Judge Dalveer Bhandari, the Indian representative at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), was among the judges who supported the ruling when it was issued on Friday, ordering Israel to immediately cease its military operations in Rafah.
Since 2012, Mr. Bhandari, a renowned jurist with an illustrious career, has been part of the ICJ. He was born in 1947 in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, and has won multiple awards, most notably the Padma Bhushan in 2014.
Mr. Bhandari has argued in the Supreme Court on a number of historic cases. He was appointed to the Supreme Court on October 28, 2005, and he served as a senior judge. In the areas of public interest litigation, criminal law, administrative law, civil procedure, arbitration, labour and industrial law, corporate law, and family law, he rendered a great deal of justice.
For a number of years, Judge Bhandari presided over the International Law Association’s Delhi Center. He served as the Bombay High Court’s Chief Justice before being appointed to the Supreme Court. His landmark decision in a divorce case made it clear that an irretrievable breakdown of a marriage could serve as grounds for divorce, which forced the Center to give the Hindu Marriage Act of 1955 some serious thought. Having received his Master of Law from Northwestern University School of Law in 1971, he has been recognized as one of the top 15 most illustrious and accomplished alumni in the 150-year history of the Chicago-based institution.
Presiding Judge Nawaf Salam of the International Court of Justice delivered the decision in response to a South African application charging Israel with acts that could be considered genocide. Israel is required by the ruling to stop taking any actions that might result in the physical extermination of the Palestinian population in Rafah.
Aharon Barak, the former president of the Israeli High Court, and Judge Julia Sebutinde, a judge from Uganda, were the only ones to vote against the court’s decision, which was upheld 13-2. The verdict emphasized that Israel must grant unrestricted access to UN agencies looking into the claims of genocide and humanitarian aid.
