Former Chief Justice of Jammu & Kashmir High Court, Justice Gita Mittal has been declared as one of the two recipients of the Arline Pacht Global Vision Award for 2021.
The announcement was made by International Association of Women Judges (IAWJ) which instituted the award in 2016.
The award is presented to a sitting or retired woman judge, to recognize her contributions to the IAWJ and IAWJ's goals which encompass promoting and protecting the human rights, especially for women and children, promoting and empowering women judges who can help uproot gender bias, end discriminatory laws, advance gender- responsive courts and ensure access to justice.
Justice Mittal would be the first Indian judge to receive the award.
The other recipient of the award this year is Margarita Luna Ramos from Mexico.
The Award will be presented at the opening ceremony of the 2021 Biennial Conference of the IAWJ on Friday, May 7, 2021.
"I am greatly honoured to receive this award for a cause that I am deeply committed to. The conferment of this award by the IAWJ is recognition that my efforts were of some meaning," Mittal said in a statement.
Justice Mittal started her law practice in 1981 and was appointed judge of of the Delhi High Court in 2004. She took charge as the acting Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court in 2017 and was, thereafter sworn appointed Chief Justice of Jammu & Kashmir High Court in 2018.
Currently, Justice Mittal is the chairperson of the Broadcasting Content Complaints Council and a member of many non-governmental organizations.
Mittal had earlier received Nari Shakti Puruskar Award, the highest civilian honour for women in India, in 2018.
In year 2019, she was bestowed with the Justice PN Bhagwati Award by the Capital Foundation in recognition of her outstanding contribution in the field of judicial administration.
The IAWJ, founded in 1991, is an ecosystem of more than 6000 global women judges from over 100 countries. Many distinguished jurists of the international community have been its members including Chief Justices Brenda Hale from the UK, Beverly McLachlin from Canada; Georgina Wood from Ghanal, Dame Sian Elias from New Zealand; Graciela Dixon from Panama; Sushila Karki from Nepal and several Supreme Court judges among others.
From the Indian Judiciary, Justice Sujata Manohar and Justice Ruma Pal from the Supreme Court and several High Court judges have been its members.
Justice Mittal has been a member of IAWJ since 2005.