Louise Arbour

Louise Arbour (born February 10 , 1947 in Montreal, Quebec , Canada ) is the current UN High Commissioner For Human Rights and a former Supreme Court Of Canada Judge .

Born in Montreal, Quebec to Bernard Arbour (deceased) and Rose Ravary, 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 College Regina Assumpta, and proceeded to the Université De Montréal where she completed an LL.L. with distinction in 1970. She became the Law Clerk for Mr. Justice Louis-Philippe Pigeon of the Supreme Court Of Canada in 1971-1972 while completing graduate studies at the Faculty of Law (Civil Section) of the University Of Ottawa . She was called to the Quebec bar in 1971 and to the Ontario Bar in 1977.

From 1972-73, Louise Arbour was research officer for the Law Reform Commission of Canada. She then taught at Osgoode Hall Law School , York University , first as a Lecturer (1974), then as Assistant Professor (1975), Associate Professor (1977-1987), and finally as Associate Professor and Associate Dean (1987). She also 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 Court of Appeal for Ontario in 1990.

In 1995, Madam Justice 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, following allegations by prisoners.

In 1996, she was appointed Chief Prosecutor of War Crimes before the International Criminal Tribunal for . In that capacity she indicted then President Slobodan Milosevic for war crimes, the first time a serving head of State was called to account before an international court Also indicted were Milan Milutinovic, President of the Republic of Serbia, Nikola Sainovic, Deputy Prime Minister of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Dragoljub Ojdanic, Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, and Vlajko Stojiljkovic, Minister of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Serbia [http://www.un.org/icty/pressreal/p404-e.htm .

In 1999 Arbour was appointed to the Supreme Court Of Canada .

On , 2004 . She replaced Sergio Vieira De Mello , who was killed in a Bomb ing in Baghdad , Iraq , in August 2003 .

Throughout her career, Arbour has published in the area of criminal procedure, criminal law, human rights, civil liberties and gender issues, 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''. She has been awarded honorary doctorates by twenty-seven universities. She has three children: Emilie, Patrick and Catherine Taman.

She is also the subject of a made-for-television movie, entitled, "Hunt For Justice," which follows her quest to indict Bosnian war criminals.

She has taken an anti free speech stance on the Danish Mohammed cartoons.

On February 17, 2006 David Beers of The Tyee reported that she is being recruited to run for the leadership of the Liberal Party Of Canada . {Link without Title}

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Louise Arbour