ICTR: Judge Khan Elected President of the Tribunal
Judge Khalida Rachid Khan (Pakistan) has been elected President of the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda effective from 27 May 2011 for a period of two years. Judge Khan, who is presiding Judge of Trial Chamber III, has been Vice-President of the Tribunal since 21 May 2007.
She replaces Judge Dennis Byron (St. Kitts and Nevis), former President of the Tribunal since 21 May 2007, whose tour of duty expires on 26 May 2011. Judge Byron has been elected Vice-President.
Judge Khan has been a judge at the Tribunal since August 2003. Prior to joining the Tribunal, she served as a Senior Puisine Judge on the High Court of Peshawar where she was the first Pakistan woman ever appointed to that position. She began her career as a civil judge in 1974 and later
became Solicitor to the Government of the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan. She was also the first woman to be appointed as Sessions Judge in the Indian subcontinent.
Judge Byron arrived at the Tribunal in June 2004 and is a member of Trial Chamber III. Prior to joining the Tribunal, he served as Judge and later Chief Justice of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court. He began his career in private practice as a Barrister in 1966. In 2000, Judge Byron was conferred the honour of Knight Bachelor by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. In 2004, he was appointed a member of the Privy Council (UK).
