Justice Medal

2024 RECIPIENT | ABOUT THE AWARD | PROCESS | PREVIOUS RECIPIENTS

 

2024 JUSTICE MEDAL

The 2024 Medal of Justice was awarded to Ruth Sullivan in recognition of her contributions to legal knowledge, legal education and practice, particularly in the drafting and interpretation of legislation.

About Ruth Sullivan

Ruth taught for 27 years at the Faculty of Law after graduating from the McGill University Faculty of Law at the top of her class and clerking at the Supreme Court of Canada. Her principal areas of teaching and research were in Public Law and Trusts, particularly legislative interpretation and drafting. She was a brilliant teacher, able to cut through the miasma of legalese and technicality to reveal the essential elements of law and legal analysis. She was a friend and mentor to hundreds of students who passed through her classroom.

After retiring from the University, Ruth joined the Legislative Services Branch of the Department of Justice Canada. Her work involved drafting bills and regulations as well as providing advisory support on legal questions relating to legislation. 

Ruth also appeared regularly as a speaker at conferences dealing with legislative topics and contributed substantially to the biennial Legislative Drafting Conferences of the Canadian Institute for the Administration of Justice.

Ruth brought a fresh critical perspective to her subjects and her work, including feminist and linguistic analysis. She assumed the authorship of Driedger’s Construction of Statutes and published the 3rd to 7th editions (most recently in 2022) of what has become the most widely cited text on legislative interpretation in Canada. She also published innumerable articles … contributing to a remarkable body of scholarship on these subjects”.

 

ABOUT THE JUSTICE MEDAL

At CIAJ’s 10th anniversary, in 1984, a Justice Medal Award was inaugurated by the Board of Directors to be awarded every second year as a mark of exceptional achievement to a person who, in the opinion of the CIAJ, has shown distinctive leadership in the administration of justice in Canada, or by his or her writings or other endeavors, has made a significant contribution to the administration of justice in Canada.

 

PROCESS

Recommend a candidate! The CIAJ Board of Directors invites you to submit your nominations for the 2026 Medal Award. Eligibility requirements are described below.

The recipient of the 2026 Justice Medal will be announced at the: CIAJ’s 2026 Annual Conference on “Restorative Justice“

  • October 27-28, 2026
  • Ottawa & Online

Learn more: https://ciaj-icaj.ca/en/upcoming-programs/2026-annual-conference/

Deadline

Information coming soon.

Eligibility

  • No member of the search committee is eligible for the Award nor any present member of the CIAJ Board of Directors who holds executive office is eligible for the Award.
  • Activities in furthering the CIAJ should not be considered as a main reason for the Award. Nevertheless, this might be considered as a supporting or subsidiary factor where a person was nominated primarily for his or her other achievements in or contributions to the administration of justice in Canada.

Conditions

  • All nominations for the Award shall be made over the signature of at least two nominators.
  • All nominations must be received by the Executive Director, no later than [Date to be announced].
  • Each nomination shall be accompanied by a full description of the work and achievements of the nominee which, in the opinion of the nominators, qualifies the nominee for the award, together with such supporting evidence as the nominator may wish the committee to consider.
  • The Executive Director shall refer all such nominations received by CIAJ to the search committee:
    − Every other year before December 31, the Executive Committee is to appoint a search committee consisting of not more than 5 members of CIAJ;
    − The search committee is to prepare a list of at least 2 and not more than 5 nominees who meet the eligibility requirements. The list is to be submitted to CIAJ’s Executive Committee;
    − The Executive Committee is to select the recipient of the Justice Medal from among the nominees on the list prepared by the search committee.
  • No award shall be made if, in the opinion of the Executive Committee, no nominee meets the above conditions.
  • A nomination may be resubmitted for consideration in a subsequent year.
  • The Executive Committee shall decide on or before [Date to be announced], who shall receive the Award. 

 

SUBMIT A NOMINATION

 

 

RECIPIENTS

2024 Ruth Sullivan
2022 The Honourable Rosalie Silberman Abella
2021 The Medal was not awarded due to the pandemic.
2019 Professor Emeritus John McCamus (Ontario) and The Honourable Patrick J. LeSage (Ontario)
2017 The Honourable Thomas A. Cromwell (SCC)
2015 The Honourable Murray Sinclair (Manitoba)
2013 The Right Honourable Beverley McLachlin (SCC)
2011 The Honourable René Dussault (Quebec)
2009 The Honourable Frank Iacobucci (SCC)
2007 The Honourable Justice Richard D. Schneider (Ontario)
2005 The Late Honourable Alan B. Gold (Quebec)
2003 The Late Honourable Constance R. Glube (N.S.) and The Late Honourable Kenneth M. Lysyk (BCSC)
2001 The Honourable Horace Krever (Ontario)
1999 Professor Ed Ratushny (Ottawa)
1997 The HonourableClaire L’Heureux-Dubé (SCC) and The Honourable Sidney Linden (Ontario)
The Honourable W. David Griffiths (Ontario)
1995 The Honourable W. David Griffiths (Ontario)
1993 The Late Honourable David C. McDonald (Alberta)
1991 The Honourable G. Arthur Martin (Ontario)
1989 Dr. W.A. Bowker (Alberta)
1987 The Late Honourable Brian Dickson (SCC)
1985 The Late Honourable Jules Deschênes (Québec)