Retired Lady Justice Joyce Aluoch is one of the prominent Kenyans who have helped to put the country on the global map through their professional achievements.
She is a former judge of Kenya’s High Court and Court of Appeal and the first vice-president of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, The Netherlands.
Aluoch is also Kenya’s second female Judge.
She specializes in alternative dispute resolution techniques, specifically arbitration and mediation.
Aluoch is a certified mediator with the International Mediation Institute (IMI) and an accredited mediator with the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution London.
She attended Butere Girls High School for O Levels and then Limuru Girls for A Levels.
Aluoch has a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Nairobi and a Diploma from the Kenya School of Law.
She also has a master’s degree in international affairs (GMAP) from Tufts University’s Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy in Boston.
Tufts University gave her the Distinguished Achievement Award in April 2015, and in September 2018, the same university gave her its highest distinction, The Class of 1947 Award (honoris causa).
She became the first black person to receive such an honor, which is only awarded on those who have embraced the school’s goal and founding ideals throughout their lifetime.
Aluoch was appointed District Magistrate by the Judiciary in 1974.
She convicted numerous political dissidents, including Onyango Oloo, for allegedly attempting a coup against late former President Daniel Arap Moi’s regime.
Aluoch was appointed to the High Court in 1993 and served as the senior judge in civil, criminal, commercial, and family law proceedings until her elevation to the Court of Appeal in 2007.
She also founded and led the High Court’s Family Division, simplifying litigation in family law cases.
Inspiring Story of Imaana Laibuta Who is Kenya’s First Blind Judge
On March 11, 2009, Aluoch began serving as an ICC judge for a nine-year term. She was appointed to the Trial Division and began full-time duties on May 25, 2009.
She chaired the African Union Committee of Experts on the Rights of the Child (2001-2005) and has served on special missions, including negotiations on behalf of the African Union with the Government of Sudan and a fact-finding mission to war-torn northern Uganda to report on the effects of the conflict on children.
Aluoch also served as vice-chair and member of the UN Committee on the Rights and Welfare of the Child from 2003 to 2008, as well as chairing a task force that worked to implement the Sexual Offences Act 2006, which aimed to develop a national policy framework for dealing with sexual offenses in Kenya.
She was a member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (London and Kenya branches), the International Council for Commercial Arbitration (ICCA) Peace Palace in The Hague, the Nairobi Centre for International Arbitration and the African Arbitration Association.
Aluoch conducted mediations in Kenya through the High Court Annexed Mediation Programme, FIDA-Kenya, and private mediations.
She is an Accredited Trainer for Foundation Mediation Skills at Strathmore University’s Dispute Resolution Centre.
Aluoch has recently served on the Board of Mediators Beyond Borders International, as Chair of the Advisory Board of the newly founded Africa-Asia Mediation Association and as Patron of Kisumu Mediation Centre.
