Maureen Harding Clark (born 3 January 1946) is an Irish judge who served as a Judge of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia since June 2019, a Judge of the High Court from 2006 to 2014, a Judge at the International Criminal Court from 2003 to 2006, and a Judge at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia from 2001 to 2003.[1]
Maureen Harding Clark | |
|---|---|
| Judge of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia | |
| Assumed office 12 June 2019 | |
| Nominated by | António Guterres |
| Appointed by | Norodom Sihamoni |
| Preceded by | Agnieszka Klonowiecka-Milart |
| Judge of the High Court | |
| In office 11 December 2006 – 3 November 2014 | |
| Nominated by | Government of Ireland |
| Appointed by | Mary McAleese |
| Judge of the International Criminal Court | |
| In office 11 March 2003 – 10 December 2006 | |
| Nominated by | Government of Ireland |
| Appointed by | Assembly of States Parties |
| Judge at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia | |
| In office 22 April 2001 – 9 February 2003 | |
| Nominated by | Government of Ireland |
| Appointed by | United Nations General Assembly |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 3 January 1946 Edinburgh, Scotland |
| Nationality | Irish |
| Education | Muckross Park College |
| Alma mater | |
Early life and education
editClark was born to an Irish Catholic mother and a Scottish Presbyterian father in Scotland. When she was two years old, her family moved to Malaysia where she and her sister attended an English school run by French nuns.[2] At that time, she also learned Malay.[2] The school they attended in Malaysia was located in Bukit Nanas, Kuala Lumpur.[3] When she was twelve years old, the family moved to Ireland[2] where she attended the Muckross Park College in Dublin.[3] In 1964, Clark began studying at the University of Lyon where she obtained a diploma in French language.[3]
In 1965, Clark returned to Ireland and studied law at the University College Dublin,[3] where she met her husband.[2] Following her graduation with a BCL degree,[3] she and her husband settled in the United States, where they had two children.[2] After an amicable separation, she and the children returned to Ireland, where she followed up her studies at Trinity College Dublin.[3] While at the university, her lecturer was Mary Robinson,[2][4] who later became President of Ireland. In 1975, she completed her studies and became a Barrister-at-Law at the Honourable Society of King's Inns.[3]
In 2021, she was made an honorary fellow of Trinity College Dublin.[5]
Legal career
editFollowing her graduation in 1975[6] Clark was a barrister in the South Eastern Circuit[4][7] in a variety of cases.[7] In 1985, she assumed as the State Prosecutor for Tipperary.[2] In 1991, she became a Senior Counsel.[3][2] The same year, she quit her job in Tipperary[2] and became a prosecutor at the Central Criminal Court in Ireland.[8] She was described as "tough-minded", and "If she was prosecuting, you knew you were prosecuted".[2] She led the prosecution in the first money-laundering trial in Europe, as well as the first marital rape and male rape trials in Ireland.[3] In 2004, she was appointed a member of the Irish Human Rights Commission.[9]
Judicial career
editIn June 2001, Clark was elected as one of the 27 so-called ad litem judges at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) by the General Assembly of the United Nations.[10] She was assigned to a trial concerning human rights violations.[11] By March 2003, her chamber had sentenced Mladen Naletilić Tuta to 20 years' and Vinko Martinovic to 18 years' imprisonment.[12] In 2003, she was elected to a nine-year term as a judge of the International Criminal Court (ICC), where she was tasked with the organization of the trials and the establishment of a judicial infrastructure.[13] On 10 December 2006, she resigned from her post at the International Criminal Court after being appointed a High Court judge.[13] In 2019, following her nomination by the UN secretary-general António Guterres, the King of Cambodia Norodom Sihamoni[6] appointed Clark as a judge of the Supreme Court of the Khmer Rouge Tribunal, the court at which the leaders of the Cambodian Khmer Rouge are to be tried.[14]
In December 2006, Clark became a Judge of the High Court of Ireland,[15][16] a post she held until 2014.[17] She was also the judicial visitor for the Trinity College Dublin between 2009 and 2020.[14]
References
edit- ^ Verdery Young, Amanda (2 March 2017). "Maureen Harding Clark". Women in Peace. Archived from the original on 4 January 2022. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Irish criminal lawyer joins Hague tribunal". The Irish Times. 23 June 2001. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Election of the judges of the International Criminal Court". United Nations. 12 December 2002. Archived from the original on 4 January 2022.
- ^ a b Byrne, John (22 March 2006). "Judging Consultants". magill.ie. Archived from the original on 4 January 2022. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
- ^ TRINITY MONDAY 2021 – FELLOWS AND SCHOLARS
- ^ a b "His Majesty the King appoints New ECCC Judge". Cambodia News Gazette. 2 August 2019. Archived from the original on 4 January 2022. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
- ^ a b "Statement of Support of candidature of Maureen Harding Clark submitted to the legal counsel of the United Nations" (PDF). United Nations. 2001.
- ^ Newman, Christine. "Irish judge nominated for world criminal court". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 4 January 2022. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
- ^ "Appointment of Judge Maureen Harding Clark to the Human Rights Commission – IHREC – Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission". Irish Human Rights Commission. Archived from the original on 4 January 2022. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
- ^ "Pool of 27 Ad Litem Judges elected by UN General Assembly. | International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia". www.icty.org. Archived from the original on 4 January 2022. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
- ^ "The first six ad-litem Judges appointed by United Nations Secretary-General, Kofi Annan. | International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia". www.icty.org. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
- ^ "Judgement in the case The Prosecutor v. Mladen Naletilic et Vinko Martinovic | International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia". www.icty.org. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
- ^ a b "ICC – Resignation of Judge Maureen Harding Clark". International Criminal Court. 11 December 2006. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
- ^ a b "Mr Justice George Birmingham Appointed New Judicial Visitor". The University Times. Archived from the original on 4 January 2022. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
- ^ "No. 101 (2006)" (PDF). Iris Oifigiúil. 19 December 2006. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
- ^ "Top justices to fill two bench vacancies". Independent. December 2006. Archived from the original on 4 January 2022. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
- ^ O'Shea, Sinead. "Retired judge sought Mount Trenchard inquiry". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 4 January 2022. Retrieved 5 January 2022.