 2011 - 30 June 2012)
2nd Vice President (1 July 2010 - 30 June 2011)
Judge Mark P. Painter (United States of America)
(1 July 2009 - 30 June 2012)
Judge Jean Courtial (France)
(1 July 2009 - 31 December 2013)
President (1 July 2010 - 30 June 2011)
1st Vice President (1 July 2009 - 30 June 2011)
Inés Weinberg de Roca (Argentina)
(1 July 2009-June 2016)
President (1 July 2009 – 30 June 2010)
1st Vice President (1July 2013-30 June 2014; 1 July 2012-30 June 2013)
2nd Vice President (1 July 2014-30 June 2015)
Sophia Adinyira (Ghana)
(1 July 2009 – 30 June 2016)
President (1 July 2011-30 June 2012)
1st Vice President (1 July 2015-30 June 2016; 1 July 2010-30 June 2011)
2nd Vice President (1 July 2013-30 June 2014; 1 July 2009-30 June 2010)
Luis María Simón (Uruguay)
(1 July 2009 – 30 June 2016)
President (1 July 2012-30 June 2013)
2nd Vice President (1 July 2011-30 June 2012)
Mary Faherty (Ireland)
(28 January 2011-30 June 2016)
President (1 July 2013-30 June 2014)
2nd Vice President (1 July 2012-30 June 2013)
Rosalyn M. Chapman (United States of America)
(July 2012 – November 2017)
President (1 July 2015-30 June 2016)
2nd Vice President (1 July 2016-November 2017)
Judge Richard Lussick (Samoa)
(July 2012 – June 2019)
President (July 2014 – June 2015)
1st Vice President (July 2016 – December 2017)
Judge Deborah Thomas-Felix (Trinidad and Tobago)
(December 2014 - June 2019)
President (July 2016 – December 2017)
2nd Vice President (July 2015 – June 2016)
Jean-François Neven (Belgium)
(1 July 2019 – 10 January 2022)
Judge John Raymond Murphy (South Africa)
(1 July 2016 – 30 June 2023)
Judge Dimitrios Raikos (Greece)
(1 July 2016 – 30 June 2023)
Judge Sabine Knierim (Germany)
(1 July 2016 – 30 June 2023)
Judge Martha Halfeld Furtado de Mendonca Schmidt (Brazil)
(1 July 2016 – 30 June 2023)
