The Justice Leadership Group is excited and honoured to announce that former Minister of Justice of Peru, Judge and former President of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, Diego García-Sayán, joins the Justice Leadership Group.
Having served justice and their citizens for a long period, the members of the Justice Leadership Group have come together to support others who have accepted the task and the challenge of serving justice in their societies. What they share is first-hand experience with leading justice change at the highest political level and a strong commitment to delivering justice. They make themselves available to those who are now in leadership positions, by using their experience, knowledge and expertise as a resource for others.
The Justice Leadership Group was set up by HiiL Innovating Justice, with support of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Since its establishment as an independent foundation in the summer of 2015, we have taken many important steps forward to further build the organization. We conducted our first Leadership Action in Guatemala, where a challenging transition process is unfolding. Moreover, we have been able to expand the Group by welcoming Judge Sang-Hyun Song, former President of the International Criminal Court, as a new member late 2015. Today, we are proud to introduce our ninth Group member to you: Diego García-Sayán.
Leading transition
García-Sayán was appointed as Minister of Justice of Peru in 2000. He successfully developed reforms to rebuild the Peruvian legal and political institutions after ten years of authoritarian regime. Showing strong leadership skills, he secured the peaceful and democratic transition in the country. When he became Minister of Foreign Affairs only one year later, García-Sayán led Peru’s reinsertion into the democratic multilateral system, which included the ratification of the Rome Statute and the country’s membership to the International Criminal Court.
Taking a leading role in Peru’s transition process, García-Sayán also drafted and promoted the Inter-American Democratic Charter. He achieved its approval as Chair of the General Assembly of the Organization of American States and issued an open-ended invitation to all of the UN Human Rights mandates.
Also, García-Sayán’s judicial, diplomatic and international experience makes a valuable contribution to the Group. Throughout his career he has held numerous leading positions in international governmental bodies and he is frequently consulted as an advisor and expert for the United Nations and the Organization of American States. García-Sayán was the President of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) for two consecutive terms and is currently serving as a Judge at IACHR and as a Member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague.
The Justice Leadership Group feels privileged and looks forward to working with its distinguished new member to promote and support justice leadership worldwide!
The members of the Justice Leadership Group are:
Mr Ernst Hirsch Ballin – Former Minister of Justice of the Netherlands
Mr Salaheddin Al-Bashir – Former Minister of Justice of Jordan
Ms Kalthoum Kannou – Vice-President of the Court of Cassation of Tunisia
Mr Tharcisse Karugarama – Former Minister of Justice and former Attorney General of Rwanda
Ms Athaliah Molokomme – Attorney General of Botswana
Mr Willy Mutunga – Chief Justice and President of the Supreme Court of Kenya
Ms Claudia Paz y Paz – Former Attorney General of Guatemala
Mr Diego García Sayán – Former Minister of Justice of Peru, Judge and former President Inter-American Court of Human Rights
Mr Sang-Hyun Song – Former President of the International Criminal Court
For more information about the Justice Leadership Group visit www.justiceleaders.org or follow us on Twitter: @justiceIeaders
