By: 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.