Abdulai Hamid Charm (born 20 July 1963) is a

Sierra Leonean Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...

judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

, who was formerly the Chief Justice of Sierra Leone until his resignation in December 2018. He is the first Chief Justice of Sierra Leone born outside of the capital

Freetown Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, educational and p ...

since the establishment of the Supreme Court in 1960.

Early life and education

Abdulai Hamid Charm was born in the small

rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are describ ...

town of Kaula,

Kambia District Kambia District is a district in the North West Province of Sierra Leone. Its capital and largest city is the town of Kambia (Sierra Leone), Kambia. As of the 2015 census, The District had a population of 343,686. Kambia District borders the Rep ...

in the Northern Province of

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...

. Charm was born and raised to

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

parents, and a Muslim himself. Justice Charm received a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

with Honours in 1990 from

Fourah Bay College Fourah Bay College is a public university in the neighbourhood of Mount Aureol in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Founded on 18 February 1827, it is the first western-style university built in Sub-Saharan Africa and, furthermore, the first university-le ...

, and a Certificate for

Call to the Bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

in October 1991 from the Sierra Leone Law School. In 2000 he received a

Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...

in Human Rights and Democratization in Africa from the

University of Pretoria The University of Pretoria ( af, Universiteit van Pretoria, nso, Yunibesithi ya Pretoria) is a multi-campus public university, public research university in Pretoria, the administrative and de facto capital of South Africa. The university was ...

Career

From 1992 to 1999 he worked for the Director of Public Prosecutions Division of the Law Officers’ Department as State Counsel, and from 1999 to 2001 as Senior State Counsel. In 2001, he co-founded the first legal aid centre in Sierra Leone – the Lawyers Centre for Legal Assistance (LAWCLA) and served as Director of Litigation from 2002 to 2003. From January 2002 to October 2003 he was a lawyer in private practice. From 2003 to 2010 he worked for Sierra Leone's National Revenue Authority: as Principal Collector, Board Secretariat, and Legal Affairs from 2003 to 2005; as Deputy Commissioner, Board Secretariat, and Board Secretary from 2005 to 2007; and as Director of Policy and Legal Affairs from 2007 to 2010. In 2010, he briefly returned to private practice before being appointed a Judge of the High Court in June 2011, and then a Judge of the Court of Appeal in 2014. He was also appointed a Judge of the Residual

Special Court for Sierra Leone The Special Court for Sierra Leone, or the "Special Court" (SCSL), also called the Sierra Leone Tribunal, was a judicial body set up by the government of Sierra Leone and the United Nations to "prosecute persons who bear the greatest responsibil ...

in 2013. He was nominated as Chief Justice by President

Ernest Bai Koroma Ernest Bai Koroma (born 2 October 1953) is a Sierra Leone, Sierra Leonean politician who served as the fourth President of Sierra Leone from 17 September 2007 to 4 April 2018. Born and raised in Makeni in northern Sierra Leone, Koroma spent mo ...

on 28 December 2015, and after being approved by Parliament on 15 January 2016, he was sworn in as Sierra Leone's Chief Justice on 21 January 2016, succeeding retired Chief Justice

Umu Hawa Tejan-Jalloh Haja Umu Hawa Tejan-Jalloh, GCOR (born April 16, 194 is a Sierra Leonean lawyer who was the first female Chief Justice of Sierra Leone from 2008 to 2015. Early life and background She was born on April 16, 194and grew up in the Sierra Leonean c ...

References

External links

LAWCLA- About Us
{{DEFAULTSORT:Charm, Abdulai Hamid Fourah Bay College alumni Chief justices of Sierra Leone Living people 1962 births People from Kambia District Sierra Leonean Muslims University of Pretoria alumni