Ethics Center's Richard Goldstone receives MacArthur Award for International Justice

Richard Goldstone

Richard Goldstone, the incoming chairman of the advisory board of the International Center for Ethics, Justice, and Public Life at Brandeis, receive tdhe MacArthur Award for International Justice on May 25.

Goldstone served as the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia. A native of South Africa, he chaired from 1991 to 1994 what became known as the Goldstone Commission, an independent judicial commission that investigated activities and people who posed a threat to the restoration of civil rights during the transition to post-apartheid South Africa. He was recently named to head a fact-finding mission investigating alleged war crimes during the conflict in Gaza from December 2008 to January 2009.

In selecting Goldstone, the MacArthur Foundation’s board of directors cited his role in the development of the modern era of international justice.
 
“Justice Goldstone has played an instrumental role in building the emerging international system of justice,” said MacArthur Foundation President Jonathan Fanton. “He gave the tribunals moral authority and legal credibility. It is, in large part, a testament to the quality of his work that the international community accepted the Rome Statute and established the International Criminal Court with confidence. His unquestioned competence and integrity won the faith of the world.”

The award provides Goldstone with $100,000 for his own work and invites him to suggest an additional $500,000 in support for nonprofit organizations working on international justice issues.

In addition to his work on the Ethics Center board since its inception in 2000, Goldstone has served as one of the directors of the Brandeis Institute for International Judges since its inception in 2002.