The former Canada Supreme Court justice called for “a just rule of law”
Retired Canada Supreme Court justice Rosalie Silberman Abella received a standing ovation during her keynote address at the International Bar Association’s 2025 Annual Conference in Toronto.
Abella, who was the first Jewish woman appointed to the Supreme Court, noted that November 2025 marked 80 years since the beginning of the Nuremberg trials. She highlighted the relationship of indifference to injustice, the importance of standing up for a cause, and taking into consideration the worldview of the vulnerable,
In her address, she called for the establishment of “a just rule of law, not just the rule of law.”
“Laws and rules are important, but of what value are they if they drift or stagnate in a sea of non-compliance?” Abella asked. “Justice seems to be in crisis everywhere. There is not even a consensus about what justice means or what truth means or what democracy means or even what law is.”
She pointed out that law and justice were often in a “dysfunctional relationship” and urged the reintegration of compassion into the service of law and of law into the service of humanity.
Abella was given the LexisNexis-sponsored IBA Benjamin Berell Ferencz Rule of Law Lifetime Achievement Award for her work in upholding the rule of law through a five-decade career.
The annual conference’s showcase sessions were conducted by the IBA’s Human Rights Institute, the Legal Practice Division, the Bar Issues Commission, and the Section on Public and Professional Interest. They focused on LGBTQIA+ equality worldwide, attacks against journalists and media, the role of lawyers, and the use of legal procedures in peace talks and addressing war crimes.
During the conference, the IBA also handed the IBA Award for Outstanding Contribution by a Legal Practitioner to Human Rights to Egyptian human rights lawyer Hoda Abdelmoneim. Nigerian lawyer Oluwafunke Adeoye won the IBA Outstanding Young Lawyer Award.
IBA president Jaime Carey received a special award from the Toronto Host Committee to commemorate his years of service to the association and the rule of law.
The 2025 IBA Annual Conference had 5,500 attendees from 130 global jurisdictions. It was held from November 2-7 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. The following year’s conference will take place in Copenhagen from October 4-9, 2026.
