At the time of the interview, Amos Sawyer was chairman of the Governance Commission in Liberia, which was set up under the Comprehensive Peace Agreement of 2003. He was the president of the Interim Government of National Unity in Liberia between 1990 and 1994. Sawyer earned a doctoral degree in political science from Northwestern University, and after his presidency was a research scholar at Indiana University in Bloomington. He also wrote two books: Beyond Plunder: Toward Democratic Government in Liberia, and The Emergence of Autocracy in Liberia: Tragedy and Challenge. 

At the time of this interview, Lyonpo Sonam Tobgye was chief justice of the High Court of Bhutan, a position he had held since 1991.  He was appointed chief justice of the Supreme Court in December 2009.  Tobgye oversaw the drafting of Bhutan’s first constitution and a number of judicial reforms.  From 1986 to 1991, he simultaneously held the positions of auditor general of the Royal Audit Authority and secretary of the Royal Civil Service Commission.  During that time he implemented a number of civil service reforms and drafted the rules and regulations for both the civil service and the Royal Audit Authority.  Prior to those appointments, Tobgye served as a judge on the High Court.  In 2001 he received the Medaille d’Honeur from the Court de Cassation of France for his contribution to the cause of justice in Bhutan.