Professor Costa Ricky Mahalu is a Professor of Law and Vice Chancellor at the St. Augustine University in Tanzania. He is also an advocate with the Tanzania High Court, Chairman of the Ardhi University Council and legal advisor to various private and public organizations in Tanzania. Previously, Prof. Mahalu has served as Ambassador of Tanzania to Rome, Athens, Ankara, Ljubljana, Zagreb as well as Serbia and Macedonia. He was also the second in charge of the Tanzania Embassy in Bonn, Federal Republic of Germany. He was also the permanent representative of Tanzania to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Food Programme (WFP) and the International Fund of Agriculture Development (IFAD) in Rome between 2000 - 2006.

Prior to joining the St. Augustine University, he was the Professor of Law at University of Dar es Salaam, University of Hamburg and the Institute of Social Studies at the Hague. He has also been part of various law institutions across Europe and specialized in Maritime International Law. Prof. Mahalu holds a Bachelors of Law and Masters of Law from the University of Dar es Salaam and a doctorate from the University of Hamburg.