The two new Judges who were elected in January during the 28th Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union in Addis Ababa Justice Chafika Bensaoula from Algeria and Justice Tujilane Rose Chizumila from Malawi were sworn-in Monday at the seat of the African Court in Tanzania's northern safari capital of Arusha.

The two replaced Justice Fatsah Ouguergouz (Algeria) and Justice Duncan Tambala (Malawi) whose term came to an end on 5 September, 2016.

The two join their colleagues Lady-Justice Ntyam Ondo Mengue from Cameroon and Lady-Justice Marie Thérése Mukamulisa from Rwanda who were elected to the Court during the 27th AU Summit in October, Kigali, Rwanda. The fifth female Judge already at the Court is Lady Justice Solomy Balungi Bossa from Uganda who was elected in June 2014.

For the first time in the history of the Court, there will be five female judges sitting on the 11-member court. The increased number of female Judges is the fulfillment of the requirement for adequate gender representation provided for in Article 12(2) and Article 14(3) of the Protocol establishing the court.

The Court's Judges are elected for a six-year term and renewable once.

 Source: Xinhua