The Honourable Justice Mohamed Shahabuddeen
Eminent Judge of the International Court of Justice, recipient of the Order of Excellence, the Order of Roraima and the Cacique Crown of Honour of his native Guyana, Bachelor of Laws, Master of Laws, Doctor of Philosophy and Bachelor of Science in Economics, lawyer, public servant, politician and diplomat. Doctor the Hon. Mohamed Shahabuddeen moves easily in the international corridors of justice, diplomacy, and power.
Grandson of indentured labourers, he had no clear vision of a suitable career, heard no clarion call to any long nurtured ambition, but through a series of fortuituous circumstances was literally catapulted into the legal profession. Impecunious, yet nurturing a thirst for further education, he accepted an invitation to England, there to seek employment while contemplating a career. Exhibiting a judiciousness of nature which was to become the kernel of his career in later years his application to the Middle Temple Inn met with success thus providing a way out of his dilemma – he would become a lawyer and lawyer he did become, gradually developing a passion for the discipline. Such were the inauspicious beginnings of the illustrious career that was to follow Eminent Judge of the International Court of Justice, recipient of the Order of Excellence, the Order of Roraima and the Cacique Crown of Honour of his native Guyana, Bachelor of Laws, Master of Laws, Doctor of Philosophy and Bachelor of Science in Economics, lawyer, public servant, politician and diplomat. Doctor the Hon. Mohamed Shahabuddeen moves easily in the international corridors of justice, diplomacy and power.
The year was 1952 – Bar Finals, followed by the external LL.B. of London University a year later. These were the years of the dramatic turn of political events in Guyana, yet he made the decision to return to his homeland where he quietly established himself in private practice as an advocate. In spite of the demands of his profession, such was his thirst for knowledge and capacity for sustained effort that he found the time for further study. Within five years he had achieved success as a practitioner, had married and acquired two additional degrees – the Master of Laws and the Bachelor of Science in Economics.
Following the dictates of his conscience he eventually forsook private practice for public service and accepted an appointment as Magistrate. His service in this position, however, was short-lived for after a few months he was invited by the then Acting Attorney –General, Shridath Ramphal, to join the Chambers of the Attorney General as Crown Counsel. Three years later he was appointed Solicitor General, a post he held with distinction from 1962 to 1973, becoming the Chief Legal Adviser to Government on all major international questions. When Sir Shridath Ramphal left the post of Attorney General for active duty at the United Nations and subsequently to take up the post of Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, Mohamed Shahabuddeen was his logical successor.
By these acts of progression he entered the world of politics and became a Minister of Government, earning a reputation as a skilled negotiator and expert on legal affairs especially those related to constitutional law. Not the least of his accomplishments was his work as legal adviser on the Government teams which negotiated the nationalization of the sugar and bauxite industries. These experiences led to the publication of four books:
The Legal System of Guyana (Georgetown, 1973) Constitutional Development in Guyana, 1621-1978 (Georgetown, 1978) Nationalisation of Guyana Bauxite (1981) and From Plantocracy to Nationalisation (1983) which give remarkable insights not only to the cut and thrust of the negotiating process but also to the extraordinary inflexibility of the owners of these industries regarding subordination of public interest to private gain. Writing in the foreword of the last named book Sir Shridath Ramphal put it this way:
“…It is not only a major contribution to the historical literature on the Guyana sugar industry but originating from the work on the legal aspects of nationalization and written by a lawyer, it captures a fascinating and unique perspective …”
During this long period of unrelenting service, his interest in academic pursuits was not to be assuaged. His research on constitutional development in Guyana led to the award of the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in 1970, the Doctor of Laws Degree in 1986. He had now acquired five university degrees, including two Doctorates, without ever having been enrolled as a full time University student.
His election to the International Court of Justice in 1987, the first from the Commonwealth Caribbean to be accorded this signal honour, was received with wide acclaim. It was a fitting recognition of his personal stature as a legal luminary and by extension a manifestation of the high level of international recognition, accorded to the legal traditions of the region.
To perceive Justice Shahabuddeen as a mere legal luminary is an injustice to one who has made a major impact on his discipline, on the public life of the region and on the regional and international stages. During the nine year period of his service as a judge in the ICJ from 1988 to 1997 he worked unstintingly as an Arbitrator and Consultant in international law and an eminent member of L’Institut de Droit International and of the Societé Française de Droit International. His recent international appointments include that of Judge of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia ( June, 1997 – November, 2005); normally in the Appeals Chamber, Vice-President of the Tribunal form November, 1997 to November, 1999, and again from November, 2001 to February, 2003; Judge, International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (Appeals Chamber) – November 1997 to November, 2005; Judge, Permanent Court of Arbitration, since 1998.
Dr. Shahabuddeen’s ethic during his sojourm in the International Court of Justice, has been to administer justice, through effective advocacy. His has been a consistent journey along the road to world peace, ever since he entered negotiations in 1983 with Diego Cordovez, the United Nations Under-Secretary General for Special Political Affairs, to determine a peaceful settlement of the Guyana/Venezuela border issue. The statement issued by the UN on the talks embodied the fact that the two countries “will refrain from any action whatsoever that might make more difficult or impede the peaceful settlement of the controversy”. This peace initiative was to take him far beyond the narrow confines of national borders to embrace the international struggle for a world of lasting peace and to ensure that laws were fairly administered to maintain and sustain that peace, however fragile.
It says volumes for the stamina and veracity of the man that he held no fear of being sometimes the lone dissenting voice, or of expressing reservations about decisions handed down by the international Tribunal. In the World Court’s Near Perfect Advisory Opinion in the Nuclear Weapons Case, a landmark decision was rendered by the ICJ in July 1996, which has been hailed by the antinuclear movement as “a major victory for the cause of nuclear weapons abolition.
Of all the presentations for and against in that case, those presented by our learned Judge was acknowledged ‘the most persuasive rebuttal” to the Court’s professed inability to rule on the lawfulness of threat and use in an extreme circumstance involving the very survival of a state. Citing an Islamic commentator, Ibn Khaldun, to the effect that laws “are based upon the effort to preserve civilization,” he discussed the well-known phenomenon of nuclear escalation and asks “is there anything in the sovereignty of a State which would entitle it to embark on a course of action which could effectively wipe out the existence of all States by ending civilization and annihilating mankind?”
In spite of the prodigious amount of legal work which he is continuously involved, Dr. Shahabuddeen still manages to produce several legal publications, the most recent of which is a publication entitled, “Precedent in the World Court”, rated in a Dutch Law Review by Judge P.H Kooijmans of the International Court of Justice as one of the five most striking writings of the last millennium on International Law. Notwithstanding the controversial nature of some of his decisions, he is held in such high esteem that the judges of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) endorsed by acclamation the proposal by the outgoing President Antonio Cassese, to nominate Judge Gabrielle Kirk McDonald as President and Judge Mohammed Shahabuddeen as Vice President of the ICTY.
The UNESCO motto “since wars begin in the minds of men it is in the minds of men that defences of peace must be constructed”, guides Dr. Shahabuddeen as he seeks to bring justice into the global arena and through his life’s work in advocacy to significantly reduce the human cost of violence within the world. In his march to greater glory, Dr. Shahabuddeen has overcome many difficulties. He is recognized as a warm and eminently human person who has made a major impact on the discipline and on the public life of the region.
Unassuming, as he is, he would like to be recognized merely as a warm and eminently human person who just happened to have made a major impact on his discipline and on the regional and international scene.
Grandson of indentured labourers, he had no clear vision of a suitable career, heard no clarion call to any long nurtured ambition, but through a series of fortuituous circumstances was literally catapulted into the legal profession. Impecunious, yet nurturing a thirst for further education, he accepted an invitation to England, there to seek employment while contemplating a career. Exhibiting a judiciousness of nature which was to become the kernel of his career in later years his application to the Middle Temple Inn met with success thus providing a way out of his dilemma – he would become a lawyer and lawyer he did become, gradually developing a passion for the discipline. Such were the inauspicious beginnings of the illustrious career that was to follow Eminent Judge of the International Court of Justice, recipient of the Order of Excellence, the Order of Roraima and the Cacique Crown of Honour of his native Guyana, Bachelor of Laws, Master of Laws, Doctor of Philosophy and Bachelor of Science in Economics, lawyer, public servant, politician and diplomat. Doctor the Hon. Mohamed Shahabuddeen moves easily in the international corridors of justice, diplomacy and power.
The year was 1952 – Bar Finals, followed by the external LL.B. of London University a year later. These were the years of the dramatic turn of political events in Guyana, yet he made the decision to return to his homeland where he quietly established himself in private practice as an advocate. In spite of the demands of his profession, such was his thirst for knowledge and capacity for sustained effort that he found the time for further study. Within five years he had achieved success as a practitioner, had married and acquired two additional degrees – the Master of Laws and the Bachelor of Science in Economics.
Following the dictates of his conscience he eventually forsook private practice for public service and accepted an appointment as Magistrate. His service in this position, however, was short-lived for after a few months he was invited by the then Acting Attorney –General, Shridath Ramphal, to join the Chambers of the Attorney General as Crown Counsel. Three years later he was appointed Solicitor General, a post he held with distinction from 1962 to 1973, becoming the Chief Legal Adviser to Government on all major international questions. When Sir Shridath Ramphal left the post of Attorney General for active duty at the United Nations and subsequently to take up the post of Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, Mohamed Shahabuddeen was his logical successor.
By these acts of progression he entered the world of politics and became a Minister of Government, earning a reputation as a skilled negotiator and expert on legal affairs especially those related to constitutional law. Not the least of his accomplishments was his work as legal adviser on the Government teams which negotiated the nationalization of the sugar and bauxite industries. These experiences led to the publication of four books:
The Legal System of Guyana (Georgetown, 1973) Constitutional Development in Guyana, 1621-1978 (Georgetown, 1978) Nationalisation of Guyana Bauxite (1981) and From Plantocracy to Nationalisation (1983) which give remarkable insights not only to the cut and thrust of the negotiating process but also to the extraordinary inflexibility of the owners of these industries regarding subordination of public interest to private gain. Writing in the foreword of the last named book Sir Shridath Ramphal put it this way:
“…It is not only a major contribution to the historical literature on the Guyana sugar industry but originating from the work on the legal aspects of nationalization and written by a lawyer, it captures a fascinating and unique perspective …”
During this long period of unrelenting service, his interest in academic pursuits was not to be assuaged. His research on constitutional development in Guyana led to the award of the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in 1970, the Doctor of Laws Degree in 1986. He had now acquired five university degrees, including two Doctorates, without ever having been enrolled as a full time University student.
His election to the International Court of Justice in 1987, the first from the Commonwealth Caribbean to be accorded this signal honour, was received with wide acclaim. It was a fitting recognition of his personal stature as a legal luminary and by extension a manifestation of the high level of international recognition, accorded to the legal traditions of the region.
To perceive Justice Shahabuddeen as a mere legal luminary is an injustice to one who has made a major impact on his discipline, on the public life of the region and on the regional and international stages. During the nine year period of his service as a judge in the ICJ from 1988 to 1997 he worked unstintingly as an Arbitrator and Consultant in international law and an eminent member of L’Institut de Droit International and of the Societé Française de Droit International. His recent international appointments include that of Judge of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia ( June, 1997 – November, 2005); normally in the Appeals Chamber, Vice-President of the Tribunal form November, 1997 to November, 1999, and again from November, 2001 to February, 2003; Judge, International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (Appeals Chamber) – November 1997 to November, 2005; Judge, Permanent Court of Arbitration, since 1998.
Dr. Shahabuddeen’s ethic during his sojourm in the International Court of Justice, has been to administer justice, through effective advocacy. His has been a consistent journey along the road to world peace, ever since he entered negotiations in 1983 with Diego Cordovez, the United Nations Under-Secretary General for Special Political Affairs, to determine a peaceful settlement of the Guyana/Venezuela border issue. The statement issued by the UN on the talks embodied the fact that the two countries “will refrain from any action whatsoever that might make more difficult or impede the peaceful settlement of the controversy”. This peace initiative was to take him far beyond the narrow confines of national borders to embrace the international struggle for a world of lasting peace and to ensure that laws were fairly administered to maintain and sustain that peace, however fragile.
It says volumes for the stamina and veracity of the man that he held no fear of being sometimes the lone dissenting voice, or of expressing reservations about decisions handed down by the international Tribunal. In the World Court’s Near Perfect Advisory Opinion in the Nuclear Weapons Case, a landmark decision was rendered by the ICJ in July 1996, which has been hailed by the antinuclear movement as “a major victory for the cause of nuclear weapons abolition.
Of all the presentations for and against in that case, those presented by our learned Judge was acknowledged ‘the most persuasive rebuttal” to the Court’s professed inability to rule on the lawfulness of threat and use in an extreme circumstance involving the very survival of a state. Citing an Islamic commentator, Ibn Khaldun, to the effect that laws “are based upon the effort to preserve civilization,” he discussed the well-known phenomenon of nuclear escalation and asks “is there anything in the sovereignty of a State which would entitle it to embark on a course of action which could effectively wipe out the existence of all States by ending civilization and annihilating mankind?”
In spite of the prodigious amount of legal work which he is continuously involved, Dr. Shahabuddeen still manages to produce several legal publications, the most recent of which is a publication entitled, “Precedent in the World Court”, rated in a Dutch Law Review by Judge P.H Kooijmans of the International Court of Justice as one of the five most striking writings of the last millennium on International Law. Notwithstanding the controversial nature of some of his decisions, he is held in such high esteem that the judges of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) endorsed by acclamation the proposal by the outgoing President Antonio Cassese, to nominate Judge Gabrielle Kirk McDonald as President and Judge Mohammed Shahabuddeen as Vice President of the ICTY.
The UNESCO motto “since wars begin in the minds of men it is in the minds of men that defences of peace must be constructed”, guides Dr. Shahabuddeen as he seeks to bring justice into the global arena and through his life’s work in advocacy to significantly reduce the human cost of violence within the world. In his march to greater glory, Dr. Shahabuddeen has overcome many difficulties. He is recognized as a warm and eminently human person who has made a major impact on the discipline and on the public life of the region.
Unassuming, as he is, he would like to be recognized merely as a warm and eminently human person who just happened to have made a major impact on his discipline and on the regional and international scene.