Iranian Review for UN Studies

Iranian Review for UN Studies

The Feasibility of Applying Articles 18, 24, and 48 of the ICJ Statute to the Vice-President: A Critique of Judge Sebutinde’s Conduct in Recent Decisions and Advisory Opinions on the Palestine Case

Document Type : Original Article

Author
Mehdi Mansouri
PhD researcher in Public International Law, Allameh Tabatabaei University, Tehran, Iran
10.22034/iruns.2026.566977.1211
Abstract
The functioning of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), as the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, is carried out by judges who are not only preeminent scholars of international law but often former diplomats, elected through a rigorous socio-political and diplomatic process. These judges represent diverse legal cultures, a background that inevitably influences their judicial reasoning—most notably observed in historical processes such as decolonization, where judges from the Global South played a pivotal role. However, the tenure of the current Ugandan judge, Judge Julia Sebutinde, has emerged as a particularly contentious case. Influenced, as reported, by Judeo-Christian teachings within the Ugandan Church, her judicial approach has sparked significant controversy regarding the exercise of her mandate.
Keywords
International Court of Justice (ICJ)
Judicial Impartiality
Human Conscience
Feminism
International Commission of Jurists
Plagiarism
ICJ Judges
Sebutinde