John Rosolu Bankole Thompson

John Rosolu Bankole Thompson (15 December 1936 - 15 May 2021) was a Sierra Leonean judge and jurist who published several studies on the law of Sierra Leone. Bankole Thompson served on the Special Court for Sierra Leone and headed the Commission of Inquiry for the Government of Sierra Leone and the Sierra Leone Anti-corruption Commission from 2018.

Education Thompson was born in Freetown, Sierra Leone to Sierra Leonean parents of Creole ethnicity.

Career Thompson returned to Freetown, Sierra Leone and served as a state attorney and rose to the position of principal state attorney in the Office of the Attorney General. He was subsequently appointed a legal adviser to the Mano River Union and served in this role from 1977 to 1981. He was subsequently appointed to the high court by the Government of Sierra Leone and served there between 1981 and 1987.

After being invited to the United States by a U.S. judge, through Operation Crossroads Africa, Bankole Thompson toured the United States.

Special Court for Sierra Leone Bankole Thompson served alongside George Gelaga King on a three panelled judiciary on the Special Court for Sierra Leone to try cases relating to the Sierra Leone Civil War.

Publications The Constitutional History and Law of Sierra Leone (1961-1995) Universal Jurisdiction: The Sierra Leone Profile The Criminal Law of Sierra Leone American Criminal Procedures (a co-authored book)