A Canadian national, Louise Arbour served as the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights from 2004 to 2008, and as Special Representative of the Secretary-General for International Migration from 2016 to 2018. She also served on the Supreme Court of Canada from 1999 to 2004 and was President and CEO of the International Crisis Group from 2009 until 2014.
Ms. Arbour began her academic career in 1974 at Osgoode Hall Law School of York University in Toronto. In December 1987 she was appointed to the Supreme Court of Ontario, and in 1990 to the Court of Appeal for Ontario. In 1995, as Commissioner of an inquiry into the Prison for Women in Kingston, Ontario she produced a report which accelerated the move towards modern institutions specifically designed to meet the security and programming needs of women inmates.
In 1996, Ms. Arbour was appointed by the Security Council of the United Nations as Chief Prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda. After three years as Prosecutor, she resigned to take up her appointment to the Supreme Court of Canada.
Ms. Arbour has received 40 honorary degrees and is affiliated with many distinguished professional societies and organisations. In 2009, she became a member of the Advisory Board for the 2011 World Bank Development Report: Conflict, Security and Development; in 2010, she joined the Global Commission on Elections, Democracy and Security; and in April 2011, became a member of the Global Commission on Drug Policy.
Ms. Arbour is a Companion of the Order of Canada (2007) and a Grande Officire de lOrdre national du Quebec (2009). She is the recipient of numerous medals and awards, including the Franklin D. Roosevelt Freedom from Fear Award (2000), the French Legion of Honour (2010), and has been decorated by Spain, Colombia and Belgium. Ms. Arbour received the North-South Prize of the Council of Europe in March 2011. She was named laureate of the 2016 Tang Prize in the Rule of Law category.
Awards & Recognition
Named laureate of the 2016 Tang Prize in the Rule of Law category
Recognized in the 2014 edition of the Top 25 Most Influential in the justice system and legal profession of the Canadian Lawyer magazine (World Stage category)
Recipient of honorary doctorates from 40 universities across Canada and abroad
Justice Arbour has received some forty medals and awards, notably the Griffin Bell Award for Courageous Advocacy from the American College of Trial Lawyers in 2013; the Council of Europe’s North-South Prize in 2010; the United Nations Human Rights Prize in 2008; honorary membership in the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada; the Mdaille de la Facult de droit de l’Universit de Montral in 2003; the Mdaille du Barreau in 2001 and the Franklin & Eleanor Roosevelt Freedom from Fear Medal in 2000
Honorary Member of the New York City Bar Association
Company Firm
Borden Ladner Gervais LLP
Website
Firm Mailing
1000 de La Gauchetiere Street West Suite 900
Montreal
Quebec
H3B 5H4
Canada
Fellow Since
September 1, 2003
Practice Areas
- International Arbitration
Chapter
- Quebec
Contact Info