Philippine Supreme Court Chief Justice Reynato Puno is the 2010 Elise and Walter A. Haas International Awardee. The awarding ceremony will be held at the University of California in Berkley on May 16, 2010.
He finished his Master of Laws degree in the same university.
Puno retires from the judiciary on May 17, 2010.
This piece of news inspires the Philippine Bench and Bar to be proud of their country.
Read below the details of the said award and of the multifarious professional and academic credentials of Puno as appearing in a press release recently issued by the public information office of the Philippine Supreme Court.
A silent and unassuming but hardworking and insightful jurist, Puno is one of the most effective, most libertarian and most independent-minded chief justices in Philippine history, as far as I am concerned.
He gives Filipinos a modicum of hope in the face of the corrupt, incompetent and violent oligarchic and feudal rule of elitist Filipino politicians, cronies and military and police generals.
Chief Justice Puno is UC Berkeley’s 2009 Haas Awardee
Posted: February 27, 2010
By Jay B. Rempillo
Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno will be conferred by the University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley), ranked as No. 5 in the top 2000 colleges and universities in the world, with its prestigious 2009 Elise and Walter A. Haas International Award on May 16, 2010, a day before the chief magistrate reaches the mandatory retirement age of 70.
Chief Justice Puno holds the distinction of being the first Filipino and Chief Justice to receive this distinguished award, given to an international UC Berkeley alumnus or alumna “who has a distinguished record of service to his or her country.” The chief magistrate was chosen as “[his] career exemplified Berkeley’s highest values.” He joins the elite list of Haas Awardees which include heads of state, ministers, and diplomats.
“Your contributions to the administration of justice in the Philippines are truly outstanding by any measure. The range of the impact your service has had in the Philippines is extensive and has directly benefited the well being of the Filipino people,” wrote UC, Berkeley Chancellor Robert J. Birgeneau in his two-page letter dated February 16, 2010 to Chief Justice Puno.
One of the most prestigious honors, the Elise and Walter A. Haas International Award was established in 1964 by Mr. and Mrs. Walter A. Haas, Jr., Mr. and Mrs. Peter E. Haas, and Mr. and Mrs. Richard N. Goldman. The Award acknowledges the former’s parents’ devotion to the University and their interest in international affairs. The Award includes a cash prize of US$15,000, an engraved medallion, and travel expense for two to attend the award presentation which will be held during the University’s commencement convocation on May 16, 2010.
Not only is UC, Berkeley in the top 5 among the colleges and universities worldwide as reported by the 4International Colleges & Universities (4icu.org University Web Ranking), it also is ranked 6th, tied with the University of Chicago, in the 2010 law school rankings in the world.
Chief Justice Puno obtained in 1962 his Bachelor of Science Degree in Jurisprudence and Bachelor of Law Degree from the University of the Philippines (UP). In 1966, he went to the United States for his post-graduate studies. He was a grantee of a full scholarship given by the Academy of American Law for a degree of Master of Comparative Laws at the Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. He was also awarded full scholarship by the Walter Perry Johnson Foundation for a degree of Master of Laws at the University of California in Berkeley, California. He was also given a tuition scholarship by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA, from where he finished all academic requirements for the degree of Doctor of Juridical Science Degree.
While a post-graduate student, Chief Justice Puno bagged five awards given by the Lawyers Cooperative Publishing Co. of New York and the Bancroft Whitney Publishing Co. of California, namely, the American Jurisprudence Prizes for Excellence in US Constitutional Structure, Comparative Private International Law, International Organization, Problems in Doing Business Abroad and Commercial Law.
The Haas Award is another addition to Chief Justice Puno’s international recognitions.
In 2005, Chief Justice Puno became the first Filipino to be honored with the Distinguished Global Alumnus Award by the Southern Methodist University (SMU) Dedman School of Law in Dallas, Texas.
Like the Haas Award, Chief Justice Puno is the first Filipino to be honored with the Distinguished Global Alumnus Award, given to the SMU Dedman law school’s most outstanding alumni. As class valedictorian, Justice Puno ranked first among the 23 graduate scholars from various parts of the world who also finished their Master of Comparative Laws degree at SMU in 1967.
In 2008, he was the conferred the Human Cultural Asset International for 2008 Award by the World Peace Price Awarding Council in Seoul, South Korea. The WPPAC is among the organizations under the World Peace Corps Mission. WPCM was founded to foster peace in the heart of mankind and to further peace in the world by focusing upon areas of religion, race, and governments.
In the country, Chief Justice Puno has also garnered the most prestigious awards. Among these are the Ten Outstanding Young Men Award (TOYM), Araw ng Maynila Award as Outstanding Jurist, UP’s Most Outstanding Law Alumnus, Grand Cross of Rizal from the Order of the Knights of Rizal, Grand Lodge Gold Medal from the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the Philippines, Centennial Awardee in the field of law given by the United Methodist Church on the occasion of its 100th anniversary, Great Libertarian Award and Defender of the Constitution Award from the Philippine Constitution Association, and the Benigno S. Aquino, Jr.
Award for Nationalism given by the Federation of Catholic Schools Alumni Associations.
Chief Justice Puno also has been a recipient of 10 honorary doctorate degrees, including the Doctor of Philosophy in Law, honoris causa, conferred on him by the Hannam University, South Korea in 2005.
See:
http://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/news/courtnews%20flash/2010/02/02271001.php