Current Composition

The Tribunal is composed of seven judges, all of whom are nationals of different Member States of the Bank. The judges are not members of Bank Group staff and are appointed for fixed terms. The judges must be persons of “high moral character” and must “possess the qualifications required for appointment to high judicial office or be jurisconsults of recognized competence.” They are appointed by the Executive Directors of the Bank from a list of candidates drawn up by the President of the Bank after appropriate consultation. The essential ethical standards required of the judges in the performance of their duties are enumerated in the Code of Judicial Conduct, as adopted by the Tribunal on 25 October 2019.

 

President

Janice Bellace (United States)

Janice Bellace (United States)

Janice Bellace is a Professor of Legal Studies & Business Ethics and Professor of Management in The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. She was the Director of the Huntsman Program in International Studies and Business at the University of Pennsylvania and she is currently the Director of the Tanoto ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Initiative at the Wharton School. She was a member of the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations of the International Labour Organization. Active in several professional organizations, she was the President of the International Labour and Employment Relations Association and recently stepped down as the President of the International Society for Labour and Social Security Law.  In the United States, she has been the President of the Labor and Employment Relations Association and is a former Secretary of the Section on Labor and Employment Law of the American Bar Association.

Vice Presidents

Seward Cooper (Liberia)

Seward Cooper

Seward Montgomery Cooper is an international and corporate lawyer. He served as the Legal Advisor to the President of Liberia, Nobel Peace Laureate Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and as a member of the Cabinet from 2011-2016. Prior to that appointment, he was the first head of the African Development Bank Group’s Integrity and Anti-Corruption office, and earlier served as Chief Counsel & Unit, Head for Good Governance. He is the founding editor-in-chief of the African Development Bank’s “Law for Development Review.” He co-led the conception and drafting of documents for establishment of the African Legal Support Facility (ALSF) - an international organization. Mr. Cooper has written and lectured on international legal matters and, among other works, co-authored a three volume treatise on Liberian corporate law. Mr. Cooper has litigated cases at both trial and appellate levels, and has served on several boards of directors including the ALSF’s Management Board, which he chaired. Formerly, he served as president of the Liberia Chamber of Commerce and adjunct professor of business law at the University of Liberia. He is the Chancellor of the Episcopal Diocese of Liberia and the Internal Province of West Africa. Mr. Cooper is admitted as counselor-at-law of the Supreme Court of Liberia and of the United States of America.

Lynne Charbonneau (Canada)

Lynne Charbonneau

Lynne Charbonneau is a lawyer and corporate director. She serves on the Board of Directors, and as Chair of the Human Resources and Compensation Committee, of BlueShore Financial Credit Union, which is one of Canada's largest credit unions. She was the Chair of Actsafe Safety Association, a worker health and safety organization for the production in British Columbia of motion picture, television, live events and performing arts. She also serves on the Board of Directors of Inuvialuit Development Corporation, a diversified investment, venture capital and management holding company owned on behalf of the Inuit of Canada’s western Arctic. In recent years, Ms. Charbonneau served on the Futures Task Force of the Law Society of British Columbia and on the Dean’s Advisory Committee for the Centre for Business Law at the Peter A. Allard School of Law at the University of British Columbia. From 2005 until 2018, Ms. Charbonneau served as Deputy General Counsel at HSBC Bank Canada. Prior to her time with HSBC, Ms. Charbonneau was a partner of the Canadian national law firm Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP, where she practiced in the fields of labour and employment law and subsequently corporate and securities law.

Judges

Ann Power-Forde (Ireland)

Ann Power-Forde (Ireland)

Ann Power-Forde is a Judge of the Court of Appeal in Ireland. She is an experienced international judge having been elected in 2008 to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France. Her separate opinions contributed to significant developments in that court’s case law, including, for example, on the protection of journalists’ sources and the right to conscientious objection at work. In 2017 Ann was elected as Presiding Judge of the Constitutional Court Chamber at the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague—an EU established internationalized tribunal with jurisdiction over grave international crimes, including, war crimes and crimes against humanity. Prior to becoming a Judge, Ann practiced as Senior Counsel and managed an extensive legal practice in Public, Medical and Constitutional law. As an academic, she lectured in Philosophy and Jurisprudence and has published and presented papers on a range of human rights issues, including, judicial independence, non-discrimination at work and judicial ethics. Ann is an Associate Tenant at Doughty Street Chambers, a member of Inner Temple (London) and a Bencher of the King’s Inns, (Dublin). She is Adjunct Professor at Dublin City University and guest Visiting Professor at the University of Padua and LUISS University, Rome. She is a distinguished International Speaker and has lectured, extensively, throughout Europe and the United States.

Martha Halfeld Furtado de Mendonça Schmidt (Brazil)

Martha Halfeld Furtado de Mendonça Schmidt

Martha Halfeld Furtado de Mendonça Schmidt, a Brazilian national, possesses considerable experience in serving on international tribunals. Her extensive expertise encompasses labor and employment affairs, complemented by a profound understanding of international jurisprudence. Ms. Halfeld has judicial experience as a labor judge in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, in addition to being a Judge of the United Nations Appeals Tribunal, and the Inter-American Developmental Bank Administrative Tribunal. She has a Ph.D. and a Master’s degree in law from the Université Panthéon-Assas, (Paris II), France. She was a Counsellor and teacher at the National Judicial Training Centre for Labor Judges in Brazil. She has authored more than 40 published articles on labor law, human rights, constitutional review, alternative dispute resolution, and international labor standards.

Thomas Laker (Germany)

Thomas Laker

Thomas Laker, a national of Germany, has ample experience in formal conflict resolution within both national and international civil services. Mr. Laker formerly served as Judge and President of the United Nations Dispute Tribunal in Geneva, as well as Presiding Judge at the Administrative Tribunal in Hamburg. Mr. Laker has also served as Chairperson of the Joint Appeals Board of the International Tribunal of Law of the Sea and as a Chairperson of the Panel of Adjudicators of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. Additionally, Mr. Laker is a member of the Administrative Tribunals of several international Organizations, including the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the Council of Europe. Mr. Laker has also completed research on the administration of justice and has co-authored the “Handbook on the Internal Justice System at the United Nations.

Raul Pangalangan (Philippines)

Raul Pangalangan

Raul Pangalangan, a national of the Philippines, is a former Judge at the International Criminal Court at the Hague, where he sat in landmark cases involving war crimes and crimes against humanity, and also served as President of the Trial Division. He has since returned to the University of the Philippines, where he is a Professor of Law and where he previously served as Law Dean in 1999-2005. He teaches Constitutional Law and Public International Law. He is currently co-chair of the Asian Journal of International Law and editor-in-chief of the Philippine Yearbook of International Law. Mr. Pangalangan also serves as a Judge and Vice-President of the Asian Development Bank Administrative Tribunal (Manila). He recently chaired the ILO Commission of Inquiry on Myanmar. He has lectured at The Hague Academy of International Law and has also served as its Director of Studies. He is a Member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (The Hague) and has been elected to the Institut de Droit International.

Executive Secretary

Zakir Hafez (Bangladesh)

Zakir Hafez

Zakir Hafez is the Executive Secretary at the World Bank Administrative Tribunal. Prior to the World Bank, he worked at the law firms of Steptoe & Johnson and White & Case in Washington, DC. He is a member of the New York State and District of Columbia bars. Mr. Hafez completed his doctoral degree, Doctor of Juridical Science (SJD), from the George Washington University Law School in 2003. Prior to that, he obtained Masters of Laws (LL.M.) in International and Comparative Law from the same law school in 2000. Before coming to the United States, he studied law in Norway and Malaysia, after finishing high school in Bangladesh. He has published a number of books and articles.

Useful information for applicants and potential applicants about the Tribunal and its procedures.

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Applications filed with the Tribunal must comply with the requirements of Rule 7 and Annex 1 of the Tribunal's Rules. Applicants may use the form below to complete and submit their applications.

Guide to Completing the Application Form
Application Form

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