Buenos Aires, Argentina: On May 5th, the Honorable Vanessa Ruiz, Senior Judge of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, was installed as the President of the International Association of Women Judges (IAWJ) at its 14th International Biennial Conference in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The conference carried the theme of “Building Bridges between Women Judges of the World” and hosted over 900 judges from 78 countries across the globe.

Upon being sworn in as IAWJ President, Judge Ruiz noted that values of "liberal democracy that accept the rule of law, human rights and inclusiveness” are being rejected in a number of countries; that judges and courts, the safeguards of these values, are under challenge and attack. “To make equal justice a reality, there needs to be a framework of democratic values. We judges cannot do our work unless those conditions exist, unless those values are accepted and are the guiding principles of all of our societies. We need to raise our voices in defense of those values."

Judge Ruiz was appointed to the bench in 1994 by President Bill Clinton. She is the first and only Hispanic to serve on the District of Columbia Court of Appeals. Judge Ruiz is a past President of the US National Association of Women Judges and former chair of the IAWJ’s Board of Managerial Trustees. In addition to her involvement with the IAWJ, Judge Ruiz is a Judicial Member, District of Columbia Access to Justice Commission; Trustee, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Born in Puerto Rico; fluent in English and Spanish. Graduated Wellesley College and Georgetown University Law Center.

The IAWJ was founded in 1991 and has 5960 members from over 100 countries and territories. The IAWJ works to promote gender equality and the rule of law through its network of judges around the world. For more information about the IAWJ, visit iawj.org.

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If you would like more information about this topic, please contact Johan Marulanda, at jmarulanda [at] iawj.org (jmarulanda[at]iawj[dot]org )or call (202) 223-4458.