Personal bio
Justice Ben Kioko was elected judge of the African Court in July 2012 by the Executive Council and appointed by the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union (AU). He was re-elected in July 2018. He was elected Vice President by his peers on 5 September 2016, and served for two terms until June 20121. Prior to joining the Court, Justice Kioko served as The Legal Counsel to the African Union and as Director for the unified Central Legal service for the African Union, its organs and institutions, including the AU Commission, regional and representative offices for more than a decade. Before that he served as Chief of Legal Affairs in the Organization of African Unity (OAU) prior to transformation to AU. Justice Kioko is an institutional memory powerhouse on African Union and continental matters and has wide ranging experience in political mediation but also arbitration in international disputes. Justice Kioko has provided post graduate training in various fields including African Union law-making functions, democracy, governance, rule of law, conflict resolution, regional integration, protection of civilians, human rights and is widely published, most recently on the President Hissén Habré Trial. He serves in several international advisory boards as well as editorial boards of various international Law Journals. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb). He is also a recipient of two prestigious national awards.