Silvia Fernández de Gurmendi

Silvia Fernández de Gurmendi
3rd President of the International Criminal Court
Incumbent
Assumed office 11 March 2015
Preceded by	Song Sang-hyun
Judge of the International Criminal Court
Incumbent
Assumed office 20 January 2010
Nominated by	Argentina
Personal details
Born	24 October 1954 Córdoba Province, Argentina
Nationality	Argentinian
Alma mater	National University of Córdoba University of Limoges University of Buenos Aires

Silvia Alejandra Fernández de Gurmendi (born 24 October 1954) is an Argentinian lawyer, diplomat and judge. She has been a judge at the International Criminal Court (ICC) since 20 January 2010^[1] and President of the ICC since March 2015. She was elected to the presidency for a three-year term and will serve until 2018.^[2]

Education

Fernández studied law at the universities of Córdoba and Limoges, and earned a doctorate at the University of Buenos Aires.

Career

Fernández trained as a diplomat 1987–1988, and entered the diplomatic service in 1989. In 2006, she became Director General for Human Rights in the Foreign Ministry.

Judge of the International Criminal Court, 2010-present

Fernández was elected as a judge at the ICC on 18 November 2009. During her time as judge, she regularly issued dissenting or partially dissenting opinions in high-profile cases, including opposing the opening of an ICC investigation in Côte d'Ivoire in 2011.^[3] She served as presiding judge when the ICC rejected Libya's request to annul the international arrest warrant for Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, ruling that the Libyan government was not yet capable of holding a fair trial by itself and it is obliged under international law to hand him over to the ICC.^[4] In 2014, as member of the Pre-Trial Chamber I, she later confirmed four charges of crimes against humanity against former Ivorian minister and youth activist Charles Blé Goudé and committed him to trial before a Trial Chamber.^[5]

President of the International Criminal Court, 2015-present

In early 2015, Fernández was elected president of the court for a term of three years. Her two vice-presidents, also appointed for three-year terms, are Joyce Aluoch and Kuniko Ozaki. With the office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court held by Fatou Bensouda, four of the court’s most influential legal positions are held by women.^[6]

In August, Fernández decided to reopen a hearing into whether to take action against Kenya over allegations it obstructed investigations into its President Uhuru Kenyatta, arguing that the appeals chamber had failed to properly assess the role of prosecutors and that errors prevented it "from making a conclusive determination".^[7]

Other activities

Fernández is also a visiting professor at American University Washington College of Law's Academy on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law.

Selected publications

• Mit Håkan Friman: The rules of procedure and evidence and the regulations of the court. In: Jose Doria (Hrsg.): The legal regime of the International Criminal Court: essays in honour of Professor Igor Blishchenko; in memoriam Professor Igor Pavlovich Blishchenko (1930-2000). Nijhoff, Leiden 2009, ISBN 978-90-04-16308-9, S. 797–824.
• An insider's view. In: Mauro Politi (Hrsg.): The international criminal court and the crime of aggression. Aldershot, Ashgate 2004, ISBN 0-7546-2362-9, S. 175 ff.
• Mit Håkan Friman: The rules of procedure and evidence of the International Criminal Court. In: T.M.C. Asser Instituut, Institute for Private and Public International Law, International Commercial Arbitration and European Law: Yearbook of international humanitarian law. Bd. 3, 2000, ISSN 1389-1359, S. 289–336.

References

1. http://www.icc-cpi.int/Menus/ICC/Structure+of+the+Court/Chambers/The+Judges/The+Judges/Judge+Silvia+FERN%C3%81NDEZ+DE+GURMENDI/Judge+Silvia+Alejandra+FERN%C3%81NDEZ+DE+GURMENDI+_Argentina_.htm
2. "Judge Fernández de Gurmendi elected ICC President for 2015-2018; Judges Aluoch and Ozaki elected First and Second Vice-President respectively" ICC Press Release
3. Peter Cluskey (April 6, 2015), International Criminal Court elects first woman president The Irish Times.
4. Steve Wilson (June 1, 2013), International Criminal Court rejects Libyan government request to try Saif al-Islam Gaddafi The Daily Telegraph.
5. Lisa Bryant (September 29, 2014), ICC to Decide on Trial for Ivorian Youth Leader Ble Goude Voice of America.
6. Peter Cluskey (April 6, 2015), International Criminal Court elects first woman president The Irish Times.
7. Anthony Deutsch (August 19, 2015), Global court to reopen obstruction case against Kenya Reuters.

^[1] http://www.icc-cpi.int/en_menus/icc/structure%20of%20the%20court/chambers/the%20judges/Pages/judge%20silvia%20alejandra%20fern%C3%A1ndez%20de%20gurmendi.aspx

1. IICC webpage