New Appeals court judge sworn in

Justice Shireen Avis Fisher from the United States, was yesterday sworn in as the new Appeals Court judge for the Special Court of Sierra Leone replacing the late Justice Raja Fernando who died in November last year.
Present at the ceremony were the Attorney General and Minister of Justice Serry Kamal, the Special Representative of the United Nations Michael Schulenburg and the Minister of Information and Communication, Ibrahim Ben Kargbo.
At the ceremony which took place at the Trial Chamber of the Court, the Acting Registrar of the Court Bint a Mansaray made a brief statement of the events after which she called on the newly appointed judge to take the oath.
The president of Court Justice Renata Winters welcomed Justice Fisher to the court and further told her about the challenges and tasks which lies ahead.
Justice Shireen Fisher is an experienced international judge and legal scholar who was appointed to serve in that capacity by the Secretary General of the United Nations. Prior to her appointment, Justice Fisher served from 2005 to 2008 as an international judge of the war crimes Chamber, Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Justice Fisher also developed the court rules for victims and witness protection in the courtroom. She currently serves as a Commissioner on the Kosovo Independent Judicial and Prosecutorial Commission.  Since 1986 she has also served as a judge of General Jurisdiction Trial Courts (criminal, civil and family courts) in the U.S. state of Vermont.