Louise Bernice Arbour (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 The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; french: Cour suprême du Canada, CSC) is the Supreme court, highest court in the Court system of Canada, judicial system of Canada. It comprises List of Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada, nine justices, wh ...

and the

Court of Appeal for Ontario The Court of Appeal for Ontario (frequently referred to as the Ontario Court of Appeal or ONCA) is the appellate court for the province of Ontario, Canada. The seat of the court is Osgoode Hall in downtown Toronto, also the seat of the Law Soc ...

and a former Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and

Rwanda Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...

. From 2009 until 2014, she served as President and CEO of the

International Crisis Group The International Crisis Group (ICG; also known as the Crisis Group) is a transnational non-profit, non-governmental organisation founded in 1995. It is a think tank, used by policymakers and academics, performing research and analysis on global ...

. She made history with the indictment of a sitting head of state, Yugoslavian president

Slobodan Milošević Slobodan Milošević (, ; 20 August 1941 – 11 March 2006) was a Yugoslav and Serbian politician who was the president of Serbia within Yugoslavia from 1989 to 1997 (originally the Socialist Republic of Serbia, a constituent republic of ...

, as well as the first prosecution of

sexual assault Sexual assault is an act in which one intentionally sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their will. It is a form of sexual violence, which ...

as a

crime against humanity Crimes against humanity are widespread or systemic acts committed by or on behalf of a ''de facto'' authority, usually a state, that grossly violate human rights. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity do not have to take place within the ...

. From March 2017 to December 2018 she was the Special Representative of the

United Nations 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- ...

for International Migration. She is currently in private practice in Montreal.

Early life and education

Louise Arbour was born in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirte ...

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. In 1967, she graduated from Collège Regina Assumpta, and proceeded to the

Université de Montréal The Université de Montréal (UdeM; ; translates to University of Montreal) is a French-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university's main campus is located in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood of Côte- ...

where she completed an LL.B. with distinction in 1970. She became the

Law Clerk A law clerk or a judicial clerk is a person, generally someone who provides direct counsel and assistance to a lawyer or judge by researching issues and drafting legal opinions for cases before the court. Judicial clerks often play significant ...

for Justice Louis-Philippe Pigeon of the

in 1971–72 while completing graduate studies at the Faculty of Law (Civil Section) of the

University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (french: Université d'Ottawa), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ottaw ...

. This is where she met her long time common-law partner Larry Taman, with whom she lived for 27 years. In a 2014 interview, Arbour named the move from Quebec to Ontario as the "biggest hurdle hehad to overcome to succeed in ercareer," as her entire education had been in French. She was called to the Bar of Quebec in 1971 and to the Law Society of Upper Canada in 1977.

Personal life

She has three adult children: Emilie, Patrick and Catherine. Her daughter Emilie Taman was a NDP candidate in the 2015 Canadian election in the electoral district of

Ottawa—Vanier Ottawa—Vanier (formerly known as Ottawa East) is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1935. Previous to that date, it was part of the Ottawa electoral district tha ...

. Emilie also was a candidate for the NDP in the 2017 by-election and 2019 general election. She also has three grandchildren. Louise's son-in-law (common law spouse to Emilie Taman) is noted Ottawa criminal lawyer Michael Spratt, who was named one of Canadas top 25 most influential lawyers in 2020 and is a partner at the Ottawa criminal law firm AGP LLP. Louise is a member of the

Global Commission on Drug Policy The Global Commission on Drug Policy (GCDP) is a panel of world leaders and intellectuals, with a Secretariat based in Geneva, Switzerland. In June 2011, the commission said: "The global war on drugs has failed, with devastating consequences for i ...

and of the International Commission Against the Death Penalty.

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 Osgoode Hall Law School, commonly shortened to Osgoode, is the law school of York University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The law school is home to the Law Commission of Ontario, the Journal of Law and Social Policy, and the ''Osgoode Hall La ...

York University York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,000 faculty and sta ...

, 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

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 Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the north-eastern end of Lake Ontario, at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River (south end of the Rideau Canal). The city is midway between Tor ...

, following allegations by prisoners of abuse. 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 Arusha City is a Tanzanian city and the regional capital of the Arusha Region, with a population of 416,442 plus 323,198 in the surrounding Arusha District Council (2012 census). Located below Mount Meru on the eastern edge of the eastern bran ...

, and of the

International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) was a body of the United Nations that was established to prosecute the war crimes that had been committed during the Yugoslav Wars and to try their perpetrators. The tribunal ...

(ICTY) in The Hague. She indicted then-Serbian President

for war crimes, the first time a serving head of State was called to account before an international court.

Supreme Court of Canada

In 1999, Prime Minister

Jean Chrétien Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien (; born January 11, 1934) is a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 20th prime minister of Canada from 1993 to 2003. Born and raised in Shawinigan, Shawinigan Falls, Quebec, Chrétien is a law gradua ...

appointed Arbour to the

on May 26, just one day before the publication of the indictment of Milosevic by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). In 2004, Arbour retired from the Supreme Court of Canada, having served for just under five years.

Career after law

United Nations High Commissioner of Human Rights

After leaving the Supreme Court of Canada, Arbour became the United Nations High Commissioner of Human Rights. She criticized a number of countries for their human rights records. In 2008, she stepped down after serving one four year term.

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''. 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. She was the subject of a 2005 fact-based

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

made-for-television movie, ', which follows her quest to indict Bosnian Serb war criminals. Arbour was played by Canadian actress

Wendy Crewson Wendy Jane Crewson (born May 9, 1956) is a Canadian actress and producer. She began her career appearing on Canadian television, before her breakthrough role in 1991 dramatic film '' The Doctor''. Crewson has appeared in many Hollywood films, inc ...

. She was made a Companion to the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the cen ...

in 2007 "for her contributions to the Canadian justice system and for her dedication to the advancement of human rights throughout the world". She was made a Grand Officer of the

National Order of Quebec The National Order of Quebec, termed officially in French as ''l'Ordre national du Québec'', and in English abbreviation as the Order of Quebec, is an order of merit in the Canadian province of Quebec. Instituted in 1984 when Lieutenant Govern ...

in 2009. She was made a Commander of the National Order of the Legion of Honour in 2011. She has been awarded numerous

honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad h ...

s, including Doctor of Civil Laws from the

University of Western Ontario The University of Western Ontario (UWO), also known as Western University or Western, is a public research university in London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by residential neighbourhoods and the Thames R ...

in June 2000, Doctor of Humane Letters from Mount Saint Vincent University in May 2001, and Doctor of Laws degrees from the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks among the top thr ...

in November 2001, the

University of Waterloo The University of Waterloo (UWaterloo, UW, or Waterloo) is a public research university with a main campus in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is on of land adjacent to "Uptown" Waterloo and Waterloo Park. The university also operates ...

in October 2006, in June 2009 from the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a Public university, public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexande ...

and

University of Guelph , mottoeng = "to learn the reasons of realities" , established = May 8, 1964 ()As constituents: OAC: (1874) Macdonald Institute: (1903) OVC: (1922) , type = Public university , chancellor ...

, and from Simon Fraser University in October 2009. On March 9, 2017, Arbour was appointed by the U.N. Secretary-General,

António Guterres António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres ( , ; born 30 April 1949) is a Portuguese politician and diplomat. Since 2017, he has served as secretary-general of the United Nations, the ninth person to hold this title. A member of the Portuguese Soci ...

, to be his Special Representative for International Migration. 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. In May 2022, she delivered her report to Canadian Minister of National Defence

Anita Anand Anita Anand (born May 20, 1967) is a Canadian lawyer and politician who serves as the minister of national defence since 2021. She has represented the riding of Oakville in the House of Commons since the 2019 federal election, sitting as ...

. She is currently a member of the

Whitney R. Harris World Law Institute The Whitney R. Harris World Law Institute at Washington University School of Law, established in 2000 as the Institute for Global Legal Studies, serves as a center for instruction and research in international and comparative law. Background ...

's International Council.

Footnotes

External links

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Profile of Louise Arbour
*
Concordia University Honorary Degree Citation
, June 2001, Concordia University Records Management and Archives {{DEFAULTSORT:Arbour, Louise 1947 births Living people Canadian women judges Clerks of the Supreme Court of Canada Commandeurs of the Légion d'honneur Companions of the Order of Canada French Quebecers Grand Officers of the National Order of Quebec Grand Officers of the Order of the Crown (Belgium) International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda prosecutors International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia prosecutors Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada Justices of the Court of Appeal for Ontario Special Representatives of the Secretary-General of the United Nations Lawyers in Ontario Lawyers from Montreal Canadian women diplomats Université de Montréal alumni University of Ottawa alumni Osgoode Hall Law School faculty United Nations High Commissioners for Human Rights Under-Secretaries-General of the United Nations Constitutional court women judges Canadian women lawyers Université de Montréal Faculty of Law alumni University of Ottawa Faculty of Law alumni Canadian officials of the United Nations Recipients of the Four Freedoms Award Women legal scholars