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Julia Sebutinde

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Her Excellency
Julia Sebutinde
Vice President of the International Court of Justice
Incumbent
Assumed office
6 February 2024
PresidentNawaf Salam
Preceded byKirill Gevorgian
Judge of the International Court of Justice
Incumbent
Assumed office
6 February 2012
Preceded byAbdul Koroma
Personal details
Born (1954-02-28) 28 February 1954 (age 70)
Kampala, British Uganda
SpouseJohn Bagunywa Sebutinde
Children2
Alma materMakerere University (LLB)
Law Development Centre (Diploma)
University of Edinburgh (LLM)

Julia Sebutinde (born 28 February 1954) is a Ugandan jurist. She is currently serving her second term on the International Court of Justice (ICJ) following her re-election on 12 November 2020.[1] She also is the current chancellor of Muteesa I Royal University, a university owned by Buganda kingdom. She has been a judge on the court since March 2012. She is the first African woman to sit on the ICJ.[2][3] Before being elected to the ICJ, Sebutinde was a judge of the Special Court for Sierra Leone. She was appointed to that position in 2007.

On 6 February 2024, Julia Sebutinde was elected Vice-President of the International Court of Justice.[4]

Background

Sebutinde was born in February 1954[1] in Kampala, Uganda, to a civil servant and a housewife with the Semambo surname. She attended the Lake Victoria Primary School in Entebbe in the 1960s.[5] She then joined Gayaza High School and later King's College Budo, before entering Makerere University to study law. Sebutinde graduated with a Bachelor of Laws in 1977. She obtained the Diploma in Legal Practice from the Law Development Center in Kampala in 1978. In 1990, she enrolled at the Edinburgh Law School, University of Edinburgh for her Master of Laws, graduating in 1991. In 2009, in recognition of her body of work and contribution to international justice, she was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws by the University of Edinburgh.[6][7]

Career

In Africa

Julia Sebutinde first worked in the Ministry of Justice in the Government of Uganda from 1978 until 1990. After graduating from the University of Edinburgh in 1991, she worked in the Ministry of the Commonwealth in the United Kingdom. She later joined the Ministry of Justice in the Republic of Namibia, which had just attained Independence at that time. In 1996, she was appointed Judge of the High Court of Uganda. In that capacity, she presided over three commissions of inquiry related to the following government departments:[8]

At the Special Court for Sierra Leone

In 2005, Julia Sebutinde was appointed, with secondment from the Ugandan government, to the Special Court for Sierra Leone, established by the United Nations. She was later appointed the Presiding Judge in Courtroom II, at that time responsible for hearing the case against former Liberian president, Charles Taylor. In that position she refused to attend a disciplinary hearing against Taylor's lawyer.[10][11]

At the International Court of Justice

In the 2011 International Court of Justice judges election,[12] Sebutinde was one of eight candidates for five vacant judicial seats on the International Court of Justice, having been nominated by the national groups of Croatia, Denmark, and Uganda in the Permanent Court of Arbitration.[13] In the election, a successful candidate needs an absolute majority of votes both in the United Nations General Assembly and in the United Nations Security Council.[14] On the first day of voting, four candidates were elected but the fifth position was not filled.[15] When voting adjourned, Abdul Koroma, the incumbent from Sierra Leone, had received 9 votes out of 15 in the Security Council, with 8 votes needed to elect. Over in the General Assembly, after five rounds of voting, Julia Sebutinde, the contender, had received 97 votes out of 193, with 97 votes needed to elect.[16][17] When balloting resumed on 13 December 2011, Sebutinde received an absolute majority of votes in both the Security Council and the General Assembly, and thus was declared elected.[18]

She was elected for a second term at the ICJ in March 2021.[9]

Sebutinde was one of the 17 judges ruling on provisional measures in South Africa's genocide case against Israel. She voted against all the provisional measures, and was the only permanent judge to vote against any of the measures.[19][20] Her dissenting opinion concluded that the dispute in question was essentially political rather than legal, and there was no plausible basis for finding genocidal intent on the part of Israel.[21] The Ugandan Ministry of Foreign Affairs subsequently released a statement that it supported South Africa's position and that Sebutinde's vote "does not in any way, reflect the position of the Government of the Republic of Uganda".[22]

Justice Sebutinde held the position of Chancellor of the International Health Sciences University, in Kampala, from 2008 to 2017.[23]

Personal life

Julia Sebutinde is married to John Bagunywa Sebutinde; they have two daughters.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Who is Julia Sebutinde? The judge against all ICJ rulings in Israel's case". Al Jazeera. 26 January 2024. Retrieved 27 January 2024.
  2. ^ Butagira, Tabu (15 December 2011). "Justice Sebutinde Speaks on New World Court Job". Daily Monitor. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
  3. ^ "Julia Sebutinde – First African Woman Sworn in As Judge of UN Court". TheHabariNetwork.Com. Xinhua News Agency. 12 March 2012. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
  4. ^ "Judge Julia Sebutinde elected Vice-President of the International Court of Justice" (PDF). International Court of Justice. 6 February 2024. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
  5. ^ Kalibbala, Gladys (19 August 2008). "Entebbe's Former School of Glory Fades". New Vision. Archived from the original on 9 August 2014. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
  6. ^ "The University of Edinburgh: Honorary Graduates 2008–2009". The University of Edinburgh (TUoE). 22 August 2012. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
  7. ^ Ssenkaaba, Stephen (29 July 2009). "Justice Sebutinde's Star Still Rising". New Vision. Archived from the original on 8 August 2014. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
  8. ^ Scheier, Rachel (7 May 2003). "Uganda's answer to corruption: fiery 'Lady Justice'". Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
  9. ^ a b Muhoozi, Mourice (28 January 2024). "Who is Julia Sebutinde: The Dissenting Voice in the ICJ's Israel Case?". Watchdog Uganda. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
  10. ^ Heller, Kevin Jon (27 February 2011). "Judge Refuses to Attend Taylor Lawyer's Disciplinary Hearing". OpinionJuris.Org. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
  11. ^ Sesay, Alpha (2 March 2011). "One Judge Down: Drama Continues At The Charles Taylor Trial". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
  12. ^ "Law School Graduate Nominated for Election to the International Court of Justice". The University of Edinburgh School of Law. 26 October 2011. Archived from the original on 17 June 2013. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
  13. ^ United Nations Secretary-General (26 July 2011). "UN Doc. A/66/183–S/2011/453: List of Candidates Nominated By National Groups / Note By the Secretary-General". United Nations. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
  14. ^ United Nations Secretary-General (26 July 2011). "Election of Five Members of The International Court of Justice / Memorandum by The Secretary-General". United Nations. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
  15. ^ "UN Security Council Elects 4 New ICC Judges". International Planned Parenthood Federation Quoting Pan African News Agency. 11 November 2011. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
  16. ^ "SC 6651st–6655th Meetings: Security Council, General Assembly Elect Four New Judges to World Court: Fifth Vacancy Remains to Be Filled, Pending Concurrent Action by Both Bodies". United Nations. 10 November 2011.
  17. ^ "General Assembly, Concurrently with Security Council, Elects Four Judges to International Court of Justice: Seven Balloting Rounds Fail to Fill Remaining Vacancy on World Court". United Nations. 10 November 2011. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
  18. ^ "Ugandan Judge Elected To Serve on UN World Court". UN News Centre. 13 December 2011. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
  19. ^ Kampeas, Ron (26 January 2024). "International Court of Justice rules that some allegations of Israel committing genocide are 'plausible'". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
  20. ^ "Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip (South Africa v. Israel) - Order" (PDF). International Court of Justice. 26 January 2024. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
  21. ^ "Dissenting Opinion of Judge Sebutinde" (PDF).
  22. ^ Gadzo, Mersiha; Osgood, Brian (27 January 2024). "Ugandan government distances itself from judge who cast sole dissenting vote in ICJ case". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on 27 January 2024. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
  23. ^ Bugembe, Anthony; Ogwang, Joel (3 August 2008). "Health Sciences University Launched". New Vision. Archived from the original on 20 July 2014. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
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