Fiji lawyer receives Bader Ginsburg accolade for defending rule of law

Imrana Jalal is a women's activist and lawyer from Fiji who works for the Sian Development Bank. Photo: RNZI/Sally Round

Fijian lawyer Imrana Jalal has been awarded the Ruth Bader Ginsburg Medal of Honour by the World Jurists Association.

The award is given in recognition of inspiring women jurists who fight to defend and strengthen the rule of law, and to consolidate society’s advances in gender equity.

She is the first woman from the Pacific region to receive the award.

Fiji Village reports Jalal said she was stunned to receive the news, and that she was deeply honoured to be one of the recipients of this award.

She said Justice Bader Ginsburg was her hero and one of her dreams was to meet her while she worked in the US at the World Bank.

Justice Bader Ginsburg died in September 2020 at the age of 87.

She will be one of eight women jurists to receive the prestigious award in a ceremony in Madrid, Spain on May 8 and will be hosted by King Felipe VI of Spain at the Rule of Law Centre of the World Jurist Association.

The Ruth Bader Ginsburg Medal of Honor is a new international recognition, established by the World Jurist Association and presented for the first time in 2021.

This will be the second time, since the death of the iconic Justice Bader Ginsburg of the Supreme Court of the United States, that the award will be presented.