Ihsan Barakat

Last updated
Ihsan Barakat
Attorney General
Assumed office
December 2010

Ihsan Zuhdi Barakat (born 1964) is a Jordanian jurist who was the country's first female Attorney General and the first woman appointed to the country's Supreme Court in 2017.

Contents

Early life and education

Barakat's mother was a teacher. [1] She graduated from the University of Jordan in 1986. [2]

Career

Barakat set up her own law firm in 1988, attracting high profile clients including the Central Bank of Jordan. [3] She was appointed as a judge in 2002 at the Court of First Instance in Amman and transferred to the Appeals Court in 2004. [3] She also served as director of the Directorate of International Relations at the Ministry of Justice for nine months in 2004-2005. [3] [2]

Barakat was a judicial inspector and a judge at the Amman Court of Appeal. [1] In May 2007, she was appointed to the position of Chief of Court of the Court of First Instance in West Amman, the first woman to hold such a position. [4] [5] Barakat was a founding member and president of the Arab Women's Legal Network, which was formed in 2005 with the backing of Queen Rania. [1] She is a member of the Executive Board of the Jordanian National Commission for Women and the Higher Council of the Jordanian National Forum for Women. [2]

In December 2010, Barakat was appointed as the country's first female Attorney General, supervising sixty district attorneys, including only one other woman, [6] [7] and representing the government in the court of appeals. [8] At the time she said, "The position will put to a test women's capabilities ... Some of my peers were angered by my appointment." [8]

Barakat was appointed to the Supreme Court in September 2017, making her the first woman to reach the highest position in the country's judiciary. [9] In January 2018, she was appointed as a judge in the Cassation Court, the judicial authority over all Jordanian courts. [10] At the same time, Prime Minister Hani Mulki issued a circular to all ministries and institutions to ensure gender equality in vacant positions. [10]

Personal life

Barakat has two daughters, [8] both have graduated law in London. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Supreme Court of Texas</span> Highest court in the U.S. state of Texas for civil appeals

The Supreme Court of Texas (SCOTX) is the court of last resort for civil matters in the U.S. state of Texas. A different court, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (CCA), is the court of last resort in criminal matters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rosemary Barkett</span> American judge

Rosemary Barkett is a Mexican-American judge of the Iran–United States Claims Tribunal located in The Hague, Netherlands since 2013. Previously, she served as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Prior to her nomination for that post, she was chief justice of the Florida Supreme Court.

Justice Shiranee Tilakawardane was a sitting Justice of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka and member of the Judicial Service Commission. She has also served as acting Chief Justice for when Mohan Peiris was out of the country.

Dana Anderson Fabe is an American lawyer, retired judge, and mediator. She served as a justice of the Alaska Supreme Court from 1996 to 2016, including three terms as the court's chief justice. She previously served as an Alaska trial court judge for nearly eight years, from 1988 to 1996. Fabe was the first woman appointed to the Alaska Supreme Court, as well as its first female chief justice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women in the United States judiciary</span>

The number of women in the United States judiciary has increased as more women have entered law school, but women still face significant barriers in pursuing legal careers.

Deborah Tobias Poritz is an American jurist. She was the Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court from 1996 to 2006, and was the Attorney General of New Jersey from 1994 to 1996, in both cases becoming the first woman to serve in that position.

Mary Mullarkey was a chief justice of the Colorado Supreme Court and the first female Supreme Court chief justice in the state of Colorado. She was inducted into the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame in 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women in law</span> Involvement of women in the study and practice of law

Women in law describes the role played by women in the legal profession and related occupations, which includes lawyers, paralegals, prosecutors, judges, legal scholars, law professors and law school deans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mandisa Maya</span> South African judge

Mandisa Muriel Lindelwa Maya Mlokoti is the first female South African Deputy Chief Justice. She is also the first female jurist who has served as President of the Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa (SCA) since 26 May 2017 until 31 August 2022 and the first female chancellor of University of Mpumalanga since 1 July 2021. She had previously served as a judge in the Mthatha High Court, as a puisne judge of the SCA and as Deputy President of the SCA, as well as holding acting positions in various courts.

Jane Hamilton Mathews was a judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales, a judge of the Federal Court of Australia and President of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Pudney, Harriet (17 September 2017). "Jordan now has its first female Supreme Court judge". Emirates Woman. Retrieved 14 July 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 "Judge Ihssan Barakat". Archived from the original on 2015-09-08. Retrieved 2018-07-14.
  3. 1 2 3 Hindi, Linda (29 May 2007). "First Woman Appointed as Chief of Court in Jordan". The Jordan Times. American Bar Association. Archived from the original on 14 July 2018. Retrieved 14 July 2018.
  4. "First woman chief of court for Jordan". IOL. 29 May 2007. Retrieved 14 July 2018.
  5. Smail Salhi, Zahia (2013). Gender and Violence in Islamic Societies: Patriarchy, Islamism and Politics in the Middle East and North Africa. I. B. Tauris. p. 118. ISBN   9780857733689.
  6. "Jordan names first woman chief district attorney". The Jerusalem Post. 9 December 2010. Retrieved 14 July 2018.
  7. "Jordan Names First Woman Chief District Attorney". Fox News. 9 December 2010. Retrieved 14 July 2018.
  8. 1 2 3 Pretorius, Richard (28 December 2010). "Jordan's female attorney general challenges tradition". The National UAE. Retrieved 14 July 2018.
  9. "Barakat promoted to highest Judicial Council rank". The Jordan Times. 14 September 2017. Retrieved 14 July 2018.
  10. 1 2 "Barakat becomes first female Cassation Court judge". The Jordan Times. 25 January 2018. Retrieved 14 July 2018.