Elizabeth Odio Benito facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Elizabeth Odio Benito
Odio Benito in 2018
Judge of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights
In office 2016–2020
Nominated by	Costa Rica
Second Vice-President of the International Criminal Court
In office 11 March 2003 – 10 March 2006
Succeeded by	René Blattmann
Judge of the International Criminal Court
In office 11 March 2003 – 31 August 2012
Nominated by	Panama
Appointed by	Assembly of States Parties
Second Vice-President of Costa Rica
In office 8 May 1998 – 8 May 2002 Serving with Astrid Fischel
President	Miguel Ángel Rodríguez
Preceded by	Rebeca Grynspan
Succeeded by	Luis Fishman
Vice-President of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
In office November 1993 – November 1995
Succeeded by	Adolphus Godwin Karibi-Whyte [Wikidata]
Judge of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
In office 17 November 1993 – 16 November 1998
Personal details
Born	(1939-09-15) 15 September 1939 (age 85) Puntarenas, Costa Rica
Alma mater	University of Costa Rica University of Buenos Aires National University of Costa Rica

Elizabeth Odio Benito (born 15 September 1939) is a lawyer and politician from Costa Rica. She served as President in the Inter-American Court of Human Rights from 2018 to 2020. She was a Vice-President of the International Criminal Court and of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. She was twice appointed Justice Minister in her home country of Costa Rica, later becoming Vice-President of the Republic. Her background is as an academic lawyer, specialising in the administration of justice and human rights, in particular the rights of women.

Early life and education

Although born in Puntarenas, the first child of Emiliano Odio Madrigal and Esperanza Benito Ibañez, most of her early life was spent in San José, where she attended the Colegio Superior de Señoritas. The law was something of a tradition on her father's side of the family; Odio Benito was particularly encouraged by her lawyer uncle, Ulises Odio Santos, to study that subject. She graduated with a master's degree from the University of Costa Rica in 1964, where she remained for much of her academic career, rising to a full professorship in 1986 and Vice-President for Academic Affairs in 1988. During this period, she began to work in the field of gender studies, with an emphasis on crimes committed against women.

Political career in Costa Rica

From 1976 to 1978 she served as Secretary to the Colegio de Abogados, the bar association of Costa Rica, and in 1978 was appointed to the joint offices of Minister of Justice and Attorney General, which she held until 1982 when the National Liberation Party took the presidency. In 1990 she returned for another four-year term as Minister of Justice, under President Rafael Ángel Calderón Fournier. The peak of her domestic political career came in 1998, with her election as Second Vice-President alongside President Miguel Ángel Rodríguez and First Vice-President Astrid Fischel Volio; during this time she was also Minister for the Environment and Energy.

Career in International Law

Judge of the Interamerican Court of Human Rights

Odio Benito served as a judge of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights from 2016 to 2020. She served as President in the Inter-American Court of Human Rights from 2018 to 2020. She was the second woman to hold this position.

Awards

Odio was inducted into La Galería de las Mujeres de Costa Rica (The Costa Rican Gallery of Women) in 2002 for her contributions to human rights.