Justice Ben Kioko served as a judge of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights from September 2012 to September 2024. He was initially elected in July 2012 for a six-year term and re-elected in July 2018 by the Executive Council and appointed by the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union (AU), respectively. He served as Vice President of the Court for about five years from June 2016 up to June 2021.
Among the major achievements of the Bureau was the establishment of regular dialogue between the African Court and the sister regional courts of justice of the ECOWAS Commmunity and the East African Community; the Permanent Forum of Institutional Dialogue between the African Court, the European Court of Human Rights and the Inter American Court of Human rights, under which the sister courts meet every two years and publish a Joint Law Report; consolidation of cooperation with AU member states and other stakeholders such as law socities and civil society; and, putting in place strategies for acceleration of disposal of cases as well as a mechanism for virtual meetings of the Court during Covid 19 and beyond.
Prior to joining the African Court, Justice Kioko was the longest serving Legal Counsel for the African Union (AU) and Director for the unified Central Legal service for the AU, its organs and institutions. In his capacity as The Legal Counsel, he was responsible, inter alia, for oversight of all legal matters including provision of legal advice to the AU system wide, drafting of treaties and agreements and the conduct of all elections. He oversaw the drafting and negotiation of at least twenty-five treaties on different areas, including human rights, governance, peace and security, and in the building of their treaty bodies.
He is an institutional memory powerhouse on African Union matters and was deeply involved, in the institutional transformation of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) to the AU and oversaw the implementation of all Assembly decisions on legal matters including the institutional transformative processes within the AU, notably, the aborted efforts towards establishment of the African Union Government as well as the African Union Authority.
While at the service of the AU, Judge Kioko provided technical backstopping to the African Groups in various world capitals during negotiation of international treaties, policy frameworks and institutional structures. He also led negotiations for building synergies across African partners and initiated and expanded collaborative relationships and AU engagement with various stakeholders such as law faculties, civil society, non-governmental organizations, the media, research think tanks. He was also actively involved in engagements with the African Regional Economic Communities (RECs), UN Agencies, the European Union, World Bank, The Caribbean Community (CARICOM), Organization of American States, (OAS) Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), African Development Bank (AfDB) and other international and multilateral institutions.
During his tenure, Judge Kioko also initiated among others an electronic voting system for use by AU policy organs, a publicly available Web-based Status Information System on OAU/AU treaties, and the Annual Consultative Forum of Legal Advisers of the AU and the RECs. He supported the establishment of the African Institute of International Law as well as the initial stages for the African Legal Support Facility hosted by the African Development Bank Group. He also initiated among others, a cooperation arrangement on matters of mutual interest between the AU Legal department and the Office of the Under-Secretary General for Legal Affairs and the Legal Counsel for the United Nations (UN). In implementation of that agreement, the permanent Regional Course in International Law for Africa was established, conducted by the UN with the support of the AU, which continues to date.
Justice Kioko is widely published in various fields. He serves in several international advisory boards and on editorial boards of various international Law Journals. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb) and a recipient of two prestigious national awards, including Elder of the Order of the Burning Spear (EBS).
He is the recipient of the American Society of International Law (ASIL), Honorary Member Award for year 2024, which is conferred annually on an individual of American or other nationality who has rendered distinguished contributions or service in the field of international law.
Justice Kioko is the 13th African to be bestowed with this honour in the 118 years that this prize has been awarded, since 1906. The award was given at a ceremony held during the Society’s AGM in Washington DC in April 2024.
