Profile: Judges and lawyers in S. Africa, Israel showdown at ICJ

By

Sylvia Chebet

A high-stakes legal battle between South Africa and Israel has began with prominent figures leading legal teams in a face off at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague.

In an 84-page filing, South Africa accuses Israel of genocide in Gaza, laying out its case with exhaustive details of the deadly retaliatory actions following the October 7, 2023 Hamas ambush.

The case highlights mass killings and destruction, along with a complete siege on Gaza that cut off essentials like water, food, medicine and fuel.

In the case South Africa also seeks to end Israel's military campaign that has killed over 23,000 Palestinians, including some 10,000 children.

Both sides will present their arguments before judges in The Hague over two days; Thursday and Friday. It is expected that a 17-judge bench, including two ad hoc judges will hear and determine South Africa's case against Israel at the ICJ, also known as the World Court.

"Being a high-stakes political matter, every vote will count," legal expert Nabil Orina tells TRT Afrika, adding that "nine judges will be required to form quorum".

So who are the lawyers chosen by South Africa and Israel for the showdown?

South Africa's legal team

John Dugard, a former UN special rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories leads South Africa's legal team.

Dugard, viewed as one of South Africa’s foremost international law experts, has experience with the ICJ, having served as an ad hoc judge in 2008.

Dugard has vehemently criticized Israel’s actions, saying that “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his war Cabinet, and many members of the Israeli army are responsible for the commission of war crimes, crimes against humanity and, possibly, the crime of genocide.”

Other notable members of the South African legal team include senior counsel Adila Hassam, Tembeka Ngcukaitobi, an advocate of the Johannesburg Bar, and international lawyer Max Du Plessis.

The team also includes lawyers Tshidiso Ramogale, Sarah Pudifin-Jones and Lerato Zikalala, while Irish laywers Blinne Ni Ghralaigh and British barrister Vaughan Lowe are providing external counsel.

Israel's defence team

Israel has chosen British lawyer Malcolm Shaw to represent it at the ICJ.

Shaw is considered one of the world’s leading experts on international law and has appeared before the ICJ in the past.

Over the course of his career, Shaw has “developed an international reputation for advising on territorial disputes; law of the sea; state succession; state immunity; recognition of foreign governments and states; human rights; self-determination, international arbitration and international organizations,” according to his profile on Essex Court Chambers.

He has also advised various governments, including the UK, Ukraine, UAE, Serbia and others.

Apart from the ICJ, Shaw has previously been involved in cases at the European Court of Human Rights, the European Court of Justice, and other top courts around the world.

Shaw is reported to be one the four lawyers to represent Israel at the ICJ hearings, but name and details of the other legal experts are yet to be announced.

The Judges

The ICJ is composed of 15 judges elected by the UN General Assembly and Security Council for nine-year terms.

Under ICJ rules, a country that is party to a case and does not have a judge of its nationality on the bench can nominate an ad hoc judge, which is the case for both Israel and South Africa.

In this case, South Africa has appointed Dikgang Moseneke, the country's former deputy chief justice with a distinguished legal and academic career in South Africa and abroad.

Israel on its part picked Aharon Barak, former President of the country’s Supreme Court.

Barak has voiced support for Israel’s war on Gaza, claiming the military offensive was not in violation of humanitarian law, according to The Times of Israel.

He also defended Israel’s decision to build a separation wall through the occupied West Bank, following a 2004 ruling by the ICJ declaring it illegal.

The other 15 judges of the court hail from different countries. Joan Donoghue from the US is the president of the court with Russia's Kirill Gevorgian as the vice-president.

African judges on the bench include Somalia's Abdulqawi Yusuf, Uganda's Julia Sebutinde and Morocco's Mohamed Bennouna.

Other ICJ judges include China's Xue Hangin from China, Slovakia's Peter Tomka, France's Ronny Abraham, Brazil's Leonardo Nemer Caldeira Brant, India's Dalveer Bhandari, Jamaica's Patrick Lipton Robinson, Australia's Hilary Charlesworth, Lebanon's Nawaf Salam, Japan's Yuji Iwasawa and Germany's Georg Nolte.

Phillipe Gautier from Belgium is the Court's registrar.