Date of initial election to the judicial roster: 20 December 2011
Current term: 1 July 2024 – 30 June 2026
Judge Aminatta Lois Runeni N’gum (née Annie Lois Runeni Ruredzo), has been a Judge of the Mechanism since it commenced operations in July 2012. In this capacity, she has adjudicated a variety of matters as a Single Judge and as a member of the Appeals Chamber, including in the Mladić and Stanišić & Simatović cases, as well as the Ngirabatware review proceedings.
In addition, Judge N’gum has been serving in the role of Subject Matter Specialist – Legal with the Gambian National Assembly since 2017. In 2022, she was also designated Arbitrator to the World Bank International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes.
Prior to her tenure at the Mechanism, Judge N’gum was a Judge of the Gambian Court of Appeal (2010-2011). She was also appointed and served in the Supreme Court of The Gambia (November 2010 session). Previously, she served in a number of roles at the ICTR (1999-2009), including as Head of the Appeals Support Unit in The Hague, the Netherlands, Head of the Defence Counsel and Detention Management Section, and Deputy Chief of the Court Management Section in Arusha, Tanzania.
Earlier in her career, Judge N’gum served the judiciary of The Gambia in various other capacities, including as First Judicial Secretary (1998-1999), Master of the Supreme Court (1990-1994), and as First Class, Senior, and Principal Magistrate (1980-1990). She has also worked as a legal practitioner in her national jurisdiction (1994-1998, 2009-2010). In addition, Judge N’gum was a part-time law lecturer at the Gambia Technical Training Institute (1994-1998). In 1994, she served as Assistant Editor for the Gambia Law Reports by the National Council for Law Reporting, and as an ad hoc member of the Criminal Code Subcommittee of The Gambia Law Reform Commission.
Judge N’gum holds a bachelor’s joint honours degree in law and sociology from the University of Keele, United Kingdom (1978); and a master’s degree in public international law, with an international criminal law specialisation, from Leiden University, the Netherlands (2005). She was called as an Utter Barrister to the Bar of England and Wales in 1979. Judge N’gum is a member of several professional associations, including the Commonwealth Magistrates’ and Judges’ Association and the International Association of Women Judges. She is fluent in English and Shona and has a working knowledge of French.