The Asia Pacific Chapter spans nearly half the globe and includes not only the large and populous countries of Asia but also the many scattered island nations of the Pacific.  The languages, cultures and diverse interests make it a complex region and the sharing of knowledge and information about protection and migration issues is all the more important here.  The Chapter has long been active in assisting regional countries with an interest in developing both protection and migration systems, particularly in understanding and applying principles of human rights law and international law generally.

Judge Torres is the Presiding Judge of Branch 79 and former Executive Judge of the Regional Trial Court, Morong, Rizal, Philippines.  She has specialised interest and training in human rights, refugees and statelessness, women and children in various local and international for a and is a member of various committees of the Supreme Court of the Philippines, namely:  Inter-agency Committee for Refugees, Asylum Seekers and Other Persons of Concern; Special Committee on Facilitated Naturalization for Refugees and Stateless Individuals; Committee on Family Courts and Juvenile Concerns; Technical Working Group on the Rule on Anti-Terrorism Act Cases, Committee on the Proposed New Code of Judicial Conduct and Accountability, Technical Working Group on the Implementing Rules on the Judiciary Marshalls Act.  She is a  member of the Department of Special Areas of Concern , the Department of Family Law and the Corps of Professors of the Philippine Judicial Academy (PHILJA) and is the author of various publications on human rights issues.

The Asia Pacific Chapter Council is Judge Joy Torres (President), Sean Baker (Immediate Past President), Sue Zelinka (Secretary), Martin Treadwell (Treasurer), Rolf Driver (Council member), Andrew Molloy (Council Member), Christine Cody (Council member), Jade Murphy (Council member), Louise Moor (Council member) and Fraser Robertson (Council member) .

The Americas Chapter was founded over two decades ago.  It consists of countries in North, Central and South America, which are home to culturally and ethnographically diverse communities and peoples, including many Indigenous Peoples and nations.  Migration and the issues it raises are central to these communities’ legal and political orders.  Millions of people immigrate to, and migrate between, the countries in the Americas each year.  This Chapter assists in addressing these issues, disseminating information, and fostering dialogue between its members and the rest of the Association, seeking to better understand how these nations may develop their migration systems and see their development in light of international migration law and fundamental human rights.

Justice Love Saint-Fleur was appointed Justice of the Canadian Federal Court, and ex officio member of the Federal Court of Appeal, on October 25, 2024.  She holds a Bachelor of Laws (1995) from the Université de Montréal, an advanced studies diploma in international law and international organizations from the Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University (1999) and a master’s degree in international law (2006) from the Université du Québec à Montréal.  She was called to the Barreau du Québec in 1997.

Justice Saint-Fleur is fluent in French, English, Haitian Creole, and Spanish.  Prior to her appointment, her practice focused on international law and human rights.  She worked for the federal agency Rights and Democracy, participating in the following United Nations bodies: the Commission on Human Rights, the Working Group on the Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.

She has held decision-making positions with provincial and federal immigration departments: in 2012, she became a Board Member of the Refugee Protection Division of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada—the country’s largest administrative tribunal—where she trained new decision-makers.  In 2019, she was appointed to the Refugee Appeal Division, where she served as a Coordinating Member.  Over the course of her professional and academic career, she has earned several honours.

Justice Saint-Fleur worked as a legal expert for the United Nations International Civilian Support Mission in Haiti before joining the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Venezuela and Ecuador.

15+ years

of judicial experience

7-year term

UN Dispute Tribunal, elected by the UN General Assembly

President

IARMJ-Europe, elected 2024

PhD

in Refugee Law; 2024 monograph on refugee law

Medal of Honour

Greek Ministry of Migration and Asylum, 2022

Greek · English · French

working languages

Judge, UN Dispute Tribunal | President, IARMJ-Europe | President, Administrative Court of First Instance of Athens

Aikaterini (Catherine) Koutsopoulou is a Greek Administrative Judge with more than 15 years of judicial experience and extensive international engagement in refugee and migration, administrative and disciplinary law.

JUDICIAL SERVICE

She currently serves as a Judge of the United Nations Dispute Tribunal (UNDT), following her election by the United Nations General Assembly for a seven-year term. In Greece, she holds the rank of President of the Administrative Court of First Instance of Athens, adjudicating cases in the fields of asylum and migration law, immigration detention and other areas of administrative law. She also holds senior disciplinary responsibilities as President of Disciplinary Boards for Public Servants and President of the Disciplinary Committee of the Hellenic Football Federation (HFF). From 2016 to 2022, in parallel with her judicial duties, she served as a member of an Independent Appeals Committee of the Greek Asylum Appeals Authority, adjudicating international protection cases at second instance.

INTERNATIONAL LEADERSHIP

Her involvement in the International Association of Refugee and Migration Judges (IARMJ) spans a decade of elected leadership. She was first elected to the Board of IARMJ-Europe in 2016, served as Vice-President of IARMJ-Europe from 2018 to 2024, and was elected President of IARMJ-Europe in 2024. In parallel, since 2020, she has been repeatedly elected Vice-President of the IARMJ Global Management Board. Through these successive regional and global responsibilities, she has contributed to judicial dialogue and cooperation across jurisdictions and legal traditions, the exchange of jurisprudence and judicial practice, and the development of the Association’s international and regional activities.

INSTITUTIONAL LEADERSHIP

From 2015 to 2023, she served in successive elected positions within the Association of Greek Administrative Judges as Board Member, Treasurer and Secretary-General, further reflecting her experience in judicial representation and institutional leadership.

TRAINING & EXPERTISE

She has extensive experience as a judicial trainer, speaker and expert at national, European and international level, including activities involving the Hellenic National School of Judges, IARMJ, EUAA, UNHCR, the Council of Europe, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) and the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). Her principal areas of expertise include judicial review, evidence and credibility assessment, procedural fairness, proportionality, international protection and migration law.

ACADEMIC WORK & DISTINCTIONS

Dr Koutsopoulou holds a PhD in Refugee Law and conducts postdoctoral research in the field of international protection and migration. She is the author of a 2024 monograph on refugee law, as well as publications on citizenship and migration law, and has contributed to several EUAA judicial publications and analyses. In 2022, she received the Medal of Honour of the Greek Ministry of Migration and Asylum for distinguished judicial service. She works in Greek, English and French

The Africa Chapter's core function is to provide training in refugee law decision making to judges and decision-makers across Africa through workshops, chapter conferences and a biennial world conference.  The Africa chapter seeks to further the objectives of the Association, through  co-operation and the exchange of information and expertise on refugee and migration law, procedures and decision-making among states in Africa.

La fonction principale de la section Afrique est de fournir une formation sur la prise de décision en matière de droit des réfugiés aux juges et aux décideurs à travers l'Afrique par le biais d'ateliers, de conférences de section et d'une conférence mondiale semestrielle. Le chapitre Afrique cherche à promouvoir les objectifs de l'Association, à travers la coopération et l'échange d'informations et d'expertise sur le droit des réfugiés et de la migration, les procédures et la prise de décision entre les États africains.

Dunstan Mlambo has been appointed Deputy Chief Justice of the Republic of South Africa from 1 August 2025. Judge Mlambo has, since November 2012, served as Judge President of the Gauteng Division of the High Court of South Africa. Since 2002 he has also served as the chairperson of Legal Aid South Africa which provides legal aid to those who cannot afford it, and is a trustee of the Legal Resources Centre public interest law clinic.  As Chapter President, Dunstan serves on the Executive of the IARMJ.