Julia Sebutinde made headlines for her robust rejection of South Africa's genocide claims against Israel.

Judge Julia Sebutinde is set to assume the presidency of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), marking another milestone in her groundbreaking career as well as a significant shift for the court.

The Ugandan jurist, who recently made headlines for her robust defence of Israel against South Africa’s genocide allegations, will take the helm following current President Nawaf Salam’s departure.

Salam has been appointed Prime Minister of his native Lebanon by new president Joseph Aoun, whose election, backed by the US and Saudi Arabia, represents a major blow to Iran and its proxy Hezbollah.

Sebutinde’s recent ruling on the Israel-Hamas War has particularly resonated in international legal circles. She dismissed South Africa’s requests for temporary injunctions to halt the Gaza war, asserting that the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian people is fundamentally political rather than legal in both its nature and historical context, and therefore falls outside the court’s purview.

  • ArbitraryValue@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    76·
    2 days ago

    I didn’t know that the current president of the court is Lebanese and that he was elected to that role in 2024, after the start of the most recent conflict between Hezbollah and Israel. (He was elected to the court in 2017.) I don’t think any human being could be impartial in those circumstances.

    Edit: Sebutinde was elected to the court in 2011 and then elected as the vice president in 2024, but there was no vote now for her to become president. She does so by default when Salam resigns.

    • IndustryStandard@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
      194·
      2 days ago

      Lebanon is khesbola confirmed?!

      Who is Julia Sebutinde? The judge against all ICJ rulings in Israel’s case

      In the anticipated decision, made by a panel of 17 judges, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordered six so-called provisional measures to protect Palestinians in Gaza. Those measures were approved by an overwhelming majority of the judges. An Israeli judge voted in favour of two of the six.

      But Uganda’s Judge, Julia Sebuntinde, was the only judge who voted against all of them.

      That sure looks unbiased…

      • kreskin@lemmy.worldEnglish
        21·
        9 hours ago

        She cashed a check. Saying the zionists engage in rampant bribery (they also call it “lobbying”) is not exactly controversial. They brag about how much they pay to “influence opinion” and buy results.