Justice Lillian Tibatemwa elected to Commission of Jurists

Supreme Court judge, Justice Lillian Tibatemwa Ekirikubinza has been elected as an International Commission of Jurists for a five-year term.

This followed an International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) ballot conducted in December 2017 and January 2018.  

She was elected together with seven judges from across the globe. The other African jurist to join at the same time with Justice Tibatemwa is the highly regarded Dr. Willy Mutunga, former Chief Justice of Kenya.

Ekirikubinza joins two other women from Africa, Justice Qinisile Mabuza from Swaziland and Justice Yvonne Mokgoro, who was the first black woman to serve on the bench in South Africa and one of only two women who served on the Constitutional Court of South Africa when it was established in 1994. These two are serving their second term on the Commission.

The ICJ is composed of 60 eminent judges and lawyers from all regions of the world. The International Commission of Jurists promotes and protects human rights through the Rule of Law, by using its unique legal expertise to develop and strengthen national and international justice systems. The ICJ is a non-profit and non-political association.

Professor Tibatemwa is being recognised at a global level for her contribution as a highly regarded legal scholar and a supreme court judge. She is a lady of many firsts. First East African female to graduate with a PhD in law. First female Professor of Law in East Africa. 

She was first female appointed Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Makerere University in Uganda. First Ugandan to be appointed to Uganda's constitutional Court and Supreme Court solely based on scholarly work.