Justice Renate Winter (born March 8, 1944) is an Austrian judge to the

Special Court for Sierra Leone The Special Court for Sierra Leone, or the "Special Court" (SCSL), also called the Sierra Leone Tribunal, was a judicial body set up by the government of Sierra Leone and the United Nations to "prosecute persons who bear the greatest responsibil ...

, and an expert on family law,

juvenile justice A juvenile court, also known as young offender's court or children's court, is a tribunal having special authority to pass judgements for crimes that are committed by children who have not attained the age of majority. In most modern legal s ...

systems, women’s justice issues and

child labour Child labour refers to the exploitation of children through any form of work that deprives children of their childhood, interferes with their ability to attend regular school, and is mentally, physically, socially and morally harmful. Such e ...

. She is a founding member of the International Institute for the Rights of the Child (IDE) which is dedicated to the worldwide training of judicial personnel and dissemination of information on children’s rights and former president of the International Association of Youth and Family Court Judges. Winter holds a

law degree A law degree is an academic degree conferred for studies in law. Such degrees are generally preparation for legal careers. But while their curricula may be reviewed by legal authority, they do not confer a license themselves. A legal license is gra ...

as well as a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in interpretation from the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich histor ...

. Winter is a contributor to the Draft Model Law on Juvenile Justice, the UN Manual on Juvenile Justice, and the Draft Model Law on Child Victims & Witness Protection.

Legal career

From 1981 to 1996, Winter has been a judge at the Vienna Youth Court, where she has undertaken projects to help rehabilitate juveniles with problems of drug addiction and mental disability. Winter has also worked on projects relating to youth and child soldiers for the United Nations, including in numerous African countries as well as in Latin America. Throughout the 1990s, Winter chaired numerous international conferences on matters relating to juvenile justice and gender-related justice issues. From 1996 to 2000, she was Consultant for the UN Center for the International Crime Prevention (CICP) at the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

advising government officials on the implementation on the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child on four continents (e.g. in the Balkans, in the Baltics, in Central European and Asian Countries, in the Maghreb, in East and West Africa and Latin America.) From 2000 to 2002, Winter was International Judge with the

United Nations Mission in Kosovo The United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) is the officially mandated mission of the United Nations in Kosovo. The UNMIK describes its mandate as being to "help the United Nations Security Council achieve an overall ...

(UNMIK) at the Mitrovica Regional District Court and Justice at the Supreme Court of Kosovo as part of the United Nations interim civilian administration. In 2002, she was appointed as Judge to the Appeals Chamber of the Special Court for Sierra Leone by the

UN Secretary-General The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or SG) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the six principal organs of the United Nations. The role of the secretary-ge ...

. From 2008 to 2010 she was elected President of the Special Court. Throughout her career, Justice Winter has worked for child-friendly juvenile justice and the protection of children. She has worked with State parties from diverse legal cultures on the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. As an international judge in post-conflict situations, Justice Winter acquired first-hand experience in tackling challenges in the protection of women and children, including the rehabilitation and reintegration of children affected by armed conflict. Winter has contributed to a number of United Nations draft model laws and manuals in the area of juvenile justice. She has long-standing expertise in the prevention of child abuse and the protection of children against organized crime, including trafficking.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Winter, Renate 1944 births Austrian officials of the United Nations Special Court for Sierra Leone judges United Nations Mission in Kosovo University of Vienna alumni Austrian judges Austrian jurists Austrian judges on the courts of Kosovo Austrian women judges Living people Austrian judges of United Nations courts and tribunals