Two separate statements issued by the UN Department of Public Information on February 29, 2012 said that the appointments for a term of four years would be effective March 1, 2012. According to the Statute of the Mechanism, the two officials may be eligible for reappointment.
The UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, selected Judge Meron as Head of the Mechanism after consulting the President of the Security Council and the judges of the Mechanism, while Jallow's appointment by the Security Council was made after being nominated by the Secretary General.
"Judge Meron and Jallow are eminently qualified for the respective positions of President and Prosecutor of the Mechanism. The Mechanism will benefit immensely from their considerable experience, outstanding leadership skills, and profound commitment to international criminal justice," one of the statements quoted Ban as saying.
Judge Meron will continue serving as President of the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) while working as the President of the Mechanism. It will be similar arrangements for Jallow, who has been serving as Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) since 2003.
On January 18, 2012, Australian John Hocking was appointed as Registrar of the Mechanism. Hocking, who has been serving as Registrar of ICTY since May 2009, will continue in that position despite his new selection.
The Mechanism was established by Security Council to carry out a number of essential functions of the two criminal Tribunals after their closure. It will have two branches, in Arusha and The Hague, which will start functioning on July 1, 2012 and July 1, 2013, respectively.
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© Hirondelle News Agency