Canadian judge among those chosen to serve UN.

Justice Rose Boyko, the first Native to be appointed to a superior court in Canada, was appointed to a post in the United Nations General Assembly on March 2.

Boyko will join six other appointees on the United Nations Appeals Tribunal (UNAT), a newly created two-tiered court system that will help bolster a system of dealing with internal grievances and disciplinary cases worldwide, according to a UN press release.

"It is quite an honor to be recognized" said Boyko who was short-listed from among some 250 applicants.

The UN Internal Justice Council was formed in 2007 to advise the General Assembly on the selection of judges, and Boyko's appointment comes on the heels of the United Nations needing to revamp their internal legal processes.

According to the UN, the organization wanted to establish the basic framework for a new independent, transparent, professionalized and decentralized system of administration of justice.

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After interviewing her, the Internal Justice Council recommended Boyko, along with 14 other candidates for the seven positions available on UNAT.

Boyko joins representatives from India, Ghana, United States, France, Argentina and Uruguay for seven-year terms on the Appeals Tribunal.

The UN anticipates that the Appeals Tribunal will be operational as of July 1.

"My appointment as one of the UN appellate judges on the newly created UN Appeals Tribunal will give me an opportunity to shape the employment laws that will be applied within the UN organization, worldwide; this is exciting," Boyko said.

A Tsek'Ehne First Nation member, Boyko was raised traditionally in the Findlay Forks wilderness near Prince George, B.C., and has long been an advocate for Aboriginal people.

She said more Aboriginal representation in the entire justice system would please her, and would help Aboriginal people feel that the existing justice system is more representative of their values and less foreign to them.

"We still don't have Aboriginal judges on most of the superior courts in this country and there still are only a few, comparatively speaking, Aboriginal judges appointed to provincial courts," said Boyko.

"With the larger pool [dagger] of Aboriginal lawyers that now exists across Canada, I hope this will soon change," Boyko said.

Before her superior court appointment in 1994, Boyko served at the highest levels of the department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and has played a pivotal role in Canada's public service since the early 1980s.

From the traplines of northern BC, Boyko's legacy continues to build with this new position in one of the world's most revered organizations.

By Chris Phalen

Windspeaker Contributor