The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has congratulated Dr.Julia Ssebutinde, a Ugandan judge upon re-election to the International Court of Justice.
Ssebutinde beat stiff competition from Rwanda and Nigeria to be re-elected for a second term on the highest court in the world.
In a statement released on Friday, the Foreign Affairs ministry said Ssebutinde sealed victory in the UN General Assembly after getting 139 votes against Emmanuel Ugirasebuja from Rwanda’s 87 votes , Taoheed Olufemi Elias’s 31 votes and Maja Sersis(Croatia)’s 42 votes.
“We extend our congratulations to justice Dr.Ssebutinde for well-deserved re-election. She has served the court with distinction and ably contributed to over 40 judgments and 65 orders of the court among other accomplishments,” the statement said.
Museveni role
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also hailed President Yoweri Museveni for leading the campaigns that saw Ssebutinde re-elected to the highest court in the world for the second time.
“Justice Dr.Ssebutinde’s campaign was spearheaded by President Museveni who strongly recommended the judge to the world the judge to world leaders in his address to the UN General Assembly.”
The ministry said the campaign was later reinforced by them, together with Uganda’s mission in New York, Addis Ababa and elsewhere and this played a key role in the Ugandan judge’s re-election.
“This successful re-election is also a vote of confidence in Uganda and its standing in the international system. We appreciate all those who participated in and supported this re-election campaign.”
Justice Julia Ssebutinde’s re-election means she will serve on the highest judicial body in the world and one of the five organs of the United Nations for another nine years from 2021 to 2030.
Profile
Born on February 28, 1954, Julia Ssebutinde attended Lake Victoria Primary School in Entebbe, Gayaza High School and Kings College Buddo before joining Makerere University for a degree in law that she attained in 1977.
A year later in 1978, she got a Diploma in Legal Practice from the Law Development Centre
She later joined Gayaza High School and later King’s College Budo, before being admitted at Makerere University where she obtained a degree in law in 1977 and later a Diploma in Legal Practice from Law Development Center in 1978.
In 1991, she received a Master of Laws Degree with Distinction (LLM), University of Edinburgh, U.K (1990).
She worked in the Ministry of Justice between 1978 and 1990 before later working for the Ministry of the Commonwealth in the UK.
In 1996, she was appointed a judge of the High Court of Uganda where she became a popular figure after presiding over three famous commissions of inquiry into the Corruption in the Uganda Police Force between 1999 and 2000; Judicial Commission of Inquiry into the mismanagement of UPDF in 2001 and the commission into corruption in Uganda Revenue Authority.
In 2005, she was seconded by government for appointment to a special court in Sierra Leone established by the United Nations and later was appointed the presiding judge to handle several high-profile war crime cases including former Liberian President, Charles Taylor.