[OCTOBER 26, 1938–]

South African jurist and advocate for international justice.

Widely recognized for his advocacy on behalf of international justice causes, particularly the establishment of the International Criminal Court, Richard J. Goldstone can be credited for helping to instill greater respect for the rule of law within the post–cold war international legal order. During a career spanning over four decades, his significant contributions include striking down one of the apartheid regime's most pernicious laws, chairing a commission to investigate the causes of political violence in the run-up to South Africa's first democratic elections, serving as prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda (ICTY and ICTR), and helping to institutionalize the role of his country's first Constitutional Court.

Goldstone was born in Boksburg, South Africa, to Jewish parents, and grew...