Nigerian named new registrar of U.N. criminal tribunals agency

Olufemi Elias of Nigeria, executive secretary of the World Bank Administrative Tribunal since July, recently was appointed registrar of the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals.
He previously held the World Bank position from 2008 to 2013.
Elias has served in numerous capacities within the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), including senior legal officer from 2005 to 2008 and a legal adviser and director from 2013 to 2016. He also has been a legal adviser and special assistant at the United Nations Compensation Commission. Among his other roles, Elias has been an associate member of the Institut de Droit International, secretary-general for the African Association for International Law and a visiting professor for the law department at Queen Mary University of London.
He earned his bachelor's and master's in jurisprudence from the University of Oxford, a master's in law from the University of Cambridge and a Ph.D. from the University of London. He is a member of the Nigerian Bar.
Elias will begin his new position as criminal-tribunals registrar Jan. 1. He will replace John Hocking of Australia, who helped set up the tribunals and oversaw the construction of its Arusha, Tanzania, premises.