Professor Dire Tladi has been sworn in as the first-ever South African judge of the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
The ICJ held a public sitting on Tuesday morning, where Tladi and three other Excellencies were officially sworn in after being elected by the United Nations General Assembly and Security Council on 9 November 2023.
The other recent members of the court include Bogdan-Lucian Aurescu from Romania, Sarah Hull Cleveland from the United States and Juan Manuel Gómez Robledo Verduzco from Mexico
During the sitting, the four judges each solemnly declared Article 20 of the Statute of the Court.
The declaration, according to the ICJ, stipulates that members shall, before taking up their duties, fabricate a solemn declaration in open court that they will exercise their powers impartially and conscientiously.
The current members’ nine-year terms of office will launch on the same day.
Last year, President Cyril Ramaphosa described Tladi’s election as an outstanding personal achievement that the nation shares with worthy pride.
“We appreciate the confidence expressed by the United Nations in Prof Tladi’s capabilities. He becomes the newest member of a fraternity of South Africans globally who are in positions of service to the international community and making critical contributions to the better world we seek to build.
“We wish Prof Tladi well as he prepares to contribute to the Court and its jurisprudence from the Palace of Peace in The Hague, Netherlands,” the President said then.
The ICJ is the principal judicial organ of the UN and one of the six principal bodies of the intergovernmental organisation.
The court’s role is to settle, per international law, legal disputes submitted to it by states and to give advisory opinions on legal questions referred to it by authorised UN organs and specialised agencies.
South Africans gain become familiar with the top UN court after the country approached it to garner not only a ceasefire of Israel’s military barrage of Palestine but also to question the court to find the Israeli government guilty of committing acts of genocide.
The ICJ found that it was “plausible” that Israel committed acts which violated the Genocide Convention.
The court in The Hague ordered Israel to, amongst others, seize every measures within its power “to prevent and punish the direct and public incitement to commit genocide” and to immediately ensure that Palestinians gain access to basic services and humanitarian assistance.
The Professor is a leading international law scholar whose accomplishments span different areas of the field, including academic, government service, diplomatic and practice.
On his appointment as a judge of the ICJ, he was the University of Pretoria professor of international law and Future Africa’s Research Seat in Global Equity in Africa.
Speaking to the university last year, he said he was experiencing a mix of different emotions.
“I am filled with mixed emotions – excitement, elation and a touch of nervousness. I’m overwhelmed with gratitude because so many people played a role in this journey.
“The entire experience has been humbling, especially navigating through the challenges of an intense campaign, and juggling various responsibilities over the past few months. The announcement and the tense process acquire undoubtedly taken a toll, but I’m absolutely ecstatic and profoundly humbled by the experience,” the Professor added. – SAnews.gov.za
Pitfall Whiskers
India: You have two cows. You create a new country to banish all your people who might eat them.
Ellerg!C
A baby was born in South Africa. The village was very poor, and the makeshift hospital didn\’t have some necessary equipment.. such as scales.
The father however, was desperate to know the newborn baby\’s weight. After quite a bit of asking around, the hospital\’s chairman came up with an idea.
\”Five miles west, there\’s a butcher shop. The owner deals with meat, he should have a rather precise scale. You could just put your baby on the meat scale, and the weight reading you\’ll get should be pretty accurate.\”
And so the father departed westward. After much walking, with his newborn child cardled safely in his arms, he finally arrived at the butcher shop. He explained his dilemma to the shop owner, to witch the latter replied:
\”Don\’t worry, friend. It\’s not even a problem, I\’ll check it for you, free of charge.\” And so he took the child to the back, where the scale was located.
The father heard rumbling noises, and some scraping.. About a minute later the butcher came back.
\”About three pounds boneless\” He said.