New President of OSCE Court of Conciliation and Arbitration elected

On 19 September 2013, members of the OSCE Court of Conciliation and Arbitration which serves as a mechanism for the peaceful settlement of disputes elected Professor Christian Tomuschat (Germany) as President of the Court for a mandate of six years.

Tomuschat replaced Robert Badinter, former French Justice Minister, who had been heading the Court since its creation in 1995.

A new bureau of the Court was elected, too. The bureau is the Court’s permanent executive body. It consists of the president, four members (including the vice president) and four alternate members.

The newly elected bureau includes Päivi Hirvelä (Finland), Oskaras Jusys (Lithuania), Kimmo Kiljunen (Findland), Vanda Lamm (Hungary), Riccardo Pisillo Mazzeschi (Italy), Daniel Thürer (Switzerland), Anna Wyrozumska (Poland).

Kimmo Kiljunen, Special Representative for Mediation of the Finnish Foreign Minister, has been elected Vice-President at the investiture meeting of the new bureau, held on 2 October 2013 in Geneva. 

The OSCE Court of Conciliation and Arbitration is based in Geneva. It was established in 1995 by the Convention on Conciliation and Arbitration as a mechanism for the peaceful settlement of disputes in accordance with international law and the OSCE commitments of the parties. Thirty-three states have now ratified the Convention.