Date of initial election to the judicial roster: 20 December 2011
Current term: 1 July 2024 – 30 June 2026
Judge Carmel Agius has been a Judge of the Mechanism since it commenced operations in July 2012 and served as the Mechanism’s President from January 2019 until June 2022. During his time as President, he presided over the Appeals Chamber in several matters, including the Fatuma et al. contempt case and the Stanišić & Simatović case.
Judge Agius also served as the final President of the ICTY from November 2015 until its closure in December 2017, having served as its Vice-President for four years beforehand. As a Judge of the ICTY since 2001, he presided over the trial proceedings in the Brđanin, Orić, and Popović et al. cases in his capacity as Presiding Judge of ICTY Trial Chamber II (2001-2009). Subsequently, Judge Agius served as a member of the Appeals Chamber of both the ICTY and the ICTR (2009-2017), where he presided over the Đorđević, Ntawukulilyayo, Prlić et al., Renzaho, and Stanišić & Župljanin cases. In addition, he chaired the Rules Committee of the ICTY (2003-2013) and coordinated the drafting of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence of the Mechanism (2010-2011).
Earlier in his career, Judge Agius served as a Senior Judge of Malta’s Court of Appeal in all its jurisdictions, as well as the Constitutional Court, and was Acting Chief Justice on several occasions. Judge Agius was also a member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (1999–2008) and represented the Maltese judiciary on the Central Council of the International Association of Judges (1989–2001).
Separately, he represented the Maltese government at annual meetings of the UN Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice in Vienna, and the quinquennial UN Congresses on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders until 2000. He was actively involved in the negotiations leading to the establishment of the International Criminal Court (ICC) (1996-1998) and signed the Final Act in the Rome Statute on behalf of Malta at the UN Diplomatic Conference in Rome in July 1998. Subsequently, he was part of the Preparatory Commission for the ICC, which drew up the ICC’s Rules of Evidence and Procedure. Judge Agius was also Pro-Chancellor of the University of Malta (1996-1999) and an editorial board member of the Mediterranean Journal of Human Rights at the University of Malta (1998-2004).
Judge Agius holds a bachelor’s degree in English, Italian, and economics (1964); a master of notarial studies (1968); and a doctorate in law (1969), all from the University of Malta. In 2015, he was conferred the National Order of Merit of Malta. He is fluent in English, Maltese and Italian.