JAMAICAN international law professor Dr Stephen Vasciannie has been elected by the Organisation of American States (OAS) to fill the vacancy left on the Inter-American Judicial Committee (IJC), replacing the island’s former solicitor general, Dr Kenneth Rattray.

The OAS, in a statement yesterday, said that by acclamation, the member state representatives elected Vasciannie during a regular session of the OAS Permanent Council, which approved the Jamaican government’s nomination.

Rattray had resigned due to ill health, and Vasciannie will serve the rest of that term which runs until December 31, 2005, on the Rio de Janeiro, Brazil-headquartered Juridical Committee.

The IJC serves the OAS as an advisory body on judicial matters of an international nature and promotes the progressive development and the codification of international law.

Permanent Council chairman, Panama’s Ambassador Aristides Royo, expressed the delegations’ congratulations to Dr Vasciannie and the Jamaican Government on the election.

The University of the West Indies law professor, who heads the University’s Department of Government, is also currently consultant to the International Division in the island’s Attorney General’s Department.

Jamaica’s Alternate Representative to the OAS, Delrose Montague, hailed Vasciannie’s election to membership on the Inter-American Juridical Committee, noting that it affords Jamaica the opportunity to continue serving that important hemispheric body.

Montague also underscored Vasciannie’s distinguished career in jurisprudence, law and legal education.

“Dr Vasciannie is eminently qualified to serve on this committee, and he looks forward to working with his fellow members on the Committee to continue the important work of the IJC,” said Montaque.

A 1981 Jamaica Rhodes Scholar and 1984 Commonwealth Scholar, Vasciannie is an internationally-renowned expert who holds a D Phil and an LLM in international law from Oxford University, as well as an Oxford BA in law, and a BSc in economics from the UWI.

An attorney-at-law who has practised in Jamaica and New York among other places, Vasciannie has won numerous international awards for his work. He has written four books and numerous other publications and articles on a variety of subjects, notably international law issues, and is a contributor to a number of international journals.