Hon. Shireen Avis Fisher '70
Hon. Shireen Avis Fisher '70, Justice of the Residual Special Court for Sierra Leone, was the first speaker of the 2015-2016 Presiden'ts Forum Series on September 21, 2015, with a talk centered on international law and international criminal law.
As Justice of the Residual Special Court, Fisher presided over the appeal of former Liberian President Charles Taylor, the first sitting Head of State to be charged in an International Court with violation of international criminal law. She affirmed his conviction for aiding and abetting crimes against humanity committed by rebels during Sierra Leone's civil war.
During her career, Fisher served as an Appeals Judge at the Special Court for Sierra Leone from 2009 through 2013, and as its president in 2012 and 2013. Following her appeal of the conviction of former Liberian President Charles Taylor, she wrote a concurring opinion which has been credited with clarifying the essential elements of aiding and abetting liability in international criminal law.
Fisher served previously as an International Judge of the War Crimes Chamber of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, where from 2005 through 2008 she adjudicated cases involving allegations of crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide arising out of the conflict in the former Yugoslavia.
Between 2008 and 2009 she served as a Commissioner on the Kosovo Independent Judicial and Prosecutorial Commission. Called to the State and Federal Bar in 1976, Fisher was appointed to the Bench of the U.S. State of Vermont in 1986. She represented the International Association of Women Judges from 2002 through 2012 as an independent expert to the Hague Conference on Private International Law, participating in Special Sessions for the drafting and review of Hague Treaties on international family law.
Fisher received her B.A. from HWS, her J.D. from the Columbus School of Law, Catholic University of America, and her LLM in International Human Rights Law from University College London. In December 2014 she was awarded a Ph.D. in International Law from University College London. She has lectured on international law, and has been involved in international judicial education and judicial institution building since 1993. She was one of eight experts who prepared and presented the Expert Initiative on Promoting Effectiveness at the International Criminal Court, the Report from which was publically released in December 2014. She is the 2014 recipient of the Global Justice of the Year Award, presented by Northwestern University School of Law's Center for International Human Rights. During HWS Reunion 2015, Fisher was awarded the Alumna Achievement Award, the highest and most prestigious honor bestowed by the William Smith Alumnae Association.
This information is accurate for the time period that this person(s) spoke at Hobart and William Smith.