Evangelical judge will temporarily preside over the International Court of Justice

Julia Sebutinde, from Uganda, is taking over the temporary presidency of the 15-judge United Nations court based in The Hague (Netherlands).

She had served as International Court of Justice (ICJ) vice-president for the past year, after a long tenure at the court since she was first elected in 2012 and re-elected in 2021.

Julia Sebutinde takes over from Nawaf Salam, who stepped down to become Lebanon’s new prime minister.

According to the website All Israel News, Sebutinde is an evangelical Christian. Her ties with the Ugandan evangelical community are strong, especially with the Watoto Church in capital city Kampala.

Julia Sebutinde came to prominence when she was the only one of the 15 judges to express a dissenting opinion in the South Africa v. Israel “genocide” case that began in February 2024.

In her 11-page argument, Judge Sebutinde said that “Hamas bears at least partial responsibility for the welfare of Palestinians”, and called for “diplomatic, not legal solutions” to the conflict. She also warned against ideological bias, calling for a deep analysis of the historical context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that led to the Gaza war.

Her positions contrasted starkly with those of the former president of the ICJ, Nawaf Salam, accused “terrorist Jewish organisations” of committing “organised massacres” in Gaza.

The leadership transition comes as Israel will present its defence before the ICJ in July. the UN assembly and Security Council will vote on the next president, who analysts believe will be Slovakian Peter Tomka.

From 2005 to 2011, Sebutinde was a Judge of the Special Court for the Sierra Leone civil wars, handling several high-profile trials. Prior to that, from 1996, she was a judge of the Supreme Court of Uganda, where she led several trials to prosecute corruption in her country. She holds a PhD in Law from the University of Edinburgh (Scotland).