George Gelaga King (29 October 1932 - 5 April 2016) was a judge in

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 , Sierr ...

, West Africa, and recently a justice of the

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 ...

Early life and education

George Gelaga King was born in

Zaire Zaire (, ), officially the Republic of Zaire (french: République du Zaïre, link=no, ), was a Congolese state from 1971 to 1997 in Central Africa that was previously and is now again known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Zaire was, ...

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 ...

parents from the Sierra Leone Creole people, Creole ethnic group who were settled in the then

Belgian Congo The Belgian Congo (french: Congo belge, ; nl, Belgisch-Congo) was a Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960. The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in 1964. Colo ...

. King was subsequently educated at local schools in

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 po ...

and at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

Early career

King was President of the Sierra Leone Court of Appeal and of the Court of Appeal of

The Gambia The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within mainland AfricaHoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A-Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publicatio ...

. He served as Sierra Leone’s Ambassador to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

and Switzerland from 1974 to 1978, and was at the same time Sierra Leone’s Permanent Representative to

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

. Between 1978 and 1980 he served as Sierra Leone’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

. King taught law at the Sierra Leone Law School from 1990 to 2005. He was Chairman of both the ''Sierra Leone Law Journal'' and the Gambian National Council for Law Reporting, and was a member of the Sierra Leone Council of Legal Education. He was a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

Judge of the Special Court for Sierra Leone, 2002-16

King was a Judge of the Special Court for Sierra Leone from December 2002 alongside other justices such as John Bankole Thompson. He was president of the court from 2006 to 2008, at the Hague World Court being elected to two one-year terms. The

Appeals Court A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of ...

Judges also selected Justice

Emmanuel Ayoola Emmanuel Olayinka Ayoola is a Nigerian lawyer and judge who became Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission in 2005. He is also a judge of the Appeals Chamber of the Special Court for Sierra Leone. Early years Emmanuel Ayoola was ...

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

as Vice-President at the same time that King was re-elected. He succeeded Justice

Renate Winter Justice Renate Winter (born March 8, 1944) is an Austrian judge to the Special Court for Sierra Leone, and an expert on family law, juvenile justice systems, women’s justice issues and child labour. She is a founding member of the Internationa ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. In September 2013, King served as the presiding judge when the tribunal ruled that the Liberian ex-president Charles Taylor lost his appeal against a war-crimes conviction and instead confirmed his 50-year jail term for encouraging rebels in

mutilate Mutilation or maiming (from the Latin: ''mutilus'') refers to severe damage to the body that has a ruinous effect on an individual's quality of life. It can also refer to alterations that render something inferior, ugly, dysfunctional, or imper ...

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ...

and murder victims in its

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

.Thomas Escritt (September 26, 2013)
Liberia's Charles Taylor loses appeal against war crimes conviction
''

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was esta ...

''. He subsequently served on the Roster of Judges of the Residual Special Court. He was honored at

Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ni ...

by African Student organization.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:King, George Gelaga 1932 births 2016 deaths Special Court for Sierra Leone judges 21st-century Sierra Leonean judges Permanent Representatives of Sierra Leone to the United Nations Permanent Delegates of Sierra Leone to UNESCO Sierra Leonean judges on the courts of the Gambia Ambassadors of Sierra Leone to France Ambassadors of Sierra Leone to Spain Ambassadors of Sierra Leone to Portugal Ambassadors of Sierra Leone to Switzerland Sierra Leone Creole people Sierra Leonean judges of United Nations courts and tribunals Alumni of the University of London