The World Jurist Association has announced that the next 13 of April will be the next Opening Session held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. It will mark the official presentation to the press and the local jurist community of the World Law Congress 2023 that will happen in the north American city on the 20 and 21 July and it will turn New York into the global capital of law.
This event, in which the WJA Medals of Honor will also be awarded to distinguished individuals of the international jurist world, will form part of the varying sessions that are being held since last July in different cities across the world and in which the role of the Rule of Law is discussed to confront the main challenges that today’s societies face. Patricia Lee Refo and Hilarie Bass who were presidents of the American Bar Association, will be the masters of ceremony.
WJA recognition to individuals in the jurist world
The Opening Session New York program includes a panel discussion on the Rule of Law, Corporate Governance and the Climate, that will be moderated by Deborah Enix-Ross, the current president of the New York City Bar, and the following will participate: Stephen Breyer, retired judge of the US Supreme Court; Kerry Kennedy, president of the Robert F. Kennedy Foundation Human Rights; Luis Almagro, secretary general of the Organization of American States; Richard Wagner, president of the Supreme Court of Canada; Ignacio Sánchez Galán, president of Iberdrola.
During the event, there will also be the bestowing of the Medals of Honor of the WJA to outstanding individuals, in which the following will be awarded:
- Steven Breyer (USA): Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States between 1994 and 2022.
- Kerry Kennedy (USA): president of the Robert F. Kennedy Foundation Human Rights.
- Ignacio Sánchez Galán (Spain): president of Iberdrola.
- Richard Wagner (Canada): president of the Supreme Court of Canada.
- Luis Almagro (Uruguay): secretary general of the Organization of American States.
- Luis Lavrysen (Belgium): president of the Supreme Court of Belgium and president of the European Union Forum of Judges for the Environment.
- Brian Preston (Australia): president of the Land and Environment Court of New South Wales.
This is an acknowledgement that, since 1965, the World Jurist Association has awarded to recognize outstanding individuals at a global level from as much a legal perspective as defending human rights and that in the past it has been received by prime ministers, presidents, ministers, attorneys, judges, academics, lawyers, heads of international organizations and prominent members of the WJA that have largely contributed to the achievements of the organization’s objectives.
The World Law Congress 2023 launch
The Opening Session New York will finish with another panel discussion about the new horizons of the Rule of Law that will count on the participation of the World Jurist Association president, Javier Cremades, and the retired US Supreme Court Judge, Steven Breyer.
Afterwards, they will be the official presentation of the World Law Congress New York 2023, a 2-day event in which global leaders including heads of State, magistrates, political leaders, academics, lawyers, activists, and students, will discuss a wide variety of current topics to which the judicial community aim to propose solutions.
The 28th edition of this conference will take place on the 20 and 21 July at the United Nations Headquarters and the New York City Bar Association and it will count on the participation of 250 panelists from across the world. Furthermore, this meeting will award the World Peace & Liberty Award 2023 to an individual or global institution that has been noted for their efforts in the promotion of peace through law and liberty, an award that has been previously given to Sir Winston Churchill, Nelson Mandela, René Cassin, Felipe VI King of Spain, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and most recently, the Colombian Society, received by their president, Iván Duque.
