Judges of the Residual Special Court ended their two-day Plenary on Friday by electing new officers to lead the Court. Justice Isaack Lenaola, the immediate past Vice President, is now President. Justice Andrew Hatton was elected Vice President, and Justice Tonia Barnett was elected as Staff Appeals Judge.
Officers are elected to two-year terms that are renewable.
Justice Lenaola has been a Judge of the RSCSL since 2013. He joined Kenya’s Judicial Service in 2003, and since 2016 has served as a Judge of the Supreme Court. Prior to 2016 he was Presiding Judge of the Constitutional and Human Rights Division at the High Court in Milimani, Nairobi. He also served from 2011 to 2018 as a Judge and Deputy Principal Judge of the East African Court of Justice.
Justice Hatton was appointed a Judge of the RSCSL in 2013. From 1987 to 2012 he practiced law in the UK, including part-time judicial roles since 2004. From 2011 to 2012 he served as an International Criminal Judge in the European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo (EULEX). He was appointed in 2012 as a Circuit Judge in the UK.
Justice Barnett has been a Judge of the RSCSL since 2021. She has served in the Sierra Leone judiciary since 2017. From 2005 to 2017 she served as Magistrate, including from 2011 to 2017 as Senior Magistrate in the Sierra Leone judiciary. Since 2020 she has been a Judge of the Court of Appeal.
The Judges were briefed by the RSCSL Registrar, the Prosecutor and the Principal Defender. During the two-day Plenary they considered and deliberated on a number of important issues, including on proposed Rule amendments, the draft Stocktaking Report, and funding of the Court. The Judges also deliberated on the RSCSL’s 12th Annual Report, which covers the year 2025.
The Residual Special Court for Sierra Leone is responsible for the ongoing legal obligations of the Special Court for Sierra Leone, which concluded its mandate in December 2013. These include supervision of prison sentences, witness protection and support, maintenance and preservation of the archives, and assistance to national prosecution authorities