Indiana University President Michael A. McRobbie presented Justice Michael Kirby with a Bicentennial Medal during Kirby's recent visit to campus, where he gave the inaugural International Law and Institutions Lecture.
Kirby is a human rights advocate and former Justice of the High Court of Australia. His lecture at IU served as the launch event for the new BA in International Law and Institutions, which is a collaboration between the Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies and the Maurer School of Law.
"Throughout his life, he has been a global crusader for justice, a defender of human rights, and a tireless advocate for the long-established international laws and multilateral practices that have contributed so much to the world since the Second World War, and which are today being devalued and threatened by the global rise of geopolitical tensions, nationalist populism, and growing distrust in governments and the institutions of civil society," McRobbie said when introducing Justice Kirby ahead of his lecture.
In addition to his role on numerous international commissions and working groups, Justice Kirby has a long relationship with IU. He holds an honorary doctorate from the university, has delivered several lectures, and is a member of the Kinsey Institute's Board of Governors.