21 Facts About Julia Sebutinde

Julia Sebutinde was born on 28 February 1954 and is a Ugandan jurist.

Julia Sebutinde is currently serving her second term on the International Court of Justice following her re-election on 12 November 2020.

Julia Sebutinde is the current chancellor of Muteesa I Royal University, a university owned by Buganda kingdom.

Julia Sebutinde has been a judge on the court since March 2012.

Julia Sebutinde is the first African woman to sit on the ICJ.

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

Julia Sebutinde was born in February 1954 in Kampala, Uganda, to a civil servant and a housewife with the Semambo surname.

Julia Sebutinde attended the Lake Victoria Primary School in Entebbe in the 1960s.

Julia Sebutinde then joined Gayaza High School and later King's College Budo, before entering Makerere University to study law.

Julia Sebutinde obtained the Diploma in Legal Practice from the Law Development Center in Kampala in 1978.

Julia Sebutinde first worked in the Ministry of Justice in the Government of Uganda from 1978 until 1990.

Julia Sebutinde later joined the Ministry of Justice in the Republic of Namibia, which had just attained Independence at that time.

In 2005, Julia Sebutinde was appointed, with secondment from the Ugandan government, to the Special Court for Sierra Leone, established by the United Nations.

Julia Sebutinde was later appointed the Presiding Judge in Courtroom II, at that time responsible for hearing the case against former Liberian president, Charles Taylor.

When balloting resumed on 13 December 2011, Julia Sebutinde received an absolute majority of votes in both the Security Council and the General Assembly, and thus was declared elected.

Julia Sebutinde was elected for a second term at the ICJ in March 2021.

Julia Sebutinde was one of the 17 judges ruling on provisional measures in South Africa's genocide case against Israel.

Julia Sebutinde voted against all the provisional measures, and was the only permanent judge to vote against any of the measures.

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

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

Julia Sebutinde credited Pastor Gary Skinner of the Pentecostal Watoto Church for having instilled and nurtured in her values of "integrity, honesty, Justice, mercy, empathy, and hard work".