Madam Justice Louise Arbour, a member of the Court of Appeal for Ontario, is presently on leave from the court, having been appointed as chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, by resolution of the Security Council of the United Nations. She has served in this four-year appointment since October 1996. The International Criminal Tribunal, established in 1993 by the UN Security Council, is located in The Hague, The Netherlands. It is mandated to prosecute persons responsible for serious violations of international humanitarian law committed in the territory of the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda. It has authority to prosecute four clusters of offences: grave breaches of the 1949 Geneva Conventions, violations of the laws or customs of war, genocide, and crimes against humanity. The tribunal currently has more than 20 public indictments against 60 individuals plus a number of sealed indictments.
Prior to her appointment to the Tribunal, Arbour had presided an inquiry into certain events at the Prison for Women in Kingston, Ontario and made recommendations to the Solicitor-General of Canada regarding the operations of Canada's Correctional Service. Arbour was appointed to the Court of Appeal for Ontario after having served as a trial judge for the High Court of Justice for the Supreme Court of Ontario since 1987. Before 1987, she was an associate professor and associate dean at Osgoode Hall Law School of York University. She has also served as a research officer with t eh federal Law Reform Commission and as a law clerk for Mr. Justice Louis-Phillippe Pigeon of the Supreme Court of Canada. Throughout her academic and judicial career, Arbour has published extensively in the area of criminal procedure, criminal law, human rights, civil liberties and gender issues. She also has served as an editor for the Criminal Reports, the Candian Rights Reporter,and the Osgoode Hall Law Journal.
Arbour received her bachelor's degree from Quebec's College Regina Assumpta in 1967 and her LL.L from the Faculty of Law at the University of Montreal in 1970. She was called to the Quebec Bar in 1971 and the Ontario Bar in 1977. She received a Doctorate of Laws honoris causafrom York University, and she also received the University Medal from the University of Montreal. Until her appointment to the bench, she was a vice president of the Canadian Liberties Association.
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