Abstract
In the occasion of Sir Ninian Stephen's eightieth birthday, Secretary-General of the United Nations Kofi Annan wrote that 'Sir Ninian Stephen is one of those rare individuals whose national and international careers are equally distinguished. One of Australia's outstanding jurists, he has made a pioneering contribution to the United Nations sphere, as a judge and in the realm of international legal policy'. Kofi Annan's assessment is surely correct. From the highest offices of public service in Australia, Sir Ninian went on to broad-ranging involvement in international affairs, representing his country with distinction as a universally revered global citizen. After ten years as justice of Australia's High Court (1972-82) and serving as governor-general from 1982 to 1989, Sir Ninian embarked upon a decade of extraordinary international appointments: as Australia's first Ambassador for the Environment; chairing the Northern Ireland Peace Talks; profoundly contributing to the development of international criminal law as foundation Judge of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, and judging the first international criminal trial since the post-World War II Nuremberg and Tokyo trials; attempting to broker peace in Bangladesh; evaluating allegations of forced labour in Burma; and investigating the possibility of a criminal tribunal for former Khmer Rouge leaders in Cambodia. In all these endeavours, Sir Ninian's integrity and judicial knowledge, as well as his great skills of diplomacy, eloquence, lucid communication and his humour, were highly respected.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | Sir Ninian Stephen: A Tribute |
Editors | Timothy McCormack, Cheryl Saunders |
Place of Publication | Carlton |
Publisher | Melbourne University Press |
Chapter | 4 |
Pages | 80-97 |
Number of pages | 18 |
ISBN (Print) | 9780522851021 |
Publication status | Published - 2007 |
Externally published | Yes |