Maureen Harding Clark

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The Hon. Ms. Justice
Maureen Harding Clark
Judge of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia
Assumed office
2019
Nominated byAntónio Guterres
Appointed byNorodom Sihamoni
Preceded byAgnieszka Klonowiecka-Milart
Judge of the High Court
In office
11 December 2006 – 2014
Nominated byGovernment of Ireland
Appointed byMary McAleese
Judge at the International Criminal Court
In office
2003 – 10 December 2006
Judge at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
In office
2001–2003
Personal details
Born (1946-01-03) 3 January 1946 (age 76)
CitizenshipIreland
Alma mater

Maureen Harding Clark (born 3 January 1946)[1] is an Irish jurist and judge. She has been a judge at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), the International Criminal Court (ICC), the High Court of Ireland and is a member of the Supreme Court of the Khmer Rouge Tribunal in Cambodia. She was one of the few women criminal lawyers and has extensive experience both as a criminal lawyer and as a state prosecutor in Ireland.

Early life and education[]

Clark was born to an Irish Catholic mother and a Scottish Presbyterian father in Scotland. When she was two years old, her family moved to Malaysia where she and her sister attended an English school run by French nuns.[2] At the time she also learned Malay.[2] The school they attended in Malaysia was located in Bukit Nanas, Kuala Lumpur.[3] When she was twelve years old, the family moved to Ireland[2] where she attended the Muckross Park College in Dublin.[3] In 1964, Clark began studying at the University of Lyon where she obtained a diploma in French language.[3]

In 1965, Clark returned to Ireland and studied law at the University College Dublin,[3] where she met her husband.[2] Following her graduation with a BCL degree,[3] she and her husband settled in the United States, where they had two children.[2] After an amicable separation, she and the children returned to Ireland, where she followed up her studies at Trinity College Dublin.[3] While at the university, her lecturer was Mary Robinson,[2][4] who later became president of Ireland. In 1975, she completed her studies and became a Barrister-at-Law at the Honourable Society of King's Inns.[3]

In 2021, she was made an honorary fellow of Trinity College Dublin.[5]

Legal career[]

Following her graduation in 1975[6] Clark was a barrister in the South Eastern Circuit[4][7] in a variety of cases.[7] In 1985 she assumed as the State Prosecutor for Tipperary.[2] In 1991 she received the title of a Senior Counsel.[3][2] The same year, she quit her job in Tipperary[2] and became a prosecutor at the Central Criminal Court in Ireland.[8] She was described as "tough-minded", and "If she was prosecuting, you knew you were prosecuted".[2] She led the prosecution in the first money-laundering trial in Europe, as well as the first marital rape and male rape trials in Ireland.[3] In 2004 she was appointed a member of the Irish Human Rights Commission.[9]

Judicial career[]

International tribunals[]

In June 2001 Clark was elected as one of the 27 so-called ad litem judges at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) by the General Assembly of the United Nations.[10] She was assigned to a trial concerning human rights violations.[11] By March 2003, her chamber had sentenced Mladen Naletilić Tuta to 20 years' and Vinko Martinovic to 18 years' imprisonment.[12] In 2003 she assumed as a judge of the International Criminal Court (ICC) where she was tasked with the organization of the trials and the establishment of a judicial infrastructure.[13] On 10 December 2006 she resigned from her post at the ICC to assume duties as a judge at the High Court of Ireland.[14] In 2019, following her nomination by the UN secretary-general António Guterres, the King of Cambodia Norodom Sihamoni[6] appointed Clark as a judge of the Supreme Court of the Khmer Rouge Tribunal, the court at which the leaders of the Cambodian Khmer Rouge are to be tried.[15]

Irish High Court[]

In December 2006 Clark became a Judge of the High Court of Ireland,[16][17] a post she held until 2014.[18] She was also the judicial visitor for the Trinity College Dublin between 2009 and 2020.[15]

References[]

  1. ^ Verdery Young, Amanda. "Maureen Harding Clark". Women In Peace. Archived from the original on 4 January 2022. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Irish criminal lawyer joins Hague tribunal". The Irish Times. 23 June 2001. Retrieved 4 January 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Secretariat, Un (12 December 2002). "Election of the judges of the International Criminal Court". United Nations. Archived from the original on 4 January 2022. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  4. ^ a b Byrne, John (22 March 2006). "Judging Consultants". magill.ie. Archived from the original on 4 January 2022. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
  5. ^ TRINITY MONDAY 2021 - FELLOWS AND SCHOLARS
  6. ^ a b "His Majesty the King appoints New ECCC Judge". Cambodia News Gazette. 2 August 2019. Archived from the original on 4 January 2022. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
  7. ^ a b "Statement of Support of candidature of Maureen Harding Clark submitted to the legal counsel of the United Nations" (PDF). United Nations. 2001.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  8. ^ Newman, Christine. "Irish judge nominated for world criminal court". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 4 January 2022. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  9. ^ "Appointment of Judge Maureen Harding Clark to the Human Rights Commission - IHREC - Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission". Irish Human Rights Commission. Archived from the original on 4 January 2022. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
  10. ^ "Pool of 27 Ad Litem Judges elected by UN General Assembly. | International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia". www.icty.org. Archived from the original on 4 January 2022. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  11. ^ "The first six ad-litem Judges appointed by United Nations Secretary-General, Kofi Annan. | International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia". www.icty.org. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
  12. ^ "Judgement in the case The Prosecutor v. Mladen Naletilic et Vinko Martinovic | International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia". www.icty.org. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
  13. ^ "ICC - Resignation of Judge Maureen Harding Clark". archive.ph. 1 August 2012. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  14. ^ "ICC - Resignation of Judge Maureen Harding Clark". www.icc-cpi.int. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
  15. ^ a b "Mr Justice George Birmingham Appointed New Judicial Visitor". The University Times. Archived from the original on 4 January 2022. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
  16. ^ "No. 101 (2006)" (PDF). Iris Oifigiúil. 19 December 2006. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  17. ^ "Top justices to fill two bench vacancies". Independent. December 2006. Archived from the original on 4 January 2022. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  18. ^ O'Shea, Sinead. "Retired judge sought Mount Trenchard inquiry". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 4 January 2022. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
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