UN DISPUTE TRIBUNAL JUDGES
The UNDT is composed of three full-time judges and six half-time judges, appointed by the General Assembly. The current composition of the UNDT is as follows:
Joëlle Adda (France)
Judge Joëlle Adda was appointed as a full-time judge of the UNDT in New York from 1 July 2019. She has been an administrative judge for over 20 years at the first instance and at the appellate levels. She served as president of the Administrative Court of Lille (2014-2017) and president of the Fifth Chamber of the Administrative Court of Appeal of Paris. She has also served as Legal Director at the Société du Grand Paris and the French Telecommunications and Posts Regulator. She has previously been a Visiting Professor at the University of Iowa College of Law (USA) and a judge (panels chair) on France’s National Court of Asylum. Judge Adda earlier worked at the Legal Service of the European Commission (2000-2002). She graduated from the University of Paris and the French National School of Administration (ENA). Judge Adda was the UNDT President from 4 November 2019 and was reelected by the UNDT judges for a second one-year term starting on 1 January 2021 and again for six months to 30 June 2022. Judge Adda is also the elected UNDT President as of 1 July 2023.
Eleanor Donaldson-Honeywell (Trinidad and Tobago)
Eleanor Donaldson-Honeywell was appointed half time Judge of the UNDT for a seven year term effective 10 July 2019. Judge Eleanor Donaldson-Honeywell currently serves as a Puisne Judge of the High Court of Trinidad and Tobago, presiding in Civil matters since 2015. She has also served as a Judicial Officer at the Industrial Court of Trinidad and Tobago for several years and has held office as Solicitor General in the Ministry of the Attorney General of Trinidad and Tobago. She has enjoyed an extensive and varied legal practice as an Attorney-at-Law and Judicial Officer in Jamaica; presiding in criminal trials and Preliminary Inquiries as a resident Magistrate, playing a pioneering role in emerging fields of securities law regulation and competition law regulation, and serving as Director of Legal Services and Enforcement at the Securities Commission. She also holds an EMBA (Distinction and Top Student) from the Arthur Lock Jack Graduate School of Business and is a certified Mediator. She is the author of” Sailor Dance” the biography of John Stanley Donaldson, her father, and mother of Warren and Kristen.
Francesco Buffa (Italy)
Judge Francesco Buffa was appointed half-time Judge to the UNDT for a seven-year term, effective July 2019. With 26 years of judicial experience in employment disputes, he is a Justice of the Italian Supreme Court of Cassation since 2007, in the last five years on secondment to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg (France). At the same time, he has been lecturer at the Sapienza University of Rome and maître à conference all over Europe; he is the author of sixty legal monographies and a number of essays, most of them in labour and social security law.
Francis H.V Belle (Barbados)
Judge Francis H.V Belle has served as a High Court Judge for over 15-years. His judicial experience spans adjudication of criminal and civil matters, including Administrative and Employment Law actions. Judge Belle served as resident judge in Grenada, St Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Antigua and Dominica; visiting judge in Anguilla and Montserrat with the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (ECSC) 2003-present. He periodically serves as acting Court of Appeal Judge with the ECSC and acting judge of the Cayman Islands Grand Court (2015-present). Judge Belle holds a Bachelor of Arts, History and Social Science and Bachelor of Laws from the University of the West Indies (UWI), and a Certificate of Legal Education from Norman Manley Law School in Jamaica (1986). He also holds a Master of Science in Conflict Analysis and Resolution from Nova South Eastern University in the United States (2002) and served as Chairman of Court Connected Mediation Committees in three (3) ECSC jurisdictions. As a lawyer, Judge Belle taught Criminal Law at UWI (School of Continuing Education - British Virgin Islands) and held various senior positions within private and public sectors including Director of Public Prosecutions, (DPP) in St Kitts and Nevis. He is a Fellow of the Commonwealth Judicial Education Institute and Senior Fellow of the Weinstein International Foundation (Fellowship of Mediators). He was appointed UNDT half-time judge on July 10, 2019 for 7 years.
Margaret Tibulya (Uganda)
Judge Margaret Tibulya has over 25 years of judicial experience, including labor and administrative matters. She has served in various capacities, including Chief Magistrate of the Mengo Court that handled administrative and labor related matters (prior to the establishment of the Industrial Court in Uganda), as well as Deputy Registrar at the Commercial Court Kampala. She has been a Judge of the High Court of Uganda since 2013, currently serving as the Deputy Head of the Anti-Corruption Court in Uganda. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Law from Makerere University, Kampala, a Master’s Degree in Law from the School of Oriental and African Studies (University of London) and a Master of Business Administration Degree from the Eastern and Southern African Management Institute (ESAMI).
Rachel Sophie Sikwese (Malawi)
Judge Rachel Sophie Sikwese was appointed half-time Judge to the UNDT for a seven-year term, effective 10 July 2019. She has served in various judicial capacities in Malawi for 21 years, from the magistracy, registrar, chairperson of the Industrial Relations Court and currently Judge of the High Court specializing in commercial law. She is the Editor of Malawi Law Reports since 2002. She sits on the special Law Commission on the Review of the Supreme Court of Appeal Act as Deputy Chairperson. Her publication Labour Law in Malawi and her monograph in the International Encyclopaedia for Labour Law and Industrial Relations (Kluwer Law International BV, The Netherlands), are leading authorities on labour law in Malawi. Her other publications include, Access to Labour Justice and HIV-AIDS in the World of Work. She was on the Executive Committee of the International Labour and Employment Relations Association (Ilera) (2009-2015). She is an Expert Contributor to the World Bank Group (Women, Business and the Law), UN Sustainable Development Goals- Goal 16, World Justice Project Rule of Law Index 2017-2018 report and ILO Bureau for Gender Equality. She served as Temporary Advisor to the World Health Organisation (Social Determinants of Health). She holds a Master of Laws Degree (Indiana- Bloomington, USA).
Sean Daniel Wallace (United States of America)
Judge Sean Daniel Wallace served as Circuit Judge of the Maryland Judiciary between 2002 and 2023. Prior to this position, Judge Wallace acted as a County Attorney of the Prince George's County Government between 1999 and 2002, Deputy County Attorney/Associate County Attorney of the Prince George's County Government between 1988 and 1999, and Associate Attorney at Knight, Manzi, Brennan, Ostrom and Ham, P.A. Judge Wallace holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the Hampden-Sydney College (1982), a Juris Doctor from the University of Maryland (1985), and completed a Senior Executives in State and Local Government Certificate from Harvard University (2001). Judge Wallace was associated with the American College of Business Court Judges (President 2013-2014), the Maryland Circuit Judges Association (President 2008-2010), the Judicial Advisory Board, George Mason University Scalia Law School Law and Economics Center, the American Bar Association (Business Court Representative 2010-2012), the Maryland State Bar Association (Board of Governors 2003-2005), among others.
Solomon Areda Waktolla (Ethiopia)
Judge Solomon Areda Waktolla is an Ethiopian jurist who has over 25 years of experience in adjudication, public administration and policy research. He served in the Ethiopian Judiciary mainly as a judge for 20 years at different levels of the court in both regional and federal positions. Judge Waktolla served as Deputy Chief Justice of the Federal Supreme Court of Ethiopia between 2018 and 2023, presiding over the Cassation Bench, acting as Deputy Chair of the Federal Judicial Administration Commission and Council of Constitutional Inquiry of Ethiopia. He also played a leading role in designing and implementing policy matters. He managed the successful implementation of the court reform packages introduced to the Ethiopian judicial system. In addition, to these wide-ranging judicial experiences in Ethiopia, his background includes international experience as well. Judge Waktolla has been appointed to the membership of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) at The Hague, Netherlands for a six-year term to serve as an Arbitrator for a mandate starting as of December 2017. Judge Waktolla holds a Bachelor of Laws from the Addis Ababa University (1997), a Master of Laws (LL.M) from the University of Amsterdam (2006), a Master in Public Administration (MPA) from Harvard University Kennedy School of Government (2013), and a Master of Laws (LL.M) from Harvard Law School (2014). At Harvard Kennedy School of Government, Judge Waktolla completed the fellowship of Edward S. Mason Program in public Policy and Management. He also obtained HIID Merit Scholarship award from Harvard University.
Xiangzhuang Sun (China)
Judge Xiangzhuang Sun has served as Vice President of the Third Circuit Court of the Supreme People’s Court of China since January 2023, and Senior Judge of the International Commercial Court of the Supreme People’s Court of China since 2018. He was appointed as a Judge and then Presiding Judge at the Supreme People’s Court of China since 2007. Prior to the above positions, Judge Sun served as Judge of the High People's Court of Jiangsu Province between 1999 and 2007, and Law Clerk of the High People's Court of Jiangsu Province between 1993 and 1999. Judge Sun holds a Bachelor of Laws from the East China University of Political Science and Law (1993), a Master of Laws with Merit from the University of Warwick (2002), and a Ph.D. in Law with Distinction from the Nanjing Normal University (2007).
