Israel’s
Aharon Barak Receives 2006 Gruber Justice Prize
“At great personal risk, Barak
has been a towering figure in protecting democratic values,
human rights and the independence of the judiciary.”
“We, the judges in modern democracies, are responsible
for protecting democracy both from terrorism and from the means
the state wants to use to fight terrorism.” (Aharon Barak
2002)
Aharon Barak, Retired President of the Supreme Court of Israel,
received the 2006 Gruber Justice Prize on September 21, 2006
in the Ames Courtroom, Austin Hall, Harvard Law School, Boston.
President Barak is renowned for championing an activist judiciary
and the rule of law and democracy.
"It’s a remarkable journey for a man who as a child
survived the Holocaust, and was at one point smuggled out of
the Kovno Ghetto in a sack of clothes."
Barak retired on 16 September as President of Israel’s
top court after 11 years at its helm, and 28 years in its service.
Under his term, the Supreme Court has issued rulings that have
ensured the just application of the law for both Jews and Palestinians,
and that have protected democracy both from terrorism and from
the means the state wants to use to fight terrorism.
Barak has said that his role as a judge is to “protect
human rights and the dignity and equality of every human being”.
He has spoken widely of how his experiences in the Holocaust
have shaped his outlook and of the need to preserve the rule
of democratic law not just in times of peace but also in times
of war and terror. He stresses, “We need laws most in
times of war”.
“Judges are under enormous pressure because of their willingness
to make justice available to all people,” says Dennis
Archer – one of the selection panel, and a former President
of the American Bar Association.
“From time to time one person stands out, someone who
under great pressure and at personal danger, nevertheless administers
the law according to the facts before him, protecting the human
rights of all. Aharon Barak is such a man, and that’s
why he merits this prestigious award, says Archer.
“For me, Aharon Barak is the ultimate judge: competence,
integrity, exceptional talent and most of all courage,”
says Claire L'Heureux Dubé, a former Canadian Supreme
Court justice.
“He is one of a kind: as a person he is warm and unpretentious,
a superb writer and terrific speaker, a great human being with
an incomparable sense of justice and service to the people.
As a judge, he is a great jurist who allies common sense with
a sophisticated and learned mind. Most of all, he is a profound
humanist,” she says.
“Justice redresses the arbitrary use of power by an individual
or by a group,” says Peter Gruber, Chairman of the Peter
Gruber Foundation. “Barak is a role model for judges everywhere,”
he says.
Born in Lithuania in 1936, Barak was one of the very few children
to escape the Kovno Ghetto. He immigrated with his parents to
Israel in 1947.
He studied law, economics and international relations at the
Hebrew University in Jerusalem and received an MA in law in
1958 and a doctorate in 1963. Barak was appointed Associate
Professor of Law at the Hebrew University in 1968, and was made
Professor in 1972.
Barak participated in the preparation of an international treaty
on bills of exchange for the United Nations, and served as Israel’s
Attorney General for three years from 1975, before his appointment
to the Supreme Court in 1978.
Barak has lectured widely internationally, including in the
US, and is the author of several books in English and Hebrew
including The Judge in a Democracy (2006), Purposive Interpretation
in Law (2005) and Judicial Discretion (1989).
Under Barak’s helm, the Israeli Supreme Court has interpreted
Israel’s basic law as its constitution and has, when necessary,
challenged Knesset laws on that basis.
The official citation reads:
The 2006 Justice Prize of the Peter Gruber Foundation is proudly
presented to Aharon Barak, former President of the Israeli Supreme
Court – jurist, scholar, advocate, public servant and
educator.
Aharon Barak is a person of outstanding courage and principle
who has devoted his life to the promotion of justice and the
just rule of law.
At great personal risk, he has been a towering figure in protecting
democratic values, human rights and the independence of the
judiciary.
The Justice Prize is the second Gruber Prize to be awarded in
2006 – with the Genetics, Neuroscience and Women’s
Rights prizes to be presented in October and November.
In August, the Cosmology Prize was awarded to Dr. John Mather
and the COBE team for their work confirming that our universe
was born in a hot big bang.
Since 2001, the Justice Prize of the Peter Gruber Foundation
has recognized individuals who have furthered the cause of justice
as delivered through the legal system. The Prize carries a gold
medal and a US$250,000 cash prize.
The past winners of the Prize are:
• Malaysian attorney Dato Param Cumaraswamy
who, at considerable risk to himself, stood up for the independence
of the judiciary, received the prize in 2005.
• Chief Justice Arthur Chaskalson, the
first president of South Africa’s Constitutional Court,
and Deputy Chief Justice Pius Langa, an advocate
and judge who helped establish South Africa’s Constitution
as a model for modern democratic societies, jointly won the
2004 prize.
• Canadian judges Madame Justice Rosalie Silberman
Abella and Madame Justice Bertha Wilson
jointly received the 2003 prize for their contributions to jurisprudence
in Canada and beyond. Abella, who served on the Ontario Court
of Appeal for 20 years before her appointment to the Supreme
Court, is one of Canada’s best known and respected legal
minds; Wilson, the first woman appointed to the Supreme Court
of Canada, has forged a reputation as a champion of the underdog
and a dedicated proponent of fair play.
• Fali Sam Nariman, Member of the Parliament
of India, Senior Advocate in the Supreme Court of India and
President of the Bar Association of India, received the 2002
prize. Nariman has played an important role in both establishing
and enforcing the law in India. He was cited for promoting the
universal rule of law in a modern era of emerging democracies
and supportive systems of jurisprudence.
• The Honorable Justice Anthony Roy Gubbay,
former Chief Justice of Zimbabwe, and the Law Society
of Zimbabwe were the joint recipients of the inaugural
Justice Prize in 2001, honored for upholding the independence
of the judiciary and protecting the rights of the people of
Zimbabwe.
Justice Advisory Board
Justice Prize recipients are selected by the Prize’s distinguished
Advisory Board. Members of the 2006 Advisory Board are:
• The Honorable Rosalie Silberman Abella, Justice, Supreme
Court of Canada
• Dennis Archer, Esq., Former President, American Bar
Association, Former Mayor of Detroit
• Giuseppe Bisconti, Esq., Attorney, Studio Legale Bisconti,
Rome
• Martin Lee, Esq., Attorney, Office of Martin C.M. Lee,
QC., SC., Hong Kong
• The Honorable Sandra Day O'Connor, Justice, Supreme
Court of the United States of America, retired.
For details of the prizes and our partners please visit www.petergruberfoundation.org
or contact our media advisor: Niall Byrne, +61 3 5253 1391 or
niall@scienceinpublic.com.
JUSTICE
NEWS - 2006 RECIPIENT: AHARON BARAK