Bombay High Court's First woman Judge, Sujata Manohar, Awarded 'Ruth Bader Ginsburg Medals Of Honour'

Justice Manohar and seven other jurists from across the world were felicitated during an international meeting of jurists organised by the NGOs in Madrid, Spain, on July 5, 2021.

The award is a tribute to eminent jurist Ruth Bader Ginsburg, former Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1993 till she passed on in 2020. It is to recognise outstanding women jurists who have defended and strengthened the rule of law globally and have consolidated society's advances in gender equality.

Justice Manohar is the daughter of Justice Kantilal Thakoredas Desai. She has only added another feather in her cap with this award as she has won several accolades in her illustrious career spanning over four decades.

Justice Manohar was called to the Bar at Lincoln's Inn, London, after studying philosophy, politics and economics at Oxford. She enrolled as an advocate at Bombay in 1958 and was appointed a permanent judge of the Bombay High Court in 1978. She was subsequently elevated as a Supreme Court Judge in 1994.

Justice Manohar was one of the two High Court Judges from India selected to participate in the course on Patent Trial held at Beijing under WIPO and U.N. auspices in December 1986. She was the Chairperson of the Committee of Judges set up by the Bombay High Court to establish Family Courts in Maharashtra.

Justice Manohar says she met Justice Ginsberg in Washington when the latter was made an honorary bencher of Lincoln's Inn. "I was introduced to her by Justice Stephen Brad. I happened to be there as I am also an honorary bencher. It was nice."

Justice Manohar has a message for young female lawyers, "They should not get discouraged if they face any kind of prejudice against them, they should persevere, overcome those prejudices by their good work. When I was practising in the Bombay High Court, there were very few female lawyers, probably 6-7, so that was a very basic hurdle."

"But we are soon coming to a stage where the prejudices are slowly disappearing," she adds.

The Award

Justice Manohar accepted the award virtually. The award is in association with Justice Ginsberg's daughter Jane Ginsburg, a professor at Columbia.

The seven other awardees are : Christine Lagarde, Gillian Triggs, Luz Ibáñez, Maite Oronoz, Navi Pillay, Rosario Silva Lapuerta and Young Hye Kim.

The Tribute was addressed by HM King Philip VI of Spain, HE Ivan Duque, President of Colombia, Prof. Jane Ginsburg as well as international leaders and jurists including the Presidents of the International Court of Justice, the International Criminal Court, the European Court of Justice, The European Court of Human Rights, the Inter American Court of Human Rights and the African Court of Human Rights and People's Rights.

The World Jurist Association and the World Law Foundation of which F. Javier Cremades Garcia, Spain, is the President, is a non-governmental organization with special consultative status to the United Nations Economic and Social Council. Along with World Law Foundation, the World Jurist Association has led a global campaign to promote the rule of law as a guarantor of peace and freedom.