[1] She made history with the indictment of a sitting head of state, Yugoslavian president Slobodan Milošević, as well as the first prosecution of sexual assault as a crime against humanity.

[5] In a 2014 interview, Arbour named the move from Quebec to Ontario as the "biggest hurdle [she] had to overcome to succeed in [her] career," as her entire education had been in French.

She indicted then-Serbian President Slobodan Milošević for war crimes, the first time a serving head of State was called to account before an international court.

[13] In 1999, Prime Minister Jean Chrétien appointed Arbour to the Supreme Court of Canada on May 26, just one day before the publication of the indictment of Milosevic by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY).

[15][16] After leaving the Supreme Court of Canada, Arbour became the United Nations High Commissioner of Human Rights.

[19] She was the subject of a 2005 fact-based Canadian-German made-for-television movie, Hunt for Justice [de], which follows her quest to indict Bosnian Serb war criminals.

[20] In 2016, she was awarded the prestigious Tang Prize Award in rule of law for her enduring contributions to international criminal justice and the protection of human rights, and to promoting peace, justice and security at home and abroad, and to working within the law to expand the frontiers of freedom for all.

She was made a Companion to the Order of Canada in 2007 "for her contributions to the Canadian justice system and for her dedication to the advancement of human rights throughout the world".

[29] In April 2021, Arbour was appointed to lead an independent review of the military’s handling of sexual assault, harassment and other misconduct, by Canadian Minister of National Defence Harjit Sajjan.