Phakiso Mochochoko

Biography

Phakiso Mochochoko (Lesotho) joined the International Criminal Court as part of the ICC Advance Team created to set up the Court in The Hague in 2002. From 2004 to January 2011 he was Senior Legal Advisor (Registry). Since February 2011 he is Head of the Jurisdiction, Complementarity and Cooperation Division (Office of the Prosecutor).

Before joining diplomatic service as Legal Counselor, he practiced law as an attorney in Lesotho from 1984 to 1992. He later worked as a trainer and coordinator for human rights NGO’s in South Africa from 1992 to 1994.

He began his involvement with the process of establishing the ICC in 1994 in his capacity as Legal Counselor for the Permanent Mission of Lesotho to the United Nations. In addition to chairing the Working Group on Privileges and Immunities, he also chaired the Working Group on International Cooperation and Judicial Assistance (Part 9 of the Rome Statute) during the Rome Conference and later, the Working Group that elaborated the Rules of Procedure on cooperation. He was Vice-Chairman of the Committee of the Whole of the Rome Conference as well as Chairman of the Sixth Committee (Legal) during the 54th session of the United Nations General Assembly. He was part of the Management Team that oversaw the establishment of the Sierra Leone Special Court and he participated in the UN Planning Mission that made practical arrangements for the start up operations of that Court.

He is a contributor to the two books edited by Professor Roy Lee: The International Criminal Court: The Making of the Rome Statute, Issues, Negotiations, Results (1999) and The International Criminal Court: Elements of Crimes and Rules of Procedures and Evidence (2001). He is also a joint contributor to “Internationalized Criminal Courts and Tribunals” edited by Cesare Romano, Andre Nollkaemper and Jann K. Kleffner.

He holds a B.A. Law and L.L.B. Degrees from the National University of Lesotho; M.A. in International Relations and a Post Graduate Diploma in International Law and Diplomacy from St. John’s University, New York.