Former judge lectures on terrorism

Honorable Justice Michael Kirby of the High Court of Australia was the guest lecturer for the Branigin lecture on the 'Global response of courts to terrorism' Tuesday in the Moot Court Room of the School of Law. Among the issues addressed in the lecture were the last 'century of terrorism,' European Court of Human Rights cases and recent judicial decisions in countries concerning alleged terrorists. \n"In some instances, terrorism is the struggle for ideas, for independence," Justice Kirby said. "It is very important for all of us to keep these distinctions in mind." \nWhen referring to the 'century of terrorism,' Justice Kirby cited examples such as anarchy in Europe leading up to the First World War, the Irish Easter Rebellion of 1916 and the call for independence by British colonies in South Asia in the 1930s. \nHe said terrorism problems being dealt with in U.S. courts were not new and that similar issues had been debated in European courts for decades.\n"We are not alone; we are dealing with problems that are very similar and occur very close together," Justice Kirby said. "These are global issues, and they're being dealt with in international courts." \nHe cited Germany, Italy and Spain as countries with "large terrorism problems."\nJustice Kirby has served on the High Court of Australia since 1996 and is currently a member of the International Bioethics Committee on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, the Global Panel on Human Rights of UNAIDS and the Ethics Committee of the Human Genome Organization. \nIn the 1990s, he served as Special Representative to the Secretary-General of the U.N. for Human Rights in Cambodia. He has served on several other U.N. bodies as well. \n"We bring a range of scholars and thinkers," said Law Professor Alfred Aman of the Branigin lecture series. "Justice Kirby is one of the greatest human rights judges in the world."\nProfessor Aman, who is also director for the Institute for Advanced Study, added that the institute strives to be interdisciplinary in its choice of speakers.\nThe last Branigin lecturer to speak was jazz musician Fred Hersh, who performed a composition and went on to lecture on the creative process in April.\nThe Justice Kirby was the first speaker in the series this semester.\nBranigin lectures planned for later in the semester include Linda and Michael Hutcheon, both professors at the University of Toronto, who will explore the theme of aging as it relates to opera. \n-- Contact staff writer Obaid Khawaja at .