Ruth Bader Ginsburg: A Jurist for History

The death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg (1933-2020) has generated a gigantic emotional and political impact in the United States.

The event also represents an earthquake in the North American electoral campaign, but her figure and her legacy transcend the conjuncture of the moment and the place, they are global and will last for several generations.

The great score of his professional life was the fight for the equality of women and men before the law.

That was the main reason why we decided from the World Jurist Association to grant him the

.

On that occasion the magistrate spoke again about another of the pending accounts of our systems: judicial independence.

An independence that she has defended in public and exercised personally throughout her career, before and after her entry into the US Supreme Court, when she was nominated by Bill Clinton and confirmed by the Senate in 1993. It was Thus, she crowned a trajectory marked by the impetus and determination that led her from intellectual ostracism to the most important court on earth.

Ginsburg and all the people he represented were beginning to win the battle for equality.

I was able to meet Ruth Bader Ginsburg within a few years of her appointment as a Justice of the United States Supreme Court.

In Madrid, at a lunch organized by our mutual friend Richard Gardner, Professor of Law at Columbia and then US Ambassador to Spain, we had our first conversation.

Ruth was always open to different people, young people, of other languages, religions and cultures, that was until the end.

After I visited her several times in Washintgon, I was able to meet her family and finally had the opportunity to enjoy unforgettable moments with Justice Ginsburg on February 6 and 7, 2020. She was already a world icon not only of Law, but also of Culture.

His physical weakness, combined with his intellectual power and purpose were

, strongly inspiring, for millions and millions of people.

It was in Washington, just weeks before the global pandemic unleashed its full destructive power.

He had by then finished reading his book,

, where his life and thought trajectory is collected.

We will have to translate it and publish it in Spanish.

At the dinner we held in her honor the day before the award ceremony, she ignored the personalities, some with the rank of Head of State, and devoted herself to answering the questions and displays of affection from several young people who participated.

As host of the event, I decided, with the two women in mind, to seat my 19-year-old daughter Arancha with her, with whom she had a long and friendly conversation.

They both thanked me repeatedly.

Protocol and paraphernalia bored him sovereignly.

One of the topics we were able to talk about was his interest in meeting Pope Francis.

It fascinated him.

We agreed to organize a meeting in Santa Marta, without protocol, the following fall.

The idea was that I would try to get the appointment, and include half a dozen relevant judges from Europe, Latin America, Africa and Asia, and she would invite Roberts, President of the Court, and other Justices of the Supreme.

First the pandemic and then her death have prevented the completion of this project.

That magical night, at the Watergate Hotel, where she lived, Ginsburg, with an empathetic look and a smile full of affection, said in a soft but wise voice to Arancha: "You will be whatever you want, as long as you work with perseverance. and passion in your dream. Don't let anyone get in your way to become the woman you want. "

For that to be possible, he had fought the battle of life.

The next day I was able to present him with the

that had previously been received by Sir Winston Churchill, Rene Cassin, Nelson Mandela and King Felipe VI, just a year earlier at the Teatro Real in Madrid.

She received it seriously, until I asked some girls to accompany her, the daughter of Judy Perry Martínez, Arancha and Leah came up to accompany her on the stand and return the statuette to her.

Then the spark did emerge in his eyes, and the affectionate smile.

What many consider the

had never been awarded to a woman, and Ruth was clearly the person to receive it.

I proposed his nomination to the

of the WJA as soon as its president was elected, and it was agreed to grant it unanimously.

The jurists of the world owed a debt of recognition to the movement for women's equality.

During the debate that the three of us had after the award ceremony, including the president of the American Bar Association, Judy Perry Martínez, Ginsburg reminded us that, in essence,

and warned that

.

We have lost a great woman and a huge magistrate.

Life is fleeting, but ideals pursued with conviction, authenticity, moderation, and courage remain.

RBG has died.

Rest in peace a woman full of talent and courage, after an intense life of family and work, dedicated to her ideals.

I have not always shared all of them.

But she has been for me and for so many an example of coherence and leadership, an admirable fighter for equality, a jurist for history.

Javier Cremades

is a lawyer and president of the World Jurist Association

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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