At the 55th General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS), held in June 2025, two new members were elected by acclamation to the Board of Directors of the Justice Studies Center of the Americas (CEJA) for the 2026–2028 term. 

The newly appointed Board Members are Catalina Fernández Carter (Chile) and Lise Hilda Christelle St-Natus Cavé (Haiti). They will assume their duties in January 2026, succeeding Cecilia Barrios (Guatemala) and Nicolás Soler (Argentina), whose mandates will conclude in December 2025. 

With these new appointments, beginning in 2026, CEJA’s Board will consist of four women and three men, representing a step forward in achieving gender balance within the organization’s governance structure. 

About the New Members of CEJA’s Board 

Catalina Fernández Carter (Chile)


An attorney from the University of Chile and Master of International Law from the University of Cambridge. She currently teaches International Law and International Criminal Law at Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez and serves as a rapporteur for Oxford University Press on issues related to the law of international organizations. She has experience as a judicial fellow at the International Court of Justice, where she served as legal assistant to Judge Antônio Cançado Trindade, working on cases related to serious human rights violations, genocide, racial discrimination, diplomatic immunity, and other matters of public international law. She also served on the Executive Committee of the Cambridge University Pro Bono Project. 

Lise Hilda Christelle St-Natus Cavé (Haiti)


A registered lawyer at the Port-au-Prince Bar, with over a decade of professional experience in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. She has worked at Del Valle & Associados and Hudicourt-Woolley law firms, and has served as in-house legal counsel and board member of Groupe Canez, a major Haitian business group. She is an active member of the Chamber of Conciliation and Arbitration of Haiti (CCAH) and of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb) in London. Her areas of expertise include commercial law, arbitration, corporate law, and public procurement. She holds an International Arbitration Certification from American University and has received training from the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in Paris. She holds law degrees from the Iberoamerican University (UNIBE) and Antonio de Nebrija University in Madrid. 

About CEJA’s Board of Directors 

CEJA’s Board of Directors is composed of seven members, elected in a personal capacity by the General Assembly of the OAS from among candidates nominated by Member States. The Board is responsible for overseeing the management of CEJA’s Executive Directorate and for approving institutional work plans and budgets.