In May 2025, Bhuwan Ribhu, a renowned Indian child rights lawyer and activist, was conferred the ‘Medal of Honour’ by the World Jurist Association (WJA), becoming the first Indian lawyer to receive this recognition. He was awarded this honor during the World Law Congress(WLC) 2025 held from May 4 to 6, 2025 in the Dominican Republic, a country in North America (NA).
- The Medal of Honour, an esteemed award presented by the WJA, recognised Bhuwan Ribhu’s two-decade-long legal efforts in protecting children from child marriage, trafficking, sexual abuse, and forced labour, for his outstanding contributions to justice and human rights.
- He received the award jointly from Eddy Olivares Ortega, Minister of Labour, Dominican Republic, and Javier Cremades, President of WJA.
Note: The WJA has previously recognized several iconic global legal figures, including Nelson Mandela, Winston Churchill, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and René Cassin.
About Bhuwan Ribhu:
Bhuwan Ribhu’s journey into child rights advocacy began in 2005 when he filed his first Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the Delhi High Court(HC) after witnessing lapses during a child rescue operation.
- He holds the position of Trustee at the World Law Foundation(WLF), reinforcing his dedication to advancing the rule of law and ensuring justice for children across the globe.
i.Legal Interventions: Filed 60 Public Interest Litigations (PILs) in the Supreme Court (SC) of India and various High Courts (HC).
ii.Influenced landmark rulings including:
- Adoption of the United Nations (UN) Protocol’s definition of trafficking.
- Mandatory First Information Reports (FIRs) for missing children.
- Ban on child labour in hazardous sectors.
iii.Policy Reforms: Instrumental in shaping India’s laws against child marriage, labour, and sexual abuse. His proposals were included in the Justice Verma Committee (JVC) post the Nirbhaya case (2012).
iv.Global Impact: Founded Just Rights for Children (JRC), the world’s largest legal intervention network for child protection, uniting over 250 organisations across India, Nepal, Kenya, and the United States of America (USA).
v.Child Marriage Free India: Spearheads India’s largest civil campaign against child marriage, aiming to eliminate it by 2030 through his PICKET(Policy, Institutions, Capacity-building, Knowledge, Economics, and Technology) strategy, which strengthens legal systems and community actions to ensure a safer future for children.
About World Law Congress (WLC):
WLC, organised by the WLF, is a global event held every two years by the World Jurist Association (WJA), where over 2,000 legal and global leaders such as judges, lawyers, academics, and officials come together to discuss important legal topics like human rights, justice, and the Rule of Law to support freedom and development around the world.
About World Jurist Association (WJA):
President – Javier Cremades (Spain)
Headquarters – Washington D.C., the United States of America (USA)
Established – 1963
