President’s Award for Distinguished Contributions to Justice

The President’s Award for Distinguished Contributions to Justice is given annually to an individual or organization who, through either a single initiative or over a longer period of time, has made significant and distinguished contributions to the cause of justice. In the case of joint efforts, co-recipients may be named.

(During the November 1971 meetings held in San Juan, Puerto Rico, then President Simon Dinitz gave Helen Silving, Santos Primo Amadeo, and Pedro Velez, Jr., Presidential Citations for Outstanding Contributions to Inter-American Criminology and Criminal Justice .  This appears to have been an ad-hoc arrangement, as there are no other Presidential Citations mentioned in any known records or archived correspondence.)