The Royal Society of Canada announced its new annual Justice Rosalie Silberman Abella Prize, valued at $1,000, on July 1: her 75th birthday and the date of her retirement from the Supreme Court of Canada.
The organization, which named the prize after Abella in recognition of her legal, judicial and intellectual contributions and efforts to promote equality and equity, will present the prize annually. It will be awarded to a graduating student from every Canadian law school who is most likely to positively influence equity and social justice in the country or beyond. The inaugural winners to be announced in spring 2022. Abella was elected to the Royal Society of Canada in 1997.
“The idea of this prize arose spontaneously among admirers of Justice Abella’s historic contributions to law and leadership in Canada,” said Jeremy McNeil, president of the Royal Society of Canada, in the press release.
