Judge Rosemary Barkett
Judge, Iran-United States Claims Tribunal in the Hague; former United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, Justice Florida Supreme Court, and Judge of the Florida Fourth District Court of Appeals
Interviewed by Sarah E. Harrington
Watch the video or read the transcript (PDF: 1.2 MB).
About the Interview
Judge Barkett was interviewed on November 2, 2022 at NYU School of Law. The interview was conducted by her former clerk Sarah E. Harrington, who is a member of the IJA Advisory Board.
Biography
Judge Barkett served for two decades as a Judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, to which she was nominated by President William J. Clinton. Since October 2013, she has served as a Judge on the Iran-United States Claims Tribunal in The Hague.
Judge Barkett’s judicial career began in 1979 when Florida’s Governor appointed her as a state trial court judge, later elevating her in 1984 to the state’s intermediate appellate court, before ultimately appointing her to the Florida Supreme Court, making her the first woman Justice in the Florida Supreme Court’s history. On July 1, 1992, her colleagues elected her as Florida’s first woman Chief Justice.
In 2016, Judge Barkett was elected as Honorary President of the American Society of International Law. In 2015, President Barack Obama appointed Judge Barkett to the Panel of Conciliators for the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes.
Judge Barkett has pursued her interests in both jurisprudence and judicial education, serving on the faculty of the Institute of Judicial Administration’s New Appellate Judge Seminar, Florida’s Judicial College, the National Judicial College, and Aspen Institute’s Justice and Society Seminars, among other courses. She has taught international law seminars on Constitutionalism and Human Rights as well as Comparative Constitutions and has lectured in Kuwait, Dubai, Qatar, Syria, Turkey, Algeria, China, Haiti, Kyrgyzstan, Mexico, Russia, Egypt, Tunisia and Morocco on various substantive and procedural topics as well as on matters pertaining to court administration. Several of these seminars were in conjunction with her service on the Board of the ABA’s Rule of Law Initiative and on its Committee on the Middle East and North Africa Division. In addition, Judge Barkett has taught at the University of Miami’s International Master’s Programme.
Judge Barkett has received many honors and awards for her judicial work, including having been named the National Association of Women Judges Honoree of the Year. Awards are given in Judge Barkett’s name annually to outstanding lawyers and she has been honored by the naming of the “Rosemary Barkett Inn of Appellate Law” in Miami, Florida.
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