Search

Judge Charles L. Smith III has been working as mediator and arbitrator since 2014. He previously served as EULEX Judge from 2010 through 2013. As part of this mandate, he was a member of the Supreme Court of Kosovo between 2011 and 2013, and was elected Vice-President and President of the Assembly of EULEX Judges for 2011-2012, and 2013, respectively. Prior to this, in 1990, he was appointed District Court Judge in the Fourth Judicial District of the State of Iowa, where from 1996 through 2010, he served as Chief Judge and as member of the Iowa State Judicial Council. Between 1970 and 1989, he operated a private practice of law, specialised in civil and criminal litigation, as well as business, taxation and probate law. Judge Smith, III holds a J.D from Creighton University (United States of America) received in 1970. He was called to the Nebraska State Bar in June 1970 and the Iowa State Bar in June 1971.

Judge Christine van den Wyngaert served as a Judge of the International Criminal Court (ICC) from 2009 to 2018. On 17 September 2021, Judge van den Wyngaert was appointed to serve as one of the Special Advisors to the Prosecutor of the ICC. She previously served as Judge with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia between 2003 and 2009, and as ad hoc Judge at the International Court of Justice between 2000 and 2002. Prior to this, between 1991 and 1998, she was the Vice Chair of the Criminal Procedure Reform Commission in Belgium (Commission Franchimont). She further served as an expert for the European Union in various criminal law projects. Between 1985 and 2005, she held a chair as professor at the University of Antwerp. She was a visiting fellow at the Lauterpacht Centre (University of Cambridge) and, since 2001, an honorary Professor at the University of Stellenbosch. Judge van den Wyngaert holds a law degree from Brussels University (Belgium), and obtained her PhD in International Criminal Law from Brussels University. She received five honorary doctorates - Uppsala (Sweden), Brussels, Case Western Reserve (US), Maastricht and the University of Stellenbosch (South Africa). She has published extensively in the field of criminal law, criminal procedure, comparative criminal law and international criminal law. In 2019, the International Association of Penal Law awarded her the Jescheck Prize for her lifetime contributions to international criminal justice and she received the prestigious Vespasian V. Pella medal, which is handed to a new recipient only every decade.

Judge Michèle Picard has been serving as Judge at the Appeals Court of Paris since June 2013. She previously served as Judge at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia from 2008 through 2013. Prior to that, between 2007 and 2008, she was appointed as a member of the Human Rights Advisory Panel in Kosovo, and from 1996 to 2003 she presided over the Human Rights Chamber for Bosnia and Herzegovina.  In 2005, she was appointed as an independent expert on the Human Rights Situation in Uzbekistan. She also worked for the Council of Europe as an expert on compatibility exercises in Macedonia, Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Judge Picard holds a law degree from the University of Paris II. She graduated from the National School for Magistrates in Bordeaux in 1992.

Judge Thomas Laker served as Presiding Judge at the Administrative Law Court in Hamburg (Germany) from 2005 to 2020. Prior to this, he was seconded to the Department of Justice of Hamburg (1992-1996), to the Administrative Court of Appeal of Hamburg (1999-2000) and to the Social Law Court of Hamburg (2005). He was appointed among the first Judges of the United Nations Dispute Tribunal, where he served two terms as President (2010-2011; 2013-2014). Currently, he serves as Judge on several administrative tribunals of international organisations and agencies, including the World Bank (since 2024), Council of Europe (since 2021), European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (since 2020), and as chairperson of the Panel of Adjudicators of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (since 2016) as well as Chairperson of the Joint Appeals Board of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (since 2011). Judge Laker has passed the State Examinations in law and holds a PhD from the University of Göttingen (Germany).