Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Moncef Boukthir, had a meeting, Tuesday at the ministry's headquarters, with university professor Haykel Ben Mahfoudh, who was recently elected as the judge at the International Criminal Court (CPI) for 2024/2033. The minister underscored that Ben Mahfoudh's election will help promote Tunisia's image abroad and strengthen its commitment to respecting the Rome Statute and the values of the internationalcriminal justice, reads a statement of the ministry. Boukthir welcomed the election of Haykel Ben Mahfoudh, considered as the first person from Tunisia and the Arab region to serve as the judge at the International Criminal Court, given his acknowledged competence and experience in the relevant areas of international law. Ben Mahfoudh expressed his willingness to best to represent Tunisia at its best in major international bodies . Professor Haykel Ben Mahfoudh was elected judge at the International Criminal Court on December 6 as part of the 22nd sessio n of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. He is the first Tunisian and Arab to hold this position since the creation of the ICC in 2002. Ben Mahfoudh is a lawyer and a university professor. He has 25-year academic experience and held several positions of scientific, research and management responsibility. He ran the Research Laboratory in International and European Law and Maghreb-Europe Relations (LR-DIERME). He holds a Doctorate in international humanitarian law (IHL) and is considered among the leading specialists in IHL in Tunisia and the Arab world. His work on the protection of victims in armed conflicts is at the heart of his contributions to the development of international criminal law and the law of peace and security in the countries of North Africa and the Middle East. He is the author of several reference publications in these fields. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse