Karinna Akopovna Moskalenko, Russia's leading human rights lawyer, studied law at Leningrad State University and later specialized in human rights at the University of Birmingham in England. She is respected worldwide for her advocacy on behalf of clients rich and poor, voiceless casualties of war and vocal critics of the Kremlin. Moskalenko and her team at the International Protection Centre, the human rights organization she founded, have won more than 90 cases before the European Court of Human Rights, whose judgments have been legally binding on Russia since 1998. She puts personal principle above social standing and social justice above personal safety. She has been elected to the International Commission of Jurists and awarded the International Helsinki Federation's Human Rights Recognition Award and the Justice William J. Brennan Award. For her defense of human rights and support for the rule of law in Russia, Southern Methodist University is honored to confer upon Karinna Akopovna Moskalenko the degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa.