Gesmundo named 1st foreign judiciary head to get US award

Alexander Gesmundo —CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo became the first head of judiciary outside of the United States to be awarded the Chief Justice Richard W. Holmes Award of Merit by the American Judges Association (AJA).

The recognition is awarded to a judge for his or her outstanding contributions to the judiciary.

Gesmundo, who was appointed in April 2021 as the country’s 27th chief justice, received the recognition during the awards luncheon of the 2023 Annual AJA Awards in Honolulu, Hawaii on Sept. 12, the Supreme Court said in a statement.

“It is with humility that I receive this honor, not just for myself and the Supreme Court I represent, but also for my country—this award, I understand, having been first bestowed on a person from a foreign jurisdiction, in recognition of efforts to institute judicial reforms,” Gesmundo said in his acceptance speech.

“The yearning for justice knows no borders, and that dream of a society where justice reigns supreme is shared by all of us,” he added.

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