Mohamed Chande Othman Explained

Honorific-Prefix:	The Hon. Chief Justice
Mohamed Chande Othman
Office:	Chief Justice of Tanzania
Term Start:	28 December 2010
Term End:	18 January 2017
Appointer:	Jakaya Kikwete
Predecessor:	Augustino Ramadhani
Successor:	Ibrahim Hamis Juma
Order2:	2rd
Office2:	IJA Governing Council chairman
Predecessor2:	Ambassador Paul Rupia
Successor2:	John Mrosso
President2:	Benjamin Mkapa
Birth Date:	1 January 1952
Birth Place:	Tanganyika Territory
Alma Mater:	UDSM Webster University Geneva The Hague Academy of International Law
Profession:	Judge prosecutor author

Mohamed Chande Othman (born 1 January 1952) is a Tanzanian lawyer and a former Chief Justice of Tanzania.

Internationally he is highly respected for his deep understanding of political, legal and other dimensions relating to International Humanitarian Law, Refugee Law, Criminal Law and Evidence, and Peacekeeping. He held various positions as expert advisor and UN prosecutor at criminal tribunals such as the UNDP Cambodia, the East Timor (UNTAET), the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), UN Human Rights Council for a) the Israel-Lebanon Armed Conflict and b) the Southern Sudan.

Currently he is head of the UN Independent Panel of Experts that examine new information on Dag Hammarskjölds death.^[1]

Education

LL.B (Hon), University of Dar es Salaam, 1974
M.A (International Relations) Webster University, Geneva, Switzerland, 1982
Certificate, The Hague Academy of International Law, the Netherlands, 1983

Biography

United Nations High Level positions

Head of the UN Independent Panel of Experts, charged with the assessment and examination of new information relating to the tragic death of the former UN Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld (since Mar. 2015)^[2]
UN Human Rights Council's:^[3] Member of the High-Level Commission of Inquiry into the Situation in Lebanon following the Israel-Lebanon Armed Conflict (2006)^[4]
UN Human Rights Council's: Independent Expert on the human rights situation in the Sudan (2009–2010). He visits Southern Sudan and the Abyei area.^[5] ^[6]
Prosecutor general of East Timor (UNTAET) (Jun-1999 – Jul-2002)
Chief of Prosecutions of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) (1998–2000)^[7]

Tanzania Justice Department positions

Chief Justice of Tanzania (Dec. 2010 – Jan. 2017)^[8] ^[9]
High Court Judge (Dec. 2003 – Oct. 2004)
Appeal Court Judge (Aug. 2004 – Feb. 2008)

Other Legal and Professional experience

Member of the board of trustees of the Aga Khan University (since 2017)^[10]
Expert advisor for the Africa Group for Justice and Accountability – Wayamo Foundation.^[11] ^[12]
Senior Legal and Justice Reform Advisor for UNDP Cambodia
Chairman of the Presidential Commission on Inquiry on the Relocation of Pastoralists and their Livestock from Usanga Valley in Ihefu, Mbarali District, Tanzania
Public Prosecutor for the Bank of Tanzania
Working with the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
Co-founder of the Sidéco Group Ltd., International Development and Trade Corporation in Geneva (1983)

Publications

Accountability for International Humanitarian law Violations: The Case of Rwanda and East Timor, Springer Publishers, Heidelberg, Germany, 2005^[13]
'The Framework of Prosecutions and the Court System in East Timor in New Approaches in International Criminal Justice, Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany, 2003^[14]
"Defense Practices and the Khmer Rouge Tribunal", in Bohlander, M, Boed, R, Wilsn, R.J, (Eds.) Defense in International Criminal Proceedings, Transitional Publishers Inc., N.Y, 2006
The Protection of Refugee Witnesses by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, International Journal of Refugee Law, Volume 14, No. 4, May 2003^[15]
The Gulf Wars and Termination of Captivity for Prisoners of War, Revue de Droit International des Sciences Diplomatiques et Politiques (The International Law Review) Jan-Mars 1993, 11–36, Geneva, 1993

Notes and References

Web site: Death of Dag Hammarskjöld United Nations Archives. archives.un.org. en. 2018-08-08.
Web site: Dag Hammarskjold Plane Crash: Recent Developments. United Nations Association: Westminster Branch UK (UNA Westminster).
Web site: Lebanon Homepage. Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
News: Human Rights Council appoints experts to High-Level Commission of Inquiry into situation in Lebanon. 1 September 2006. reliefweb.
Web site: Highlight 4 March 2011 United Nations Secretary-General. 4 March 2011. www.un.org. en. 2018-08-08.
Web site: UN Expert urges Sudanese Government to investigate recent Attacks on Civilians in Northern Darfur. 14 September 2010. European Country of Origin Information Network (ecoi.net) Document ID: 1017428 (former ID 146810) HR10/150E.
News: The challenges of prosecuting and defending war criminals. 22 June 2009. The Irish Times. 2018-08-09.
Web site: The Judiciary of Tanzania Gets a New Chief Justice. judiciary.go.tz. 29 March 2013.
Web site: Kikwete appoints Othman as new Chief Justice. 27 December 2010. Mwananchi Communications. 29 March 2013.
Web site: AKU search results for "Othman". Aga Khan University (AKU).
Web site: Posts tagged as "Mohamed Chande Othman". Africa Group for Justice and Accountability – Wayamo Foundation.
Web site: Africa Group for Justice and Accountability. Facebook.
Book: Othman, Mohamed. Accountability for International Humanitarian Law Violations: The Case of Rwanda and East Timor. Springer Publishers Berlin Heidelberg. 2005. 978-3-540-26081-3. Berlin, Heidelberg. XIV, 384.
Book: New approaches in international criminal justice : Kosovo, East Timor, Sierra Leone and Cambodia. Ambos. Kai. Othman. Mohamed Chande. Ed. Iuscrim, Max Planck Institute of Foreign and International Criminal Law. 2003. 3-86113-057-2. Interdisziplinäre Untersuchungen aus Strafrecht und Kriminologie. Band 11. Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany. 85–112.
Othman. Mohamed. The 'Protection' of Refugee Witnesses by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. Oxford Academic. International Journal of Refugee Law. 495–508. 2002. registration . 14. 4. 10.1093/ijrl/14.4.495.