In 2011, Orbinski was the recipient of the Walter S. Tarnopolsky Human Rights Award (conferred by the Canadian Superior Court Judges Association, the International Commission of Jurists Canada, the Canadian Bar Association, and the Canadian Association of Law Teachers), recognizing his contributions to domestic and international human rights. That year, he was the Mark Wainberg lecturer at the Canadian Association for HIV Research Conference. Orbinski was the recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012, the University of California Human Security Award in 2015, and the Teasdale Corti Award in 2016, given by Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, recognizing his contributions to medicine and humanitarianism.