International Judicial Monitor
Published by the International Judicial Academy, Washington, D.C., with assistance from the
American Society of International Law

Fall 2012 Issue
 

Justice In Profile

 

Abdulqawi Yusuf
Somalia
Member, International Court of Justice

Abdulqawi YusufBy: James G. Apple, Editor-in-Chief, International Judicial Monitor and President, International Judicial Academy

One of the most prominent international lawyers in all of Africa is from one of the African states that has been associated in the recent past with constant civil strife and international piracy. The country is Somalia and the international lawyer is Abdulqawi Yusuf, who now sits on the International Court of Justice in The Hague. He began his judicial duties on the ICJ in February, 2009. Before officially joining the World Court he had been an ad hoc judge for it in several cases.

Judge Yusuf, despite the conditions of his home country, has an exceptional background and career in international law. He was born in Eyl, Somalia in 1948 and attended Somali National University where he received his Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree. He also has a Ph.D. degree in international law from the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva, Switzerland. Before Geneva, he studied international law at the University of Florence.

Dr. Yusuf speaks fluent Somali, Arabic, English, French and Italian.

 

Before joining the ICJ he held several prominent positions with the United Nations, including Legal Advisor and Director of the Office of International Standards and Legal Affairs for UNESCO, which he held for eight years . He has also been Head of the New York Office of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. He was the Somali delegate to the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea.

Dr. Yusuf has held two academic positions, one as a lecturer at Somali National University and the other at the University of Geneva. He has also been guest lecturer at universities and other academic institutions in Switzerland, Italy, Greece and France.

In Africa, Dr. Yusuf founded and became General Editor of the African Yearbook on International Law. He is a founder of the African Foundation for International Law, and has written several books and numerous articles on various issues of international law, including several specifically dealing with Northeast African affairs and those in his home country of Somalia. He is on the editorial advisory board of the Asian Yearbook on International Law and is a member of the Institut de Droit International and the advisory council of the Hague Institute for Global Justice.

ASIl & International Judicial AcademyInternational Judicial Monitor
© 2012 – The International Judicial Academy
with assistance from the American Society of International Law.

Editor: James G. Apple.
IJM welcomes comments, suggestions, and submissions.
Please contact the IJM editor at ijaworld@verizon.net.