Nawaf Salam: Leading the International Court of Justice
Watan-Judge Nawaf Salam, the Lebanese, has become the President of the International Court of Justice, while Judge Julia Sebutinde from Uganda, who sided with Israel in the South Africa case, has been appointed as his deputy for a period of three years.
The International Court of Justice announced in a statement that Judge Nawaf Salam has been elected as the President of the Court by his peers for a term of three years.
The statement added that Salam has been a member of the Court since February 6, 2018. Prior to joining the Court, he served as the Permanent Representative of Lebanon to the United Nations in New York from July 2007 to December 2017.
Who is Nawaf Salam?
Lebanese Judge Nawaf Salam was born in 1953 and joined the International Court of Justice in 2017. He holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from Paris in 1992, a Master’s in Law from Harvard University, and a Ph.D. in History from the Sorbonne where he worked as a lecturer.
Salam taught International Relations and International Law at the American University of Beirut and chaired the Department of Political Science and Public Administration from 2005 to 2007.
COMMUNIQUÉ: M. le juge Nawaf Salam (#Liban) a été élu aujourd’hui président de la #CIJ par ses pairs, pour une durée de trois ans https://t.co/Vo8TrNNhGs pic.twitter.com/ZG5pxTZFAm
— CIJ_ICJ (@CIJ_ICJ) February 6, 2024
Nawaf Salam Judge Nawaf Salam advocated for the rights of the Palestinian people, including the right to self-determination. Salam holds two Ph.D. degrees from France in Political Science and History, in addition to a Master’s degree in Law from Harvard University.
Salam comes from a distinguished political family; his uncle, Saeb Salam, served as Prime Minister of Lebanon on four occasions, while his cousin, Tammam Salam, served as Prime Minister once.
Political Stances During his representation of Lebanon at the United Nations, Salam consistently called for respect for his country’s sovereignty and an end to impunity through the establishment of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon in the case of the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
Regarding his stance on the Palestinian issue, Lebanese Judge Nawaf Salam defended the rights of the Palestinian people, including the right to self-determination and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.
In addition to Lebanese Judge Nawaf Salam, there are two other Arab judges in the International Court of Justice: Mohamed Bennouna from Morocco and Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf from Somalia.
Judge
It is noted that Judge Julia Sebutinde from Uganda has also been elected as the Vice President of the International Court of Justice by her peers for a period of three years.
It was mentioned that Vice President Sebutinde became a member of the Court on February 6, 2012. Prior to joining the Court, Vice President Sebutinde served as a judge in the Special Court for Sierra Leone from 2005 to 2011.
Judge Julia Sebutinde of Uganda is the first African woman to be elected as a judge of the International Court of Justice. She gained notoriety for her bias towards Israel alongside Israeli Judge Aharon Barak.
This came after she voted against all six measures ordered by the Court in the case brought by South Africa against Israel.
