Justice Rosolu John Bankole Thompson (Sierra Leone) was appointed by the Government of Sierra Leone. Prior to joining the Special Court, he served as a Judge in Sierra Leone’s High Court from 1981 to 1987. At Eastern Kentucky University, USA, he was Professor at in the Department of Criminal Justice and Police Studies and also served as Dean Graduate Studies.
Justice Thompson was also the David Brennan Endowed Professor in Comparative Constitutional Law at Akron University in 1987. He was called to the Bar in England in 1971. He then returned to Sierra Leone where he practiced as State Attorney, rising to the rank of Principal State Attorney in the Attorney General’s Office, during which time he was working on and completing requirements for his Doctorate degree in Law at Cambridge, which he obtained in 1976.
From 1977 to 1981, Justice Thompson served as Legal Officer for the Mano River Union, an economic grouping of the West African nations of Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea. He was also a founder member of the Sierra Leone Law Reform Commission.
Justice Thompson has written and published extensively. His main publications include The Constitutional History and Law of Sierra Leone (1961-1995), The Criminal Law of Sierra Leone, and American Criminal Procedures (a co-authored book).
He is Chairman of the Sierra Leone General Legal Council Law Journal Editorial Board, and a Member of the West African Commission on Drug Trafficking and other Transnational Crimes.