2012 Winner Elise Groulx

Montreal lawyer, Elise Groulx, Ad.E., LL.M. was awarded the 2012 Walter S. Tarnopolsky Award for outstanding contribution to the field of human rights. Ms. Groulx has been a practicing criminal defence lawyer in Canada for more than twenty-five years and has been actively engaged in international criminal defence law since 1997, when she founded and became the first President of the International Criminal Defence Attorneys Association (ICDAA), which serves lawyers practicing before international criminal tribunals.

In 2003, Ms. Groulx was the first elected President of the International Criminal Bar (ICB) and has been its Honorary President since December 2005. The ICB supports lawyers practicing before the International Criminal Court and works to protect the independence of the legal profession and improve access to justice in the new international justice system. Ms. Groulx received the Tarnopolsky Award at the Annual Meeting of ICJ Canada on August 12, 2012 in Vancouver. The award was presented by John Waddell, then-ICJ Canada Vice-President for British Columbia. Ms. Groulx delivered the Tarnopolsky address on the development of international justice and international criminal law.