David Lametti nommé ministre de la Justice; Ignacio Cofone déboulonne l’argument « Je n’ai rien à cacher » en matière de confidentialité; un nouveau livre signé par Omar Farahat; Adelle Blackett et Armand de Mestral nommés à la liste d’experts pour l’AECG; et nos professeur.e.s dans l’actualité.
Nothing to Hide, but Something to Lose
Ignacio Cofone, forthcoming in the University of Toronto Law Journal
“I have nothing to hide” is among the most common and controversial arguments against privacy. In this article, we challenge this argument on its own terms. To do so, we construct a mathematical model combining the standard economic argument – that only people with “something to hide” will value privacy – with a formal concept of intrinsic privacy preferences and show that the inclusion of this second dimension causes the standard argument to fail. We then apply these insights to two legal contexts in which there are active policy debates: the protection of genetic information in the context of employer-provided health insurance and tax privacy. Read the full article on SSRN.
New book by Omar Farahat
Professor Omar Farahat has a new book out. Published at Cambridge University Press, The Foundation of Norms in Islamic Jurisprudence and Theology presents a new way of understanding the work of classical Islamic theologians and legal theorists who maintained that divine revelation is necessary for the knowledge of the norms and values of human actions. His book “constitutes a new reading of the issue of reason and revelation in Islam and breaks new ground in Islamic theology, law and ethics.” Read it online…
Interview with Justice Minister David Lametti
CBA/ABC National Magazine, 12 February 2019
The recently appointed Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of Canada [McGill Law Professor] David Lametti, BCL’89, LLB’89, sat down with CBA National following his remarks at the CBA’s AGM in Ottawa yesterday. He talked about his dual role as cabinet minister and the government’s top lawyer, extradition law, and his government’s plans for justice reform. Read the interview…
More coverage about David Lametti’s appointment:
- Le professeur David Lametti est nommé ministre fédéral de la Justice
- Canada’s new justice minister is a Montrealer: Meet David Lametti
- David Lametti becomes Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
Transnational Futures in International Labour Law series continues
This winter, Professor Adelle Blackett has organized a series of 12 conferences to mark the 100th anniversary of the International Labour Organization. Each CLE-accredited conference takes place at the Faculty, and is livecast weekly on Facebook Live and YouTube. See the calendar and RSVP if you wish to attend. Read also our article, Anniversaire historique en droit du travail, in this edition of Focus online.
For innovation, open science means open for business
Richard Gold, OpEd in The Globe and Mail, 6 February 2019
How Canadians manage and mismanage intellectual property (IP) lies at the heart of Canada’s innovation woes. As federal and provincial governments unroll their innovation strategies – after decades of neglect – they need to build on Canadian successes while putting aside tired and failed strategies. One groundbreaking deal announced last week points to a way forward. Keep reading…
How Will Brexit Impact Canada?
Armand de Mestral, CIGI Online, 22 January 2019
On January 15, 2019, UK Prime Minister Theresa May, having negotiated a withdrawal agreement with the European Union — which would recognize the departure of the United Kingdom from the European Union but also give both parties a 19-month period to reach agreement on a long-term economic relationship — then failed to obtain a majority for the deal in Parliament.[…] Unfortunately, those beyond Britain’s borders will feel the impact of Brexit on March 29 as well. Keep reading…
Le populisme a-t-il atteint ses limites?
Médium Large, 21 janvier 2019
La journaliste Agnès Gruda a récemment fait paraître un article au sujet des limites du populisme. Elle y souligne que bien que le populisme ait le vent dans les voiles, il montre aussi des signes d’essoufflement, notamment en Inde, en Pologne, en Angleterre et aux États-Unis. Daniel Weinstock, professeur à la Faculté de droit de l’Université McGill, et Ludvic Moquin-Beaudry, professeur de philosophie au Cégep de Saint-Jérôme et ancien responsable aux élections à Québec solidaire, en discutent avec elle. Écouter leur conversation…
Améliorer les relations entre les plaignantes et le système
Marie Manikis, Le Devoir, 16 janvier 2019
Lundi, une première rencontre non partisane a réuni à Montréal des représentant.e.s de chacun des partis politiques du Québec qui ont discuté de la possibilité de mettre en place un tribunal spécialisé sur les crimes sexuels. Cette initiative serait une première au pays. Un tel tribunal serait une réponse potentielle au faible taux de confiance qu’accordent les victimes de violence sexuelle, ainsi que la population en général, à la manière dont le système de justice pénale traite les cas de violence sexuelle. Lire la suite…
Adelle Blackett and Armand de Mestral appointed to CETA rosters
Professor Blackett was appointed to the CETA Chapter 23 (Trade and Labour) Roster, while Professor Emeritus Armand de Mestral was appointed to the CETA Chapter 24 (Trade and Environment) Roster. Read the complete announcement…
Scholars are at risk all around the world – and Canada needs to lead
Nandini Ramanujam et alii, The Globe and Mail, 3 January 2019
Political, social and economic instability increasingly threaten scholarly work in laboratories and classrooms around the world. The erosion of the rule of law and democratic institutions, tightening restrictions on free speech and the repression of dissent and opposition put ever-larger numbers of scholars at risk of losing their jobs, as well as imprisonment, torture and sometimes death. In the past decades, scholars have increasingly been the targets of violence and discrimination, imperiling their ability to publish, teach and engage in public discourse in their areas of expertise. Keep reading…
L’art de faire la paix
Yves Boisvert, La Presse+, 29 décembre 2018
Il y a 20 ans, Louise Otis a eu une drôle d’idée qui a fait le tour du monde. Elle était juge depuis cinq ans, elle venait d’arriver à la Cour d’appel du Québec, et elle trouvait archaïques les manières de faire. Elle a proposé au juge en chef d’instaurer un système de médiation.
« J’arrivais des relations de travail et j’étais stupéfaite devant le fonctionnement d’un système judiciaire monolithique, contradictoire et rigide. Je voyais les gens arriver à la Cour d’appel avec des conflits familiaux ou autres, et je me disais : “Ils vont y laisser leur chemise.” » Lire la suite…
EJIL Live! Interview with Frédéric Mégret
European Journal of International Law, 18 December 2018
In this episode of EJIL: Live! the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal, Professor Joseph Weiler, speaks with Frédéric Mégret, Associate Professor and Dawson Scholar in the Faculty of Law at McGill University in Montreal, whose article “International Criminal Justice as a Peace Project”, appears in our 29:3 issue as part of a Symposium on “The Crime of Aggression before the International Criminal Court”. Prof. Mégret argues in his article that the Kampala adoption of the crime of aggression needs to be understood as part of the long-term evolution of international criminal justice as a peace project. Watch the interview…
Adelle Blackett nommée au comité d’experts du Programme de contestation judiciaire
Faculté de droit, Université McGill, 3 décembre 2018
La Faculté de droit a le plaisir d’annoncer que la professeure Adelle Blackett, Ad. E., a été nommée au comité d’experts en droits de la personne du Programme de contestation judiciaire du Gouvernement du Canada.
Le Programme de contestation judiciaire (site web) fournira une aide financière aux gens ou groupes au Canada qui désirent présenter une requête ou se joindre à une requête constituant une cause type sur les droits en matière de langues officielles ou les droits de la personne qui n’a pas encore été entendue par les tribunaux canadiens. Lire la suite…
Intergovernmental relations in federal systems: Ubiquitous, idiosyncratic, opaque and essential
Johanne Poirier, 50 Shades of Federalism project, December 2018
Regardless of institutional design, all federal systems imply substantial degrees of interaction between federal partners. “Intergovernmental relations” (IGR) refer to the many modalities through which this interaction takes place. IGR take many shapes and forms. They fluctuate with time and according to policy areas. In this sense, they are idiosyncratic. They are, however, the essential “oil in the machinery” of every federal system, and as such may be rather ubiquitous… Keep reading…