ADB Board of Directors established the Administrative Tribunal in 1991 as an external mechanism to review personnel decisions by Management.

Composition of the Tribunal

The Tribunal is composed of five judges, who are all nationals of member countries of ADB. The current members of the Tribunal are:

Mr. Arnold M. Zack (President) - USA

Mediator and arbitrator of labor management disputes and Former President, National Academy of Arbitrators

Mr. Yuji Iwasawa (Vice-President) - Japan

Professor of International Law, Faculty of Law, University of Tokyo and Vice-Chairperson, Human Rights Committee, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

Mr. Khaja Muhammad Ahmad Samdani - Pakistan

Former Judge, Punjab High Court and currently Advocate, Supreme Court of Pakistan

Ms. Lakshmi Swaminathan - India

Former Vice-Chairman (Judicial) of the Central Administrative Tribunal, Principal Bench, New Delhi Former Joint Secretary and Legal Advisor in the Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India

Mr. Claude Wantiez - Belgium

Practicing lawyer with 35 years of experience specializing in individual and collective labor law, including matters of European and transnational labor law

Tribunal Secretariat

Cesar L. Villanueva, Executive Secretary

Attorney Villanueva has been in the practice of law since 1981. He is currently the Dean of the Ateneo de Manila Law School, and a professorial lecturer in corporation law; agency, trusts, partnerships and joint ventures; and, law on sales. He is a senior partner in the law firm of Villanueva, Gabionza & De Santos, and is a member of the Board of Directors of Makati Medical Center, the Clark Electric Distribution Corporation, and the Clark International Airport Corporation.

Attorney Villanueva obtained his Accounting degree (B.S.C.) from Holy Angel University (magna cum laude) in 1977, and his Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) from Ateneo de Manila Law School (valedictorian, cum laude). He placed 2nd after sitting for the Philippine Bar Examinations in November 1981, and placed 6th in the May 1982 CPA Board Examinations. He took his Master of Laws (LL.M.) at Harvard Law School in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He was also conferred a Diplomate in Juridical Science (D.J.S.) by San Beda College.

Christine Griffiths, Assistant to the Administrative Tribunal

Ms. Griffiths, who is a national of Australia, obtained her LL. B from the University of Queensland, Australia. She has also completed a Master's Degree in Business Administration and a Bachelor's Degree in Commerce. She has worked with the ADBT Secretariat since 2003.

Prior to joining ADB, Ms. Griffiths worked in the International Organisations and Legal Division of the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Prior to this she worked as an insurance litigation lawyer at Gadens Ridgeway Solicitors.