Fatsah Ouguergouz

Fatsah Ouguergouz is an Algerian jurist who has had a distinguished career as an international judge and legal expert. He has specialized in international law, human rights and international dispute resolution. Ouguergouz served as a Judge and Vice-President of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and has held key positions within the United Nations legal system. He is a Member of the Institute of International Law.

Education Fatsah Ouguergouz received his Licence en droit from the Faculty of Law of Jean Monnet University (Université de Saint-Étienne) in Saint-Étienne, France in 1980. He earned a Ph.D. in international law from the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva, Switzerland in 1991. In 1994, he was appointed a Human Rights Officer in Rwanda by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

International Court of Justice Ouguergouz was Special Assistant to Judge Mohammed Bedjaoui, the President of the International Court of Justice 1995-1997. The Human Rights Council later appointed him President of the UN Commission of Inquiry on Burundi (2016-2018). His reports contributed to investigations of human rights violations, accountability efforts in Burundi and the authorization of an investigation by the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court into the situation in Burundi.

UNESCO Ouguergouz has been Chairperson of the High-Level Panel of International Legal Experts established by the Conference of States Parties to the International Convention against Doping in Sport appointed by UNESCO in Paris since 2022. based in Arusha, Tanzania. He was a Judge from 2006 to 2016, and served as Vice-President of the Court 2012-2013. Elected initially in 2006 for a four-year term, he was re-elected in 2010 for a six-year mandate. Notable opinions include:

Michelot Yogogombaye v. Republic of Senegal (Application No. 001/2008, 15 December 2009): This was the Court’s first judgment. Ouguergouz wrote a separate opinion emphasizing jurisdictional issues, particularly the requirement of a state’s consent to the Court’s jurisdiction. He elaborated on the principle of forum prorogatum and the Court’s handling of applications despite states not having made prior declarations accepting its jurisdiction. His analysis clarified the consent and sovereignty principles underpinning the Court’s competence to hear cases from individuals and non-governmental organizations.

Femi Falana v. African Union (Application No. 001/2011, 26 June 2012): In this case, Ouguergouz authored a separate concurring opinion clarifying procedural issues concerning the Court’s discretion to reject applications outright for lack of jurisdiction. His analysis helped clarify the Court’s jurisdictional threshold for admissibility and case handling.

African Court of Justice and Human Rights In 2005 Ouguergouz co-drafted with Mohammed Bedjaoui, then Minister of Foreign Affairs of Algeria, the Protocol establishing the African Court of Justice and Human Rights, which was adopted by the Assembly of the African Union in July 2008.

African Development Bank Ouguergouz has been a Judge on the Administrative Tribunal of the African Development Bank located in Abidjan, Ivory Coast since 2023. He has served as an independent arbitrator and legal consultant in various cases under UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules and at the Permanent Court of Arbitration. of the Supreme People’s Court of the People's Republic of China (Shenzhen, China) Member of the panel of arbitrators of China International Economic and Trade Commission (CIETAC) (Beijing, China) Member of the panel of arbitrators of South China International Arbitration Center (HK) (SCIAHK) (Hong Kong, China) Member of the panel of arbitrators of Shenzhen Court of International Arbitration (SCIA) (Shenzhen) Member of the panel of arbitrators of Energy Disputes Arbitration Center (EDAC) (Ankara, Turkey) Member of the Advisory Committee of Beihai Asia International Arbitration Centre (BAIAC) established by the President of Algeria Abdelmadjid Tebboune.

Academic positions and activities Since 2022, Ouguergouz has been the Rector of the African Institute of International Law based in Arusha. He has been a Visiting Professor of International Law at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva since 2023. at Yale Law School at Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C. in 2008. In 2025, he taught a course on "The Public Law of Africa and the Protection of Human and Peoples Rights" as part of the XXI Winter Course on International Law (XXI Curso de Inverno de Direito Internacional) at the Centro de Direito Internacional e do Centro de Estudos em Direito e Negócios (CEDIN) in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Ouguergouz is regularly a guest lecturer at institutions such as the International Institute of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France. The African Charter of Human and Peoples' Rights: A Comprehensive Agenda for Human Dignity and Sustainable Democracy in Africa (Nijhoff Publishers, 2003) La Charte africaine des droits de l’homme et des peuples – Une approche juridique des droits de l’homme entre tradition et modernité (Presses Universitaires de France, 1993) “The Protection of Chinese Investments in Africa: a Brief Overview of Investor-State Dispute Settlement Mechanisms”, African Yearbook of International Law, Volume 23, 2017, pp. 194-206

He is the author of numerous other publications in English and in French. (Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria Faculty of Law). having previously been an Associate (Associé) from 2021. of the Fondation Abi-Saab pour le droit international et la justice sociale (Geneva), Honorary Committee of the Fondation Kéba Mbaye

Honors In 2024 Ouguergouz was named to the "Hall of Fame" of the Geneva Graduate Institute’s most illustrious former students.