Julia Sebutinde, the vice president of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), has been subject to an investigation by the International Commission of Jurists.
The commission, which promotes the rule of law and human rights, claimed Sebutinde’s position on Israel raises questions of judicial integrity. Other critics also exist for Sebutinde, who is one of the 17 judges in the ICJ case involving Israel.
What Sebutinde said, why she received criticism, and more is revealed here:
Julia Sebutinde: Who is she?
Sebutinde is one of the judges hearing the case against Israel in South Africa. In January 2024, the same judges who voted on temporary measures to protect Palestinians in Gaza did the same.
Sebutinde, 71, is a judge from Uganda and has sat in the ICJ since March 2012 for her second term. She joins the ICJ, which is based in The Hague, as the first African woman. In February of this year, she was chosen as the top UN court’s vice president.
During the Ugandan independence movement, Sebutinde was raised by a modest family, according to the Institute for African Women in Law. She attended Gayaza High School, a girls’ boarding school, and Lake Victoria Primary School in Entebbe, Uganda. In 1977, she received her law degree from Makerere University.
Sebutinde received an honorary doctorate in 2009 for her legal accomplishments after receiving a master of law degree with distinction from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland in 1990.
She served as a judge on the Special Court for Sierra Leone from 2007 until she joined the ICJ.
What was Sebutinde’s opposing position on Palestine?
South Africa claimed in a lawsuit filed in December 2023 that Israel was staging a genocide in Gaza as it broke out of the occupation of the country on October 7, 2023. Israel’s actions in Palestine were viewed as genocidal because they intended to “bring about the destruction of a significant portion of the Palestinian national, racial, and ethnic group” according to South Africa.
The ICJ rendered a decision regarding a number of interim measures on January 26, 2024. It issued six interim measures, instructing Israel to:
- Take action to stop genocide.
- halt genocide in the media
- Bringing more aid from the humanitarian world to Gaza
- Under the terms of the Genocide Convention, protect and maintain all supporting evidence.
- Allow fact-finding expeditions
- Describe the actions taken before the court.
All the necessary measures were approved by 15 of the 17 judges who voted in favor of the adoption of the emergency measures. Two of the six measures that were to be implemented received a vote from an Israeli judge. The only judge to reject all the measures was Seputinde.
In her dissented opinion, Sebutinde wrote, “In my respectful dissenting opinion, the conflict between the people of Palestine and the State of Israel has largely historically been political.” A court may not resolve a legal dispute.
She added that South Africa failed to demonstrate that Israel’s alleged actions “weren’t motivated by the necessary genocidal intent” and fall under the purview of the Genocide Convention.
Final judgment will still be awaiting the court. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant were both wanted on arrest last year for war crimes, according to the International Criminal Court.
Israel’s actions in Gaza have been referred to as genocide by a number of human rights organizations. In addition to killing more than 62, 000 Palestinians during the nearly 23-month war, Israel has been accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity.  ,
Who and why has demanded an investigation into Sebutinde?
The International Commission of Jurists, which is made up of 60 judges and attorneys in Geneva, requested the investigation in a letter to ICJ President Yuji Iwasawa on Friday. Sebutinde made the remarks on August 10 at the Watoto Church in Kampala, Uganda, referring to her statement that “The Lord is counting on me to stand on the side of Israel.”
According to Principle 2 of the UN’s Basic Principles on the Independence of the Judiciary, “the judiciary shall decide matters before them impartially, on the basis of facts and in accordance with the law, without any… improper influences… from any source and for any reason,” the letter continued.
Sebutinde’s statements “inconsistent with these principles,” according to the letter, which was signed by Santiago Canton, the commission’s secretary-general.
Canton urged Iwasawa to launch an investigation into the allegations against Sebutinde and take appropriate legal steps if the allegations were to be confirmed.
Canton requested that Iwasawa forbid Sebutinde from the ICJ case filed by South Africa while an investigation is being conducted.
Uganda’s government took a stand against her dissention.
Adonia Ayebare, Uganda’s ambassador to the UN, wrote on X in January last year that “Justice Sebutinde’s decision at the International Court of Justice does not represent the Government of Uganda’s position on the situation in Palestine.”
Sebutinde might be taken out. How?
According to the ICJ statute, members of the organization can’t be fired unless other members have voted in favor of them no longer meeting the requirements.
The ICJ registrar issues a formal notification to the UN secretary-general, leaving the position vacant.
This has never occurred, according to the ICJ website.
The website establishes criteria for its judges, stating that they must be chosen from among those of high moral character, have the necessary credentials to be appointed to the highest judicial positions, or be jurisconsultants with recognized international legal expertise.
A Member of the Court is neither a delegate to any other State’s government nor to any other nation, according to the article’s further adage.
Members of the ICJ must make a solemn declaration that they will exercise their powers impartially and conscienciously before taking on their duties there, according to the ICJ statute.
Who are the case’s judges?
The UN Security Council and the General Assembly both elect 15 judges for nine-year terms.
An Israeli judge and a judge from South Africa joined the bench in the case against Israel. Senior retired judge Dikgang Moseneke from South Africa joined the case from Israel, while former chief justice of the Israeli Supreme Court, Aharon Barak, a former Israeli Supreme Court official, joined.
Source: Aljazeera
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