Retired Justice Madan B Lokur appointed UN Internal Justice Council Chairperson

The United Nations (UN) has appointed former Supreme Court judge Justice Madan B Lokur as the chairperson of the Internal Justice Council (IJC)..Lokur has been appointed for a 4-year-tenure ending on November 12, 2028. "I have the pleasure to appoint you, with immediate effect, as a member of the Internal Justice Council, in the capacity of Chairperson, for a term ending on 12 November 2028," the letter addressed to Lokur by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said.The other members are Carmen Artigas (Uruguay), a distinguished external jurist nominated by staff; Rosalie Balkin (Australia), a distinguished external jurist nominated by management; Stefan Brezina (Austria), a staff representative; and Jay Pozenel (United States of America), a management representative.The General Assembly of UN established the Internal Justice Council (IJC) as part of the new internal justice system in order to help ensure independence, professionalism and accountability in the administration of justice system of the United Nations.The IJC is composed of five members consisting of a staff representative, a management representative and two distinguished external jurists, one nominated by the staff and one by management, and chaired by a distinguished jurist chosen by consensus by the four other members. The IJC members are appointed by the Secretary General.The General Assembly has also tasked the IJC to undertake the search for suitable candidates for the positions of judges when there is a vacancy on the United Nations Dispute Tribunal (UNDT) and United Nations Appeals Tribunal (UNAT)..Justice Madan Lokur retired as a judge of the Supreme Court on December 31, 2018, after a tenure of more than 6 years.He started his law practice in July 1977 and practiced before the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court. He became an Advocate-on-Record at the Supreme Court of India in 1981 and was designated Senior Advocate in 1997.He was appointed an Additional Solicitor General in 1998 and continued in that post till he was appointed an additional judge of the Delhi High Court in February 1999.He was made a permanent judge in July 1999. Subsequently, he became the Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court and then the Andhra Pradesh High Court, before his elevation to the apex court.In May 2019, he was appointed to the Supreme Court of Fiji’s non-resident panel for three years. The same was extended by another 3 years in 2022.