For Immediate Release
October 13, 2005

Contact:
Elissa Free, (202) 662-9500

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Praising him as a "stellar example of how a single individual can bring his talent, commitment and love of the law to bear to make a positive difference internationally," the International Law Section of the District of Columbia Bar presented its 2005 Public Service Award to Georgetown University Law Center Professor Robert F. Drinan, S.J.

Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, who spoke at the ceremony, which was broadcast on C-SPAN, paid tribute to Drinan and his long service in the House of Representatives. "He was there to make it better. That's why he was in Congress - he wanted to make legislation work better for people. He wanted to make law work better for people; he wants to make life work better for people. Not an easy job, but that’s what he wants, and that's what you're really rewarding him for. And I’m delighted to be here as part of the efforts to reward him for what he’s done."

The award is given annually to recognize significant contributions to the field of international law. Past recipients include the Center for Constitutional Rights, Physicians for Human Rights, and the International Rescue Committee. Drinan is the first individual to receive the honor.

"Father Drinan has chosen to conduct his life's work as a lawyer and teacher of lawyers," said Nancy Perkins, chair of the D.C. Bar’s International Law Section. "Here and abroad, he has inspired colleagues within the profession and law students over several generations to use the law, and to promote respect for and understanding of the law, as a powerful means of bringing about changes that will improve the human condition."

Drinan – priest, scholar, lawyer, politician, activist and ethicist – has been a professor at the Law Center since 1981. He teaches classes on international human rights, constitutional law, civil liberties, legislation, and advanced legal ethics. He has been the recipient of 21 honorary degrees and has been a visiting professor at four American   universities. He also served as the dean of Boston College Law School.

He served as a U.S. Representative from Massachusetts for five terms, sitting on several congressional committees, including serving as chairman of the House Judiciary Committee’s Criminal Justice Subcommittee. Drinan is a regular contributor to several law reviews and policy journals and is the author of 11 books on major public policy issues.

Drinan serves on numerous committees devoted to the furtherance of human rights and sits on the board of directors of the International League for Human Rights, Bread for the World, the Lawyer's Committee for International Human Rights, the Council for a Livable World Educational Fund, Americans for Democratic Action, People for the American Way and the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. He is one of the founders of the Lawyer's Alliance for Nuclear Arms Control and the National Interreligious Task Force on Soviet Jewry.  Drinan is also the vice chair of the National Advisory Council of the ACLU and a member of the Helsinki Watch Committee.

About Georgetown University Law Center

Georgetown University Law Center is one of the world's premier law schools. It has the largest full-time faculty in the nation and is pre-eminent in several areas, including constitutional, international, tax and clinical law. Drawing on its Jesuit heritage, it has a strong tradition of public service and is dedicated to the principle that law is but a means, justice is the end. With this principle in mind, the Law Center has built an environment that cultivates an exchange of ideas and the pursuit of academic excellence. It brings together an extraordinarily varied group of teachers, scholars and practitioners, as well as an outstanding student body.

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