Transmenu powered by JoomlArt.com - Mambo Joomla Professional Templates Club

ST. THOMAS, U.S.VIRGIN ISLANDS, Tues.: Former President of the Malaysian Bar, Dato' Param Cumaraswamy, 64, (picture) has won this year’s Justice Prize awarded by the Peter Gruber Foundation in recognition of his "fearless advocacy for judicial independence". He will receive the US$200,000 award and gold medal in September at Columbia University Law School in New York.

The Chairman of the Peter Gruber Foundation, Peter Gruber said on its website that the Justice Prize of the Peter Gruber Foundation established in 2001 is awarded to individuals or organisations who have made significant contributions in the area of justice and whose efforts and accomplishments have furthered the cause of justice as delivered through the legal system.

He said the intention of the award is not only to acknowledge individual efforts but also to encourage further advancements in the field and progress toward bringing about a fundamentally just world.

He added that recipients are selected from the world community by a distinguished panel of international legal experts. Members of the distinguished Advisory Board who selected Cumaraswamy for the Prize are Honourable Rosalie Silberman Abella, Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada and Justice Prize laureate; Dennis Archer, Esq., immediate past president of the American Bar Association; Honourable Christine Chanet, Chairman of the Human Rights Committee of the United Nations; Sir Anthony Gubbay, former Chief Justice of Zimbabwe and Justice Prize laureate; and Jerome J. Shestack, Esq., former president of the American Bar Association.

Previous winners of the Justice Prize are retired Chief Justice Arthur Chaskalson and current Chief Justice Pius Langa of the Constitutional Court of South Africa (2004); Justice Bertha Wilson, retired Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, and Justice Rosalie Silberman Abella, Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada (2003); Fali Sam Nariman, President of the Bar Association of India (2002); and Sir Anthony Gubbay, former Chief Justice of Zimbabwe, and the Law Society of Zimbabwe (2001).

Cumaraswamy was a founding member of the Bar Council's Human Rights Committee and Legal Aid Committee. He was also chairman of the International Bar Association's Human Rights Committee. In 1994, he was appointed by the UN Commission on Human Rights as the Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers.

In 1985, he was charged with sedition when he urged the Kuala Lumpur Pardons Board not to discriminate against a poor labourer. Later his defence of sacked Supreme Court judges earned him the title "Dato'" from the Sultan of Kelantan.

The official citation reads:

"The 2005 Justice Prize of the Peter Gruber Foundation is hereby proudly presented to Param Cumaraswamy whose voice has been heard around the world for the independence of judges who are the ultimate custodians of the just rule of law that is the foundation for human rights. In a life dedicated to the defense and affirmation of justice, his fearless advocacy for judicial independence has often been at great personal risk and cost. His record serves as a call and as an inspiration to all."

“Justice prevents the exercise of arbitrary power,” said Peter Gruber. “We are extremely pleased to honour Param Cumaraswamy for standing for justice in his own country and around the world,” he added.

The Malaysian Bar is indeed proud that one of its former Presidents has earned world-wide recognition for his work both within and without Malaysia and extends our heartiest congratulations to Dato' Param Cumaraswamy for being awarded a well-deserved prize.

Comments (0)

Subscribe to this comment's feed