2017 Charles D. Gonthier Memorial Lecture

“Justice and a Common Future in a Divided World”

How can rule of law, access to justice and good governance contribute to sustainable development in Canada and our world, in the face of rising Intolerance and populism?

Friday, June 23, 2017, 5 pm–6:30 pm
McGill University Faculty Club
3450 McTavish, Montreal, H3A 0E5

If you cannot participate in the Lecture or Banquet this year, please consider sponsoring a table or a leading law student to benefit from the events in memory of Judge Gonthier’s work, or making a donation to the Gonthier Memorial Lecture. Charitable tax receipts will be provided to all donors.

To register or sponsor
This conference is organized by the Centre for International Sustainable Development Law (CISDL).

The Charles D. Gonthier Legacy Committee, in collaboration with the Centre for International Sustainable Development Law (CISDL), the McGill Faculty of Law, the University of Montreal Faculty of Law, the Canadian Institute for the Administration of Justice and other partners, extends a special invitation to the 2017 Charles D. Gonthier Memorial Lecture, which will take place on Friday, June 23, 2017 at 6:30pm in the McGill University Faculty Club Ballroom in Montreal, Canada.

The Gonthier Memorial Lecture Series was initiated to celebrate and honour the legacy of Supreme Court Justice Charles D. Gonthier, recognizing the importance of his work for several generations of Canadian and international jurists in promoting responsibility, sustainability and justice. Internationally renowned speakers, selected by a committee of experts, are invited to provide a distinguished lecture every two years, highlighting matters of international, civil and constitutional law related to justice and sustainable development.

The theme of the 2017 lecture is “Justice and a Common Future in a Divided World” and considers “How can rule of law, access to justice and good governance contribute to sustainable development in Canada and our world, in the face of rising Intolerance and populism.” This biennial year, we have the pleasure of welcoming Ms. Irene Khan, Director-General of the International Development Law Organization (IDLO), and the Hon Justice Guy Canivet, former President of the Cour de Cassation of France, Vice-Chair of the IOC Ethics Commission, and former member of the French Constitutional Court of France.

The event will be preceded, from 5pm to 6:30pm, by a Welcome Reception hosted by leading Canadian law faculties, firms and associations. The Welcome Reception is included in the Memorial Lecture registration fee. The Memorial Lecture will be immediately followed by a Banquet Dinner at the McGill Faculty Club, for which special tickets and sponsorship opportunities are available. All proceeds will go to support the Hon Justice CD Gonthier Endowment, and charitable tax receipts will be provided for Banquet Dinner registrants and sponsors. The Opening address will be provided by the Honourable Nicole Duval Hesler, Chief Justice, Quebec Court of Appeal. The Closing remarks will be provided by the Honourable Jody Wilson-Raybould, Minister of Justice, Government of Canada. *

About the Keynote Lecturers:

Ms Irene Khan is an extremely distinguished international jurist, and the Director-General of the International Development Law Organization (IDLO). The first woman to ever hold this office, she was elected by Member Parties on November 17, 2011. Ms. Khan was born in Bangladesh, and she studied law at the University of Manchester and Harvard Law School. She is an international thought leader on human rights, gender and social justice issues. She served as Secretary General of Amnesty International from 2001 – 2009. Prior to this, she served the UN High Commissioner for Refugees for 21 years from its headquarters and various field operations. She was a Visiting Professor at the State University of New York Law School (Buffalo) in 2011, and sits on the boards of several international human rights and development organizations. She is the recipient of numerous honorary degrees and prestigious awards, including the City of Sydney Peace Prize in 2006 for her work to end violence against women and girls. Her book, The Unheard Truth: Poverty and Human Rights, has been translated into seven languages.

Hon Justice Guy Canivet is Vice-Chair of the IOC Ethics Commission, a former member of the French Constitutional Court, and former President of the French Cour de Cassation. Justice Canivet has a long and distinguished career in law as a jurist, professor, and scholar. Beginning his career as an auditeur de justice, and later a juge d’instruction, Justice Canivet has, throughout his life, developed extensive experience promoting justice and developing the law. Justice Canivet has been a key voice expressing the importance of duty, judicial independence, and equality; first as a member of the Court of Appeal, eventually as Premier President of the Court of Appeal, and later as Premier President of the Cour de Cassation. He is an accomplished professor, having been a lecturer in both the Université Paris V – René Descartes and the Sorbonne Law School, and serves as Vice-Chair of the Ethics Commission of the International Olympic Committee. Justice Canivet continues to play a significant role in broadening equality and ensuring justice, both in the French judiciary and on the international stage.

*(to be confirmed)