New Delhi: United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has appointed former Supreme Court Justice Madan B. Lokur as Chairperson of the United Nations Internal Justice Council. Justice Lokur will serve in this role until November 12, 2028.
The appointment was communicated in a letter dated December 19, 2024. In the letter, Secretary-General Guterres stated: “I have pleasure to appoint you, with immediate effect, as a member of the Internal Justice Council, in the capacity of Chairperson, for a term ending on 12 November 2028.”
Born in 1953, Justice Lokur has had a distinguished legal career. He served as a judge of the Supreme Court of India and, in 2019, became the first Indian judge appointed to the Supreme Court of Fiji as a member of its non-resident panel.
Justice Lokur gained recognition as one of the four Supreme Court judges who raised concerns about the state of democracy in India in a letter to the Chief Justice. Throughout his career, he has been an outspoken advocate for the rights of minorities, social justice, and the rule of law. He has addressed issues such as communal politics, hate speech, bulldozer injustice, and other forms of discrimination and atrocities against minorities.
