Maureen Harding Clark

Last updated

Maureen Harding Clark
Judge of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia
Assumed office
12 June 2019

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]

Contents

Early life and education

Clark 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]

Following 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

In 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 assumed 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. [14] 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. [15]

In December 2006, Clark became a Judge of the High Court of Ireland, [16] [17] a post she held until 2014. [18] She was also the judicial visitor for the Trinity College Dublin between 2009 and 2020. [15]

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References

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  4. 1 2 Byrne, John (22 March 2006). "Judging Consultants". magill.ie. Archived from the original on 4 January 2022. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
  5. TRINITY MONDAY 2021 – FELLOWS AND SCHOLARS
  6. 1 2 "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.
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  8. Newman, Christine. "Irish judge nominated for world criminal court". The Irish Times . Archived from the original on 4 January 2022. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
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  12. "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.
  13. "ICC – Resignation of Judge Maureen Harding Clark". archive.ph. 1 August 2012. Archived from the original on 1 August 2012. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  14. "ICC – Resignation of Judge Maureen Harding Clark". www.icc-cpi.int. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
  15. 1 2 "Mr Justice George Birmingham Appointed New Judicial Visitor". The University Times . Archived from the original on 4 January 2022. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
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  17. "Top justices to fill two bench vacancies". Independent . December 2006. Archived from the original on 4 January 2022. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  18. O'Shea, Sinead. "Retired judge sought Mount Trenchard inquiry". The Irish Times . Archived from the original on 4 January 2022. Retrieved 5 January 2022.