The Canadian Council on International Law (CCIL) is pleased to announce that Judge Kimberly Prost has been selected as the 2021 John E. Read Medal Recipient. The Read Medal is awarded to Canadians who have made a distinguished contribution to international law and organizations. The John E. Read Medal is awarded by the CCIL to commemorate the life and work of John Erskine Read, Q.C.
The CCIL Awards Committee recognized Judge Prost’s significant contributions to the development, application and interpretation of international law. These contributions stem from her judicial roles at the International Criminal Court and the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, her appointment as the first Ombudsperson for the United Nations Security Council Al Qaida Sanctions Committee and her success in introducing general principles of criminal procedure into the sanctions’ procedures, her contributions to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the Commonwealth Secretariat, and her service at the Department of Justice.
As a recipient of the Read Medal, Judge Prost will join the esteemed ranks of other notable Canadians, including most recently Hugh Kindred, Armand de Mestral, Valerie Hughes, Stephen J. Toope, and Louise Arbour, to name a few.
About Judge Prost
Kimberly Prost is currently a judge at the International Criminal Court (ICC). After election in December 2017, she was sworn in as a judge in March 2018 for a term of nine years. She is currently President of the Trial Division and is serving on Trial Chamber X in the case of Prosecutor v. Al Hassan (Mali).
Prior to her election as judge of the ICC, Ms. Prost served as Chef de Cabinet for the President of the ICC for two years.
Before joining the ICC, she was appointed in 2010 as the first Ombudsperson for the Security Council Al Qaida Sanctions Committee. In this capacity, she handled over 60 cases in a five-year period. She also succeeded in introducing general principles of fair process and the rule of law, into the highly politicized context of the UN Security Council sanctions procedures. To accomplish this, she engaged with the diplomatic, legal, policy, media and academic spheres to argue for the advancement of institutional policies for fair process and transparency.
In July 2006, after election by the United Nations General Assembly, she was appointed to sit as an ad litem judge of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia on a multi-accused trial (Popovic et al) related to events at Srebrenica and Zepa. Judge Prost has also worked in a management capacity for the Commonwealth Secretariat in London and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in Vienna.
Earlier in her career, Judge Prost worked for the Canadian Department of Justice for 18 years appearing before all levels of the Canadian courts, including the Supreme Court. More...