Julia Sebutinde

Julia Sebutinde is a Ugandan jurist currently serving as a judge on the International Court of Justice, the first African woman to sit on the World Court.^[1]

Prior to being elected to the ICJ, Sebutinde was a judge of the Special Court for Sierra Leone. She was appointed to that position in 2007.

Background

She was born in Central Uganda to Mr. and Mrs. Semambo, a civil servant and a housewife. She attended Lake Victoria Primary School in Entebbe in the 1960s.^[2] She then joined Gayaza High School and later, King's College Budo, before entering Makerere University, to study law.^[3] Julia Sebutinde graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Laws (LLB) in 1977. She obtained the Diploma in Legal Practice, from the Law Development Center in Kampala, in 1978. In 1990, she enrolled in the University of Edinburgh for the degree of Master of Laws (LLM), graduating in 1991. In 2009, in recognition of her body of work and contribution to International justice, she was awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Laws (LLD), by the University of Edinburgh.^[4]

Work History

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:

• Corruption in the Uganda Police
• Corruption in the Uganda People's Defence Force
• Corruption in the Uganda Revenue Authority

In 2005 Justice Julia Sebutinde was appointed, with secondment from the Uganda government, to the Special Court on Sierra Leone, established by the United Nations. She was later appointed the Presiding Judge in Courtroom II, currently responsible for hearing the case against former Liberian strongman, Charles Taylor.^[5] In that position she refused to attend a disciplinary hearing against Taylor's lawyer, a behaviour which amounts to serious judicial misconduct, but that remained unsanctioned by the Special Court for Sierra Leone.^[6]

In the ICJ judges election, 2011,^[7] 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.^[8] 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.^[9] On the first day of voting, four candidates were elected but the fifth position was not filled.^[10] When voting adjourned, Sebutinde had failed to receive a majority of votes in the Security Council (6 out of 15, compared to 9 for incumbent Abdul Koroma),^[11] but received a majority in the General Assembly (97 out of 193 votes, compared to 96 votes for Koroma).^[12]

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.^[13]

Other responsibilities

Mrs. Julia Sebutinde is married to Mr. John Bagunywa Sebutinde and together they are the parents of two daughters. She is reported to love music, soccer and swimming. She enjoys Indian cuisine and spicy food.^[14] Justice Sebutinde is the Chancellor of the International Health Sciences University, in Kampala, a position she has held since 2008.^[15]

External links

• Julia Semambo Sebutinde Gets Edinburgh Doctorate
• Justice Sebutinde nears world court job

See also

• International Health Sciences University
• Makerere University
• Law Development Center
• University of Edinburgh

References