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Justice Renate Winter Elected President of Special Court

Special Court for Sierra Leone (Freetown)

PRESS RELEASE
29 May 2008
Posted to the web 29 May 2008

Justice Renate Winter of Austria has been elected to a one-year term, effective
30 May, as Presiding Judge of the Appeals Chamber, a post which makes her
President of the Special Court for Sierra Leone. She succeeds Justice George
Gelaga-King of Sierra Leone, who has served as President since 2006.
Justice Winter has previously served as international judge of the Supreme
Court of Kosovo, as part of the United Nations interim civilian administration.
She is an expert on family law, as well as on juvenile justice systems, women’s
justice issues, pedophilia, child labour and the role of the media in advocacy.
Since 1981, Justice Winter has been a Judge at the Vienna Youth Court, where
she has undertaken projects to help rehabilitate youth with problems of drug
addiction and mental disability. Justice Winter has also worked on projects
relating to youth and child soldiers for the United Nations, including in
numerous African countries. She also has dealt with issues of organized crime
and restorative justice. Throughout the 1990s, Justice Winter chaired numerous
international conferences on matters relating to juvenile justice and gender-
related justice issues. She is currently President of the International
Association of Youth and Family Court Judges.
Justice Winter joined the Special Court for Sierra Leone in 2002. She served as
Acting President of the Special Court from March to May 2004.
The Special Court is an independent tribunal established jointly by the United
Nations and the Government of Sierra Leone. It is mandated to bring to justice
those who bear the greatest responsibility for atrocities committed in Sierra
Leone after 30 November 1996.

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