International Judicial Monitor
Published by the International Judicial Academy, Washington, D.C., with assistance from the
American Society of International Law
Fall 2015/Winter 2016 Issue
 

Justice In Profile

 

Silvia Fernandez de Gurmendi, Argentina
President, International Criminal Court

Silvia Fernandez de Gurmendi

By: T’Aria Reynolds, Intern, International Judicial Academy

The International Criminal Court, immediately before its 13th birthday on July 1, 2015, appointed Silvia Fernandez de Gurmendi of Argentina as the ICC’s new president. She is the first female judge to preside over the global institution. She is one of three women to accept a leadership position last year.

Born in October 1954 in Argentina, Judge Gurmendi has over 20 years of experience in international humanitarian law and human rights. She studied law at the National University of Cordoba and University of Limoges, and earned a doctorate in law at the University of Buenos Aires.

The appointment to the ICC presidency followed her tenure with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and election as an ICC judge in 2009. Some of her work before her appointment to the ICC included representing Argentina

 

before major human rights organizations, including especially the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. She often provided advice on issues of genocide and other international crimes.

During her tenure on the ICC, in high-profile cases, she frequently issued dissenting opinions.

Judge Fernandez de Gurmendi was the presiding judge for the ICC rejection of Libya’s request to invalidate an international arrest warrant for Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, son of late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

Judge Gurmendi’s academic experience includes teaching appointments in international criminal law at her alma mater, the University of Buenos Aires, and University of Palermo.

As the President of the ICC she will serve a key role in providing strategic leadership to the two vice-presidents of the Court, as well as maintaining Court contacts with the Prosecutor, Mrs. Tatou Bensouda.

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