Louise Arbour

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Louise Arbour

CC GOQ
Louise Arbour - World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2011.jpg
Louise Arbour at the World Economic Forum annual meeting in 2011
United Nations Special Representative for International Migration
In office
March 1, 2017 – December 31, 2018
Appointed byAntónio Guterres
Preceded byPeter Sutherland
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
In office
July 30, 2004 – August 31, 2008
Nominated byKofi Annan
Preceded bySérgio Vieira de Mello
Succeeded byNavi Pillay
Puisne Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada
In office
September 15, 1999 – July 28, 2004
Nominated byJean Chrétien
Preceded byPeter Cory
Succeeded byRosalie Abella/Louise Charron
Personal details
Born (1947-02-10) February 10, 1947 (age 74)
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Children3
Alma materCollège Regina Assumpta
Université de Montréal (LLB)
University of Ottawa

Louise Arbour, CC GOQ (born February 10, 1947) is a Canadian lawyer, prosecutor and jurist.

Arbour was the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, a former justice of the Supreme Court of Canada and the Court of Appeal for Ontario and a former Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda. From 2009 until 2014, she served as President and CEO of the International Crisis Group.[1] She made history with the indictment of a sitting head of state, Yugoslavian president Slobodan Milošević, as well as the first prosecution of sexual assault as the articles of crimes against humanity. From March 2017 to December 2018 she was the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for International Migration.[2] She is currently in private practice in Montreal.[3]

Early life and education[]

Arbour was born in Montreal, Quebec to Bernard and Rose (née Ravary) Arbour, the owners of a hotel chain. She attended convent school, during which time her parents divorced. As editor of the school magazine, she earned a reputation for irreverence.[4]

In 1967, she graduated from Collège Regina Assumpta, and proceeded to the Université de Montréal where she completed an LL.B. with distinction in 1970. She became the Law Clerk for Justice Louis-Philippe Pigeon of the Supreme Court of Canada in 1971–72 while completing graduate studies at the Faculty of Law (Civil Section) of the University of Ottawa. This is where she met her long time common-law partner Larry Taman, with whom she lived for 27 years.[5] In a 2014 interview, Arbour named the move from Quebec to Ontario as the "biggest hurdle [she] had to overcome to succeed in [her] career," as her entire education had been in French.[6]

She was called to the Bar of Quebec in 1971 and to the Law Society of Upper Canada in 1977.[7]

Personal life[]

She has three adult children: Emilie, Patrick and Catherine.[7] Her daughter Emilie Taman was an NDP candidate in the 2015 Canadian election in the electoral district of Ottawa—Vanier.[8] She also has three grandchildren.[6]

Legal career[]

Canada[]

From 1972–73, Arbour was research officer for the Law Reform Commission of Canada. She then taught at Osgoode Hall Law School, York University, first as a Lecturer (1974), then as Assistant Professor (1975), Associate Professor (1977-87), and finally as Associate Professor and Associate Dean (1987). She was Vice-President of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association until her appointment to the Supreme Court of Ontario (High Court of Justice) in 1987 and to the Court of Appeal for Ontario in 1990. In 1995, Arbour was appointed as President of a Commission of Inquiry, under the Inquiries Act, for the purpose of investigating and reporting on events at the Prison for Women in Kingston, Ontario, following allegations by prisoners of abuse.[9][dead link] The inquiry resulted in the publication of the Arbour Report.

The Hague[]

In 1996, at Richard Goldstone's recommendation, Arbour was appointed as his replacement as Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in Arusha, and of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague. She indicted then-Serbian President Slobodan Milošević for war crimes, the first time a serving head of State was called to account before an international court.[10]

Supreme Court of Canada[]

In 1999, Prime Minister Jean Chrétien appointed Arbour to the Supreme Court of Canada on May 26, just one day before the publication of the indictment of Milosevic by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY).[11]

Works and awards[]

She has been published in the area of criminal procedure and criminal law, in both French and English. At various times, she has served as an editor for the Criminal Reports, the Canadian Rights Reporter, and the Osgoode Hall Law Journal.[12]

In 2005, Arbour was awarded the Thomas J. Dodd Prize in International Justice and Human Rights, along with Justice Richard Goldstone, in recognition of her work on the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda.[13] She was the subject of a 2005 fact-based Canadian-German made-for-television movie, Hunt for Justice, which follows her quest to indict Bosnian Serb war criminals. Arbour was played by Canadian actress Wendy Crewson.[14]

She was made a Companion to the Order of Canada in 2007 "for her contributions to the Canadian justice system and for her dedication to the advancement of human rights throughout the world".[15] She was made a Grand Officer of the National Order of Quebec in 2009.[16]

She was made a Commander of the National Order of the Legion of Honour in 2011.[17] She has been awarded numerous honorary degrees, including Doctor of Civil Laws from the University of Western Ontario in June 2000,[citation needed] Doctor of Humane Letters from Mount Saint Vincent University in May 2001,[18] and Doctor of Laws degrees from the University of British Columbia in November 2001,[19] the University of Waterloo in October 2006,[citation needed] in June 2009 from the University of Alberta[citation needed] and University of Guelph,[20] and from Simon Fraser University in October 2009.[21]

On March 9, 2017, Arbour was appointed by the U.N. Secretary-General, António Guterres, to be his Special Representative for International Migration.[22]

In April 2021, Arbour was appointed to lead an independent review of the military’s handling of sexual assault, harassment and other misconduct, by Canadian Minister of National Defence Harjit Sajjan.[23]

She is currently a member of the Whitney R. Harris World Law Institute's International Council.[citation needed]

Honours and awards[]

  • Doctor of Laws honoris causa, School of Advanced Study, University of London, 2010
  • LL.D. hon., Concordia University, 2001
  • LL.D. hon., University of British Columbia, 2001
  • LL.D. hon., Lakehead University, 2002
  • LL.D. hon., Université de Picardie Jules Verne, Amiens, France, 2003.
  • LL.D. hon., St. Francis Xavier University, 2003
  • Life member of the Association of French Speaking Jurists of Ontario, 1992
  • Award Medal of the University of Montreal, 1995.
  • Award Medal of Women's Law Association (Toronto), 1996
  • G. Arthur Martin Award Medal, Criminal Lawyers' Association (Toronto), 1998
  • Medal of Honour, Association internationale des procureurs, 1999
  • Medal of Merit, Institut de recherches cliniques de Montréal, 1999
  • Fondation Louise Weiss award, Paris, 1999
  • Pennsylvania Bar Foundation's Second Annual Service to Humanity Award, Harrisburg (Pennsylvanie), 2000
  • Franklin & Eleanor Roosevelt Four Freedoms Medal (Freedom from Fear), Roosevelt Study Centre, Middleburg (Pays-Bas), 2000
  • Women of Distinction Award, Toronto Hadassah-Wizo, 2000
  • Peace Award, World Federalists of Canada, 2000
  • Human Rights Award, Lord Reading Law Society, 2000
  • Wolfgang Freidman Memorial Award, Columbia Law School, 2001
  • EID-UL-ADHA Award, The Association of Progressive Muslims of Ontario, 2001
  • Quebec Bar Medal, 2001
  • National Achievement Award 2001, Jewish Women International of Canada, 2001
  • 2002 Stefan A. Riesenfeld Symposium Award, Berkeley Journal of International Law
  • Person of the Year Award, McGill Centre for Research and Teaching on Women (MCRTW), 2002
  • Award from Foundation Justice in the World, International Association of Judges, 2002
  • University of Montreal Law School Medal, 2003.
  • Inducted in Hall of Fame, International Women's Forum, 2003
  • Honorary Fellow, American College of Trial Lawyers, 2003
  • Honorary Professor, Warwick University, Coventry (R.-U.), 1999–2004
  • Vice-president, Canadian Civil Liberties Association, 1985–1987
  • Honorary Member, American Society of International Law, 2000
  • International Crisis Group board of directors member, 2000
  • Honorary Member, Phi Delta Phi International Legal Honor Society 2001
  • Honorary Member, Golden Key National Honour Society, 2000
  • Honorary Bencher, Grays Inn, London (UK), 2001
  • Member of the International Council, Institute for Global Legal Studies of Washington University School of Law, St. Louis, Missouri, 2001
  • Advisory Board member, International Journal of Constitutional Law, Oxford University Press (New York Law School), 2001
  • Editorial Board member, Journal of International Criminal Justices 2003
  • Grand Prize of the Conseil québécois des gais et lesbiennes (CQGL), 2008
  • United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights, 2008
  • Grand Officer of the Ordre national du Québec, 2009
  • North–South Prize, 2010
  • Laureate[24] of the ,[25] awarded by the Fondation Chirac, 2011.
  • In 2014 she was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame
  • In 2015, she was made a Grand Officer of the Order of the Crown,[26] an order of the Kingdom of Belgium.
  • In 2016 she was awarded the Tang Prize in Rule of Law for her enduring contributions to international criminal justice and the protection of human rights, to promoting peace, justice and security at home and abroad, and to working within the law to expand the frontiers of freedom for all.[27]

See also[]

Footnotes[]

  1. ^ "International Crisis Group - President". International Crisis Group. July 2009. Archived from the original on 2009-09-02.
  2. ^ "Secretary-General Appoints Louise Arbour of Canada Special Representative for International Migration | Meetings Coverage and Press Releases". Un.org. Archived from the original on 2017-04-25. Retrieved 2017-04-24.
  3. ^ The Honourable Louise Arbour C.C., G.O.Q., Senior Counsel, Borden Ladner Gervais.
  4. ^ CBC News Online (11 March 2008). "Indepth: Louise Arbour". CBC News. Archived from the original on 30 June 2020. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
  5. ^ "Louise Arbour - Canadian attorney and judge". Britannica.com. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b "Louise Arbour, noted legal mind, shares insights and advice as she joins her first law firm". Theglobeandmail.com. Archived from the original on 2016-08-28. Retrieved 2016-08-03.
  7. ^ Jump up to: a b Supreme Court of Canada (2001-01-01). "Supreme Court of Canada - Biography - Louise Arbour". www.scc-csc.ca. Archived from the original on 2020-01-23. Retrieved 2020-01-22.
  8. ^ "L'ex-juge Louise Arbour appuie sa fille, candidate pour le NPD". La Presse (in French). 2015-07-07. Archived from the original on 2019-04-21. Retrieved 2020-01-22.
  9. ^ "Commission of Inquiry into certain events at the Prison for Women in Kingston" (PDF). Caefs.ca. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
  10. ^ "Indictments | International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia". Icty.org. Archived from the original on 2017-02-04. Retrieved 2017-01-25.
  11. ^ "Louise Arbour named to Supreme Court". Archived from the original on 2009-06-25. Retrieved 2007-10-22.
  12. ^ "SECRETARY-GENERAL APPOINTS LOUISE ARBOUR OF CANADA HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS | Meetings Coverage and Press Releases". Un.org. Archived from the original on 2017-02-02. Retrieved 2017-01-25.
  13. ^ Ali, Zahra (2015-05-14). "2005 Dodd Prize Recipients | Thomas J. Dodd Research Center". Retrieved 2020-09-28.
  14. ^ "Wendy Crewson | The Canadian Encyclopedia". www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca. Archived from the original on 2020-03-16. Retrieved 2020-01-22.
  15. ^ "Governor General Announces New Appointments to the Order of Canada". Governor General of Canada. December 28, 2007. Archived from the original on January 1, 2008.
  16. ^ "National Order of Quebec citation" (in French). Archived from the original on April 13, 2014. Retrieved April 29, 2015.
  17. ^ "AWARDS TO CANADIANS". Canada Gazette. Archived from the original on 2017-12-01. Retrieved 2011-12-14.
  18. ^ "Honorary Degree Recipient Announcement". May 1, 2001. Archived from the original on June 24, 2009.
  19. ^ "UBC Honorary Degree Recipients - Alphabetical List". Library.ubc.ca. November 22, 2001. Archived from the original on June 24, 2009. Retrieved June 13, 2009.
  20. ^ "Eight to Receive Honorary Degrees". Uoguelph.ca. June 1, 2009. Archived from the original on June 7, 2009. Retrieved June 13, 2009.
  21. ^ "SFU 2009 Honorary Degree Recipients". Sfu.ca. Archived from the original on June 23, 2011. Retrieved April 29, 2015.
  22. ^ "United Nations Population Division - Department of Economic and Social Affairs". Un.org. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
  23. ^ "Former Supreme Court justice Louise Arbour to lead review of military's handling of sexual misconduct". Retrieved 2021-04-29.
  24. ^ "Louise Arbour, Laureate of the 2011 Special Jury Prize". Fondationchirac.eu. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
  25. ^ "Video: Louise Arbour, 2011 Laureate of the Special Jury Prize". Fondationchirac.eu. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
  26. ^ "Awards to Canadians". Canada Gazette. 26 September 2015. Archived from the original on 2016-02-04. Retrieved 2016-01-27.
  27. ^ Graphics, 很好設計, Weichunglee. "Tang Prize - Laureates". Tang-prize.org. Archived from the original on 14 September 2016. Retrieved 19 November 2017.

External links[]


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