John Dugard was born in Fort Beaufort, Cape Province, South Africa in 1936.He completed his law degrees at Cambridge University, became a Professor of Law at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, and eventually became dean at the School of Law and director of the Centre for Applied Legal Studies.
He served as a member of the United Nations International Law Commission and held other positions at the U.N., the International Court of Justice, and other international law centers.
In late 2000, Dugard was appointed chairman of a commission of inquiry regarding human rights in the Palestinian territories by the U.N. Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR). In 2001, he was appointed U.N. Special Rapporteur to UNCHR concerning international human rights and humanitarian law in the Palestinian territories.
Dugard was awarded honorary doctorates of law from the University of Cape Town, the University of Natal, the University of Port Elizabeth, the University of Pretoria, the University of Stellenbosch, and the University of Witwatersrand. In 2012, he received South Africa’s highest civilian honor, the Order of the Baobab: Gold, for his “contributions to the establishment of the rule of law, his work in the field of human rights and his role in the creation of a free and democratic South Africa.” Today, he serves as member of South Africa’s legal team arguing at the International Court of Justice that Israel violated the Genocide Convention in 2023 and 2024.
