The inaugural event of the David Asper Centre for Constitutional Rights was a colloquium where leading constitutional scholars and litigators discussed current challenges and possibilities in constitutional theory and practice.  

A special panel discussion with leading constitutional scholars to discuss the Governor General's decision to prorogue Parliament. Read presentations on the Faculty Blog.

PARLIAMENTARY DEMOCRACY IN CRISIS: The Dilemmas, Choices and Future of Parliamentary Government in Canada Edited by Lorne Sossin and Peter Russell, published by University of Toronto Press Faculty of Law, Flavelle House, Rowell Room Our distinguished panelists discussed the future of Canada’s democracy: lessons learned and where to we go from here. This is the ... Read More

Monday, June 15, 2009, at 4:00 PM Deadline for upper year students to submit their application for the fall 2009 term of the Asper Centre Clinical Legal Education Course.

U. of T. law students are invited to attend an information session on the various working groups of the Asper Centre. Volunteers are needed to participate in the following groups over the course of the school year: • Emerging Constitutional Issues • The Charter and Canadian Citizens Abroad • The Internet Surveillance Working Group • ... Read More

Grant, Harrison, Shepherd & Suberu: The Supreme Court Decisions of the Summer of 2009 Watch the Webcast On July 17, 2009, the Supreme Court of Canada handed down its long awaited decisions in R. v. Grant, R. v. Harrison, R. v. Shepherd and R. v. Suberu clarifying the law in respect of the exclusion of ... Read More

David Asper Centre for Constitutional Rights and the International Human Rights Program Present Michael Fordham, QC Human Rights at the UK Supreme Court   A light lunch will be served. Michael Fordham QC is a leading public law and human rights barrister in London (www.blackstonechambers.com). His awards have included Human Rights Lawyer of the Year ... Read More

Students and Faculty are welcome to come and watch the live webcast of the argument at the Supreme Court of Canada in Prime Minister of Canada, et al. v. Omar Khadr. The Asper Centre and the International Human Rights Program (IHRP) have been granted standing in the case as interveners with Human Rights Watch. Professor ... Read More

What duties does the Canadian government owe to Canadian citizens when they are outside of the country? Is there such a thing as a legal duty to protect citizens from harm, or seek their repatriation when they have suffered harm? What are the rules, post Hape and Khadr, governing the extraterritorial application of the Charter, ... Read More

Albie Sachs: The Strange Alchemy of Life and Law (Oxford University Press, 2009) Friday, January 15, 2010 3:00 – 4:00 (to be followed by a reception) Faculty of Law, Flavelle House, Room FLB   Should a judge be an instrument of pure, detached reason, or a person imbued with human empathy? Albie Sachs, appointed by ... Read More

Nicholas Aroney - TC Beirne School of Law, U. of Queensland This paper utilizes the Australian experience of federation, 1890–1901, as a vehicle for the discussion of the leading conceptions of federalism extant in the late nineteenth-century English-speaking world. In particular, the paper examines the federal theories of James Madison, James Bryce, Edward Freeman, Albert Dicey and ... Read More

The Supreme Court of Canada released its unanimous decision in Prime Minister of Canada et al. v. Omar Khadr on Friday, January 29, 2010. It declared that the Canadian government is violating Omar Khadr's right to life, liberty and security under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The court denounced the use of torture in ... Read More

As rapidly advancing communication technology transforms so many aspects of human interaction it is crucial for public safety that investigative powers remain relevant to the rapidly evolving methods of crime. However, these methods must not too broadly infringe on the rights and liberties of Canadian Citizens. In 2009, two bills, C- 46 and C-47, were ... Read More

Hugo Cyr - Université du Québec à Montréal ABSTRACT: With the increased mobility and interdependence brought on by globalisation, governments can no longer deal effectively with what were traditionally regarded as «domestic issues» unless they cooperate among themselves. International law may once have been a sort of inter-state law concerned mostly with relations between states, ... Read More

Information session on clinical opportunities Please join all the clinics for a joint information session about for-credit clinical opportunities in second and third year. Presenters will include: Asper Centre, DLS, Health Law and Equity Clinic, and the IHRP. Each clinic will review the type of cases/projects pursued, admission requirements and application details. For more information, ... Read More

Marci Hamilton - Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law The Rules Against Scandal and What They Mean For the First Amendment’s Religion Clauses NOTE: Room change to FLA in Flavelle House. MARCI A. HAMILTON is one of the United States’ leading church/state scholars and holds the Paul R. Verkuil Chair in Public Law at the ... Read More

Join us for a panel discussion on the upcoming reference at the British Columbia Supreme Court regarding the constitutionality of s. 293 of the Criminal Code which prohibits polygamy in Canada. This case has attracted wide interest, and will involve various interveners, including the Asper Centre together with the Canadian Coalition for Children and Youth, ... Read More

Monday, June 14, 2010, at 4:00 PM Deadline for upper year students to submit their application for the fall 2010 term of the Asper Centre Clinical Legal Education Course.

The David Asper Centre for Constitutional Rights is co-sponsor, with the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, of a two day conference at the Faculty of Law on September 24th and 25th, 2010. The Canadian Civil Liberties Association is undertaking a research project on the status of immigrant in Canadian society. Immigration status – whether it be ... Read More

Faculty of Law, University of Toronto Constitutional Roundtable presents James Hathaway, University of Michigan Law School Audrey Macklin, University of Toronto Faculty of Law Lorne Waldman, Lorne Waldman and Associates Is None Still Too Many? Asylum Seekers on Boats, Then and Now, Here and There 12:30 – 2:00 Tuesday, October 5, 2010 Classroom C – ... Read More

Project G20 Inaugural Panel: Protecting Rights in the Aftermath of the G20 Summit in Toronto Project G20, a student-led working group of the David Asper Centre for Constitutional Rights, invites the legal community and the public at large to attend its inaugural panel entitled “Protecting Rights in the Aftermath of the G20 Summit in Toronto.” ... Read More

Mary Eberts, S.J.D. Candidate, University of Toronto Faculty of Law October 12, 2010

Speaker: Aharon Barak, President of the Supreme Court of Israel (Emeritus) This essay focuses on proportionality stricto sensu as a consequential test of balancing. The basic balancing rule establishes a general criterion for deciding between the marginal benefit to the public good and the marginal limit to human rights. Based on the Israeli constitutional jurisprudence, ... Read More

In the recent landmark case Bedford v. Canada, Justice Himmel of the Ontario Superior Court held that three provisions of the Criminal Code that criminalize facets of prostitution—living on the avails of prostitution, keeping a common bawdy house and communicating in a public place for the purpose of engaging in prostitution—infringe the core values protected ... Read More

Friday, November 6th, 2010 Sign in and Registration: 8:30 a.m. Public interest litigation can have a significant impact on public policy in Canada. Although Charter and other public interest litigation is most often commenced by individual claimants who are challenging laws that affect them individually, the test case litigant is often supported or opposed by ... Read More

In three cases released on October 8, 2010, the Supreme Court added the third story in what the Court described as the "interrogation trilogy" (R. v. Oickle, R. v. Singh and R. v. Sinclair). Oickle spoke to the types of techniques that officers can legally use to persuade someone to confess, including the use of ... Read More

The Asper Centre with the International Human Rights Program and Canadian Civil Liberties Association present Symposium on the Impact of Targeted Anti-terrorist Sanctions on Charter and International Human Rights Program: 9:00 a.m. Welcome: Renu Mandhane, International Human Rights Program Key Note Speaker: Judge Kimberly Prost, UN Ombudsperson for Al Qaeda and Taliban Sanctions 9:45 – ... Read More

The hearing in the Court reference on the constitutionality of the polygamy prohibition in the Criminal Code of Canada commences in the British Columbia Supreme Court.   Event date: Monday, November 22, 2010, at 2:28 PM Location: British Columbia Supreme Court, Vancouver, British Columbia  

Barry Friedman New York University Law School One of the longstanding, beguiling questions among scholars in several disciplines is how judicial power gains traction. Why do those setting up governments create an independent judiciary, why or how does judicial review get a foothold, and most important, what is the fount of judiciall supremacy? Theories abound, ... Read More

A screening of selections from Adam Letalik's documentary Toronto G20 Exposed followed by a panel discussion on Charter rights, particularly focused on the impact on freedom of expression. The panel will feature criminal lawyer John Norris on G20-related bail conditions, Prof. David Schneiderman on Charter issues pertaining to the summit weekend including the Public Works ... Read More

Is Coalition Government in Britain here to stay? Professor Robert Hazell University College London   Thursday, February 3, 2011 4:00-5:30 p.m. Bennett Lecture Hall, Flavelle House, Faculty of Law   Prof Robert Hazell is Director of the Constitution Unit at University College London, the UK’s leading research centre on constitutional reform. He was originally a ... Read More

Event date: Friday, April 01, 2011, from 1:00 PM to 5:30 PM Location: Bennet Lecture Hall, Flavelle House, Faculty of Law, Universtity of Toronto Legal experts in practice and the academy provide information and commentary on the availability of funding for some of the most significant litigation in the country. How can you obtain advanced ... Read More

Marlys Edwardh   Friday, April 1, 2011 4:30 p.m. (Reception to follow) Bennett Lecture Hall Faculty of Law, University of Toronto Reflecting on a distinguished career in law involving some of the most significant court cases in the country, Marlys Edwardh will address the challenges of funding important test case litigation. Her lecture caps off ... Read More

Event date: Tuesday, April 05, 2011, from 12:30 PM to 2:00 PM Location: Room FLB, Flavelle House Meet the Program Directors and find out how to apply for the Asper Clinic as well as the International Human Rights Program clinic and Downtown Legal Services for the next academic year. A light lunch will be provided.

CLINICAL LEGAL EDUCATION: DAVID ASPER CENTRE FOR CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS (LAW391H1F) University of Toronto, Faculty of Law students wishing to apply for this course must email a 1-2 page statement of interest to Cheryl Milne, cheryl.milne@utoronto.ca by June 20, 2011. Please indicate the following: (a) previous upper-year courses in constitutional law or human rights law or ... Read More

Event date: Thursday, June 23, 2011, at 6:30 PM Location: Bennett Lecture Hall, Flavelle House, Faculty of Law CLICK HERE FOR THE LIVE WEBCAST

The Asper Centre working groups aim to provide U of T students with an opportunity to conduct legal research and assist in advocacy on Canadian constitutional rights issues (often in partnership with an external organization). The Asper Centre requires all potential working groups (including existing working groups) to submit a written proposal for consideration by ... Read More

Event date: Monday, September 12, 2011, from 12:30 PM to 2:00 PM Location: Bennett Lecture Hall All U of T law students wishing to participate in this year's working groups must come to this information session. The possible working groups include the following: Response to Proposed Crime Bills: Students will be researching the legal issues ... Read More

Constitutional Roundtable presents The Canadian Judicial Appointment Process: Where Are We? Where Are We Going? Peter H. Russell, University Professor Emeritus, University of Toronto Jacob Ziegel, University of Toronto Faculty of Law 12:30 – 2:00 Thursday, September 15, 2011 Classroom A – Flavelle House 78 Queen’s Park Peter H. Russell has published widely in the ... Read More

Call for Conference Papers Charter Litigation and the Use of Social Science Evidence: After thirty years what have we learned? What could we do better? University of Toronto, St. George Campus – March 23& 24, 2012 The David Asper Centre for Constitutional Rights invites papers for its upcoming conference. This multi-disciplinary event will create opportunities ... Read More

Implications of the Supreme Court’s Decision November 4-5, 2011 Bennett Lecture Hall Faculty of Law University of Toronto 78 Queen’s Park Cres, Toronto, ON The Supreme Court of Canada released its decision in the Reference re. the Assisted Human Reproduction Act this past spring, striking down some sections and leaving others intact on constitutional grounds. ... Read More

Reference re. Assisted Human Reproduction Act Implications of the Supreme Court’s Decision The Supreme Court of Canada released its decision in the Reference re. the Assisted Human Reproduction Act this past spring, striking down some sections and leaving others intact on constitutional grounds. What does this mean for future practice and regulation in this area? ... Read More

CONSTITUTIONAL ROUNDTABLE Co-sponsored by Out in Law Speakers: R. Douglas Elliott, Noa Mendelsohn Aviv, Robert Keel Monday, November 28, 2011 12:30 – 2:00 Bennett Lecture Hall, Flavelle House 78 Queen’s Park Recently, gay students within Ontario's Catholic school system have encountered problems that raise legal and constitutional concerns. When students at a high school in ... Read More

The media often shows intense interest in the court cases that shape social policy in Canada. Constitutional and human rights related cases such as the recent Insite decision (Canada (Attorney General) v PHS Community Services Society), the Polygamy Reference Case, Bedford v Canada (prostitution challenge), as well as a number of national security cases have ... Read More

The British Columbia Supreme Court released its decision in the Ref. Re. S.293 of the Criminal Code of Canada (Polygamy Reference) on November 23rd. With a length of over 280 pages, the case provides the most comprehensive judical record on the subject of polygamy ever produced. Legal arguments were presented by the Attorney General of ... Read More

On September 20th, 2011, federal justice minister Rob Nicholson tabled Bill C-10, the Safe Streets and Communities Act. Forty five sitting days later, on December 5th, the bill passed in the House of Commons. The bill includes several reforms in our criminal justice system, including new mandatory minimum sentences and the elimination of conditional sentences ... Read More

The Asper Centre working groups aim to provide U of T students with an opportunity to conduct legal research and assist in advocacy on Canadian constitutional rights issues (often in partnership with an external organization). The Asper Centre requires all potential working groups (including existing working groups) to submit a written proposal for consideration by ... Read More

Dr. Pavlos Eleftheriadis (University Lecturer & Fellow in Law, University of Oxford) Abstract: The United Kingdom constitution endorses both parliamentary sovereignty and the rule of law as constitutional principles of the highest rank. The relations between the two have been a source of great puzzles, legal and philosophical. In this paper Professor Eleftheriadis attempts to ... Read More

Prof. Wayne Sumner (Professor Emeritus of Philosophy, University of Toronto, expert witness on ethics in the Carter case) and Joseph Arvay, Q.C. (counsel for the plaintiffs in Carter and leading constitutional litigator) will reflect on the landmark British Columbia Supreme Court decision, Carter v Canada 2012 BCSC 886. Joseph J. Arvay, QC holds law degrees ... Read More

Helen Irving, Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Sydney Abstract: In this paper, I invite a reconceptualization of constitutional (as distinct from political) citizenship, by examining the legal practice, virtually universal between the mid-nineteenth and mid-twentieth centuries, of the denaturalization of citizen women who married alien men. This practice, which emerged as a by-product of ... Read More

Andrew Geddis, Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Otago Abstract: This paper begins with the broader question of how a constitutional order based upon a liberal-democratic commitment to letting the people choose their lawmakers ought to respond to allegations of flaws in its election process. After all, any large-scale human undertaking is bound to fall ... Read More

Developments in Thirty Years of Fact Finding What have we learned? What could we do better? Event date: Friday, November 09, 2012, from 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM Location: Flavelle House, Faculty of Law, University of Toronto Opening Plenary Panel: The Challenges for Judges Justice Robert Sharpe (Ontario Court of Appeal); Justice Susan Himel (Ontario ... Read More

Sanford Levinson W. St. John Garwood and W. St. John Garwood, Jr. Centennial Chair Professor of Government, School of Law University of Texas at Austin Event date: Wednesday, November 28, 2012, from 4:00 PM to 5:30 PM Location: Rowell Room, Flavelle House, Faculty of Law, University of Toronto Abstract: The Federalist is, without a doubt, ... Read More

CONSTITUTIONAL ROUNDTABLE and the International Human Rights Program present Jeff King, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Law, University College, London Thursday, January 10, 2013 12:30 – 2:00 Room FLC, Flavelle House, Faculty of Law 78 Queen’s Park Jeff King is a distinguished visitor this year at the Faculty of Law, teaching an intensive course on social ... Read More

Wojciech Sadurski, University of Sydney The most feasible conception of the common good is one that refers to the legitimate motives for proposing and enacting collective authoritative decisions, which can be applied to, and complied with by, those who do not necessarily agree with the substantive merits of those decisions. Concretization of such a conception ... Read More

Panel Discussion On January 28, 1988, 25 years ago, the Supreme Court of Canada struck down Canada’s abortion law using the still new Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The legal battle was long, dramatic and groundbreaking – including a police raid on a clinic, novel constitutional evidence and arguments, an extraordinary criminal jury trial, ... Read More

Zak Yacoob Former Justice of the Constitutional Court of South Africa Event date: Thursday, February 14, 2013, from 12:30 PM to 2:00 PM Location: Room B, Flavelle House, Faculty of Law, University of Toronto Judge Yacoob has been a judge of the Constitutional Court of South Africa. He is married to Anu. The couple have ... Read More

The Honourable Lynn Smith The Quest for a Charter Equality Test: Has the Longest Way Round Been the Shortest Way Home? Watch the webcast here. Event date: Wednesday, February 27, 2013, from 4:00 PM to 5:30 PM Location: Rowell Room, Flavelle House, Faculty of Law, University of Toronto Lynn Smith, B.A. (University of Calgary), LL.B. ... Read More

Craig Scott Member of Parliament for Toronto-Danforth This lecture will discuss the structure and philosophy of the Supreme Court of Canada's approach to the dynamics of constitutional change, including the stages necessary to move from the democratic expression of a desire for change to lawful amendment of the Constitution. Scott will discuss his legislative proposal, ... Read More

Constitutional Roundtable Professor Heather Gerkin Yale Law School Abstract: Much of constitutional theory is preoccupied with a single question: what does a democracy owe its minorities? And most of the answers to this question fit naturally into the two categories Hirschman made famous: voice and exit. On both the rights side and structural side of ... Read More

CLINICAL LEGAL EDUCATION: DAVID ASPER CENTRE FOR CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS (LAW391H1F) FALL 2013 CLINICAL LEGAL EDUCATION: HALF TERM CLINIC - WINTER 2014 University of Toronto, Faculty of Law students wishing to apply for these courses must email a 1-2 page statement of interest to Cheryl Milne, cheryl.milne@utoronto.ca by July 3, 2013. Please indicate the following:   ... Read More

UofT law students who wish to submit proposals to lead voluntary Working Groups for the 2013-2014 year, must complete the proposals and submit them by 5:00 p.m. on July 31, 2013.  

Constitutional Remedies: Are They Effective and Meaningful? Faculty of Law, University of Toronto, St. George Campus – February 28, 2014 The David Asper Centre for Constitutional Rights invites papers for its upcoming conference examining in detail the remedies available in constitutional litigation. The Centre invites papers that stimulate and develop an ongoing dialogue on the ... Read More

Constitutional Roundtable Harney Program in Ethnic, Immigration and Pluralism Studies & Canada Research Chair in Citizenship and Multiculturalism  present Leti Volpp UC Berkeley School of Law The Indigenous as Alien Immigration law, as it is taught, studied, and researched in the United States, imagines away the fact of preexisting indigenous populations.  To show how this ... Read More

Event date: Friday, November 08, 2013, from 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM Location: Victoria Chapel, Victoria College, University of Toronto The Asper Centre will celebrate 5 years of accomplishments with 2 panel discussions that explore the significance of the cases in which the Centre has intervened, followed by a reception. PROGRAM 1:00 - 1:15 p.m. ... Read More

Health Law, Ethics & Policy Workshop Series David Asper Centre for Constitutional Rights & International Human Rights Program present SPEAKER:  Norman Daniels, Harvard School of Public Health Ethical Basis for Excluding Unauthorized Immigrants from the Affordable Care Act COMMENTATOR:  Audrey Macklin, University of Toronto Faculty of Law The Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”) is intended to ... Read More

CONSTITUTIONAL ROUNDTABLE SERIES presents John Norris Constitutional Litigator in Residence David Asper Centre for Constitutional Rights "Generous" to a Fault?  The Supreme Court of Canada's Approach to Section 6(1) of the Charter John Norris maintains a trial and appellate practice in criminal, constitutional and national security law. He is a Special Advocate for security certificate ... Read More

CONSTITUTIONAL ROUNDTABLE presents  Benjamin Berger Osgoode Hall Law School Religious Diversity, Education, and the “Crisis” in State Neutrality Education – and particularly public education – has become a crucible for the relationship between state and religious diversity, a principal site for contemporary debates about the meaning of secularism and the management of religious difference. This ... Read More

REGISTRATION NOW CLOSED LINK TO LIVE WEBCAST Keynote Address For more information contact Kara Norrington at kara.norrington@utoronto.ca The David Asper Centre for Constitutional Rights is hosting a conference examining in detail the remedies available in constitutional litigation. Papers and panel discussions will stimulate and develop an ongoing dialogue on the effectiveness of remedies. The goal ... Read More

CONSTITUTIONAL ROUNDTABLE presents Sandra Liebenberg H.F. Oppenheimer Chair in Human Rights Law University of Stellenbosch Law Faculty Deepening democratic transformation in South Africa through participatory constitutional remedies Prepared for Conference, Constitutional Remedies: Are they Effective and Meaningful? David Asper Centre for Constitutional Rights, University of Toronto There is an intimate association between the exercise of ... Read More

David Asper Centre for Constitutional Rights and Centre for Innovation Law and Policy, Faculty of Law present Privacy at Risk? The NSA and CSEC, its Canadian Surveillance Partner Wednesday, March 12, 2014 4:00 – 5:30 Emmanuel College, 75 Queen’s Park Crescent Room EM 001 Revelations by former NSA analyst Edward Snowden have drawn much needed ... Read More

CLINICAL LEGAL EDUCATION: DAVID ASPER CENTRE FOR CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS (LAW391H1F) FALL 2013 CLINICAL LEGAL EDUCATION: HALF TERM CLINIC - WINTER 2014 University of Toronto, Faculty of Law students wishing to apply for these courses must email a 1-2 page statement of interest to Cheryl Milne, cheryl.milne@utoronto.ca by July 7, 2014. Please indicate the following: (a) ... Read More

Campbell McLachlan, Q.C. Victoria University of Wellington Foreign Relations Law Reviewer/Discussant: Stephen Toope Friday, September 12, 2014 12:30 – 2:00 Solarium (room FA2), Falconer Hall 84 Queen’s Park What legal principles govern the external exercise of the public power of states within common law legal systems? Foreign Relations Law tackles three fundamental issues: the distribution ... Read More

Battles Are Won Because They Are Fought! The Case Against 8 is a behind-the-scenes look inside the historic case to overturn California's ban on same-sex marriage. The high-profile trial first makes headlines with the unlikely pairing of Ted Olson and David Boies, political foes who last faced off as opposing attorneys in Bush v Gore. ... Read More

The Interplay between Sections 7 and 15 of the Charter Faculty of Law, University of Toronto, St. George Campus – February 27, 2015 The David Asper Centre for Constitutional Rights invites papers for its upcoming conference examining in detail the interplay between sections 7 and 15 of the Charter. The Centre invites papers that stimulate ... Read More

The Aboriginal Law Program Speaker Series and the Constitutional Roundtable present: “R v Kokopenace: The Panel” Heard before the Supreme Court on October 6, 2014, R v Kokopenace is a case concerning the representativeness of jury panels in Ontario, particularly with respect to First Nations people living on-reserve and the role of s. 6(8) of ... Read More

Mary Eberts Constitutional Litigator-in-Residence David Asper Centre for Constitutional Rights University of Toronto Moderator: Yasmin Dawood University of Toronto Faculty of Law NOTE DATE CHANGE: Tuesday, November 18th 2014 12:30 - 2:00 Solarium (room FA2), Falconer Hall 84 Queen's Park MARY EBERTS received her legal education at Western and the Harvard Law School, and is ... Read More

CONSTITUTIONAL ROUNDTABLE presents Hugo Cyr, Université du Québec à Montréal Tuesday, January 13, 2015 Solarium (room FA2), Falconer Hall 84 Queen’s Park What does the constitutional principle of federalism entail? Instead of a detailed set of specific rules, the principle of federalism relies on a series of principles that distinguish federations from other political forms. ... Read More

  Constitutional Roundtable presents Richard Stacey, Faculty of Law University of Toronto 12:30 - 2:00 p.m. Thursday, February 5, 2015 Room 101, Victoria College Constitutional Law in the Absence of Constitution: Power in the Revolutionary Interregnum In early February 2011, the Egyptian armed forces assumed executive control of Egypt and suspended the 1971 Constitution. A ... Read More

This half-day conference examined in detail the interplay between sections 7 and 15 of the Charter. Papers were presented that stimulated and developed an ongoing exploration of the relationship between sections 7 and 15. Issues addressed include: • Is equality a principle of fundamental justice under section 7? • How have the courts treated the ... Read More

CLINICAL LEGAL EDUCATION: DAVID ASPER CENTRE FOR CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS (LAW391H1F) FALL 2015 CLINICAL LEGAL EDUCATION: HALF TERM CLINIC - WINTER 2016 University of Toronto, Faculty of Law students wishing to apply for these courses must email a 1-2 page statement of interest to Cheryl Milne, cheryl.milne@utoronto.ca by noon on July 10, 2015. Please indicate the ... Read More

Constitutional Roundtable presents Richard Moon Law Faculty University of Windsor 12:30 - 2:00 p.m. Wednesday, September 16, 2015 Solarium, Falconer Hall Topic: The Myth of Balancing In Constitutional Rights Cases Richard Moon teaches at the Law Faculty, University of Windsor. He is the author of The Constitutional Protection of Freedom of Expression (U of T ... Read More

Constitutional Roundtable presents Tarunabh Khaitan Associate Professor and the Hackney Fellow in Law at Wadham College University of Oxford 12:30 - 2:00 p.m. Tuesday, September 29, 2015 Solarium, Falconer Hall Topic: A Theory of Discrimination Law Tarun Khaitan is an Associate Professor and the Hackney Fellow in Law at Wadham College. He is also an ... Read More

All are welcome to attend the book launch for False Security: The Radicalization of Canadian Anti-Terrorism , the latest book by Professor Kent Roach from the University of Toronto - Faculty of Law and co-author Professor Craig Forcese, from the University of Ottawa - Faculty of Law. The book launch will be followed by a ... Read More

Constitutional Roundtable presents Cristina Rodriguez, Leighton Homer Surbeck Professor of Law at 
Yale Law School 12:30 - 2:00 p.m. Wednesday, October 14, 2015 Location: Victoria College, Room VC 115 The Power to Enforce the Law: Presidential Power and American Immigration Policy In November 2014, President Obama announced his intention to dramatically reshape immigration law through ... Read More

Constitutional Roundtable presents Zaid Al-Ali, Law and Public Affairs Fellow at Princeton University 12:30 - 2:00 p.m. Friday, October 30, 2015 Solarium, Falconer Hall   The Absence of Social Solidarity Amongst Arab Elites: Causes and Consequences of the Failure of post-2011 Constitutional Reform Post-colonial constitutions in the Arab region were all based on the promise ... Read More

The State of Canada’s Constitutional Democracy Faculty of Law, University of Toronto, St. George Campus – February 27, 2016 The David Asper Centre for Constitutional Rights invites papers for its upcoming conference examining the state of Canada’s constitutional democracy. Dramatic changes have taken place in recent years at the national level in respect to the ... Read More

Constitutional Roundtable presents Raj Anand Constitutional Litigator in Residence with the Asper Centre for Constitutional Rights 12:30 - 2:00 p.m. Wednesday, February 03, 2016 Victoria College, Room 206 Topic: Subsection 15(2) of the Charter and its Disconnection with Substantive Equality Raj Anand is a partner and an arbitrator and mediator with WeirFoulds LLP. His practice ... Read More

Constitutional Roundtable presents Susan Williams Walter W. Foskett Professor of Law and Director, Center for Constitutional Democracy Maurer School of Law Indiana University 12:30 - 2:00 p.m. Wednesday, February 24, 2016 Solarium, Falconer Hall Topic Legal Pluralism, Gender Equality and Parity of Participation: Constitutional Issues Concerning Customary Law in Liberia Susan Williams is the author ... Read More

Richard Albert Associate Professor of Law and Dean’s Research Scholar at Boston College 12:30 - 2:00 p.m. Tuesday, March 15, 2016 Solarium, Falconer Hall The Conventions of Constitutional Amendment in Canada Commentators have suggested that the unsuccessful national referendum to ratify the 1992 Charlottetown Accord has created an expectation of popular participation requiring national referendal ... Read More

This information session for University of Toronto, Faculty of Law students, provides information on how to enroll in the for credit clinical programs at the Faculty including the Asper Centre Constitutional Rights Advocacy Clinic. Representatives from Downtown Legal Services, the International Human Rights Program and the various externship programs will be on hand to answer ... Read More

PROGRAM COORDINATOR POSITION DESCRIPTION: The Program Coordinator will support the educational mission of the David Asper Centre for Constitutional Rights by organizing educational events such as conferences, roundtables and symposia; coordinating publications which promote the Centre and provide educational content to students, academics, the practising bar and the general public; and supporting the work of ... Read More

THE RISKS AND REWARDS OF CLINICAL LEGAL EDUCATION PROGRAMMES The Asper Centre is collaborating with the Association for Canadian Clinical Education and the International Journal of Clinical Legal Education in the organization and hosting of the 2016 Clinical Legal Education Conference at the University of Toronto, Faculty of Law. Dates: July 10- 13, 2016 Registration ... Read More

2016-2017 WORKING GROUPS University of Toronto, Faculty of Law students wishing to propose a 2016/2017 Working Group must email a proposal to Cheryl Milne, cheryl.milne@utoronto.ca by 5 p.m. on August 15, 2016. Applications should include the following: a) The name/title of the Working Group b) The issue the group will be working on, and why ... Read More

The deadline for applications for the is August 26, 2016. Call for Asper Centre students 2016-2017

Visit the Asper Centre's information booth to learn more about our work.     (2016)

Learn how to apply for an Asper Centre summer fellowship to work in an organization within Canada that focuses on constitutional / human rights advocacy.     (2016)

Information about how to apply for an Asper Centre summer fellowship to work in an organization within Canada that focuses on constitutional / human rights advocacy.   (October 2016)

Indigenous Mobilization and Environmental Justice in Canada In Aamjiwnaang First Nation (near Sarnia, Ontario) the female to male birthrate is 2:1. Community members experience abnormal incidences of miscarriage, asthma, cancer, cardiovascular and respiratory illnesses. This workshop will explore if law has thus far failed this community and what Canadian and Indigenous governments are doing now ... Read More

CONSTITUTIONAL ROUNDTABLE presents Claudia Geiringer (Victoria University of Wellington School of Law, New Zealand) moderated by Professor Kent Roach Wednesday November 16, 2016 12:30 PM to 2:00 PM Falconer Hall Solarium (room FA2) 84 Queen’s Park  Topic: The Strange Antipodean Afterlife of John Hart Ely’s Democracy and Distrust  This paper tells the strange, and little ... Read More

Judicial Courage and Restraint in Canadian Constitutional History The Morris A. Gross Memorial Lecture was established in memory of the late Morris A. Gross by the law firm Minden Gross LLP and by members of his family, friends and professional associates. The intention of the lectureship is to, every two years, bring to the Faculty ... Read More

Hugo Cyr Dean and Professor of Public Law and Legal Theory Université du Québec à Montréal Normalizing the Exception in Canada Thursday, February 9, 2017 12:30 – 2:00 Room J-140, Jackman Law Building 78 Queen's Park Extraordinary measures may sometimes be justified as being necessary to deal with exceptional events. Those measures may become normalized ... Read More

What’s the fuss about “Islam” and “Muslims” ?  Thinking in an Age of Information Overload Special Lecture by Dr. Anver Emon Professor and Canada Research Chair in Religion, Pluralism, and the Rule of Law University of Toronto Faculty of Law Moderated by Cheryl Milne, Executive Director Asper Centre for Constitutional Rights From the Brexit referendum ... Read More

The Alberta Press Case

The Asper Centre for Constitutional Rights presents a lunchtime seminar on Careers in Constitutional Law Are you a JD Candidate with a passion for promoting Charter rights? Do you want to learn about the numerous career paths that exist for students wishing to practice Constitutional Law? MEET and get ADVICE from four lawyers (3 are UTLaw ... Read More

Section 7 and the Idea of the Charter

Deadline for U of T Upper Year Law students to apply for the Asper Centre clinical courses for 2017. For more information, see the course list on the Faculty of Law website HERE.

U of T law students can become involved in the Centre’s work through volunteering with one of our Working Groups. For information on how to apply to lead a Working Group read the Proposal Requirements below. If you would like to apply but need some ideas, contact Cheryl Milne or Tal Schreier by email. This ... Read More

The Asper Centre is looking for a student to provide research and technical support for the Centre’s website and social media (Facebook and Twitter). The position involves some research and drafting for content to be uploaded to the Centre's website related to Canadian constitutional law and the activities of the Centre (primarily case summaries). Training ... Read More

JD students in all years can volunteer with one of the Asper Centre student working groups, that are led by upper year students. Working groups prepare policy briefs, organize workshops, and conduct research on emerging constitutional issues. This year, there are three Asper Centre student working groups: The Refugee and Immigration Law working group The ... Read More

  CONSTITUTIONAL ROUNDTABLE presents  Richard Albert  Professor, Boston College Law School The Most Powerful Court in the World? Constitutional Amendment after the Senate Reform and Supreme Court Act References Discussant: Associate Professor Yasmin Dawood Canada Research Chair in Democracy, Constitutionalism & Electoral Law University of Toronto Wednesday, September 27, 2017 12:30 – 2:00PM Solarium (room FA2), Falconer ... Read More

The David Asper Centre for Constitutional Rights is hosting a lunchtime discussion with Senator Kim Pate. "The Need to Correct Corrections: The Case for Judicial Oversight"  Monday October 16th at 12:30pm in Jackman Law Building J140 Kim Pate was appointed to the Senate of Canada on November 10, 2016. First and foremost, the mother of ... Read More

Introduction to Asper Centre and IHRP Summer Fellowship Opportunities For current JD students: please attend this information session to learn more about the Asper Centre Summer Fellowship opportunities. Date: October 19, 2017 Time: 12:30-2:00pm Location: J250

View our Save the Date Poster  The 2017 Asper Centre Constitutional Roundtable Series presents a Constitutional Law Symposium for Canada’s Sesquicentennial The David Asper Centre for Constitutional Rights’ Constitutional Roundtable Series are annual lunchtime discussion forums that provide an opportunity to consider developments in Canadian constitutional theory and practice as well as the emerging field ... Read More

On November 30th and December 1st 2017, the Supreme Court of Canada will hear two appeals involving Trinity Western University (TWU), a private Christian university in British Columbia wishing to open a new law school.  The appeals involve legal challenges to decisions by the law societies of British Columbia and Ontario and the impact of a policy ... Read More

  Asper Centre Constitutional Roundtable presents ALISTAIR PRICE Associate Professor in Law, University of Cape Town "The Relationship between Constitutional and Tort Damages for State Failures to Protect in Canada, England, and South Africa"  Moderated by: Assistant Professor Richard Stacey University of Toronto Faculty of Law Wednesday, November 29, 2017 12:30 - 2:00 Solarium (Room ... Read More

The David Asper Centre for Constitutional Rights is pleased to invite abstract submissions for our upcoming Public Interest Litigation Conference, which will be  held on March 2, 2018.  The Conference will be focused on legal strategies for successful public interest litigation in Canada, as a means to bring together relevant stakeholders to share their challenges, successes ... Read More

We have decided to extend the deadline for our Call for Papers The new deadline for Abstract submissions for our March 2, 2018 Public Interest Litigation Conference is January 3, 2018. Please see the extended CALL for PAPERS here. Many thanks.    

On Thursday January 18, 2018, Out in Law, the Journal for Law and Equality, the Asper Centre and other groups at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law are pleased to present a debrief panel discussion between a number of interveners in the recent Trinity Western University appeals at the Supreme Court of Canada. More information ... Read More

Constitutional Roundtable Presents Athanasios (Akis) Psygkas Lecturer in Law University of Bristol Law School on Wednesday, January 31, 2018 12:30 – 2:00 Solarium (Room FA2), Falconer Hall 84 Queen’s Park "The hydraulics of constitutional claims: Four models of democratic constitutionalism and same-sex marriage" With Professor Brenda Cossman, Director of the Bonham Centre for Sexual Diversity Studies as ... Read More

Applications for Asper Centre Summer Fellowships are due on February 20, 2018. Please find the 2018 Asper Centre Fellowship Guide here. Also, current law students can log into the University of Toronto Law Career Network for further information on the application process.  

View CONFERENCE Schedule Here The Asper Centre convened a one-day Conference on March 2, 2018 focused on legal strategies for successful public interest litigation as a means to bring together relevant stakeholders to share their challenges, successes and strategies in this field.  The Conference was aimed at both practitioners (lawyers and NGOs) who are engaged ... Read More

The Asper Centre's Immigration & Refugee Law Student Working Group is honoured to host Senator Ratna Omidvar for a lunchtime seminar on Wednesday March 7, 2018 at 12h30. All students are welcome and encouraged to attend. Senator Omidvar will share her personal story of coming to Canada from India, and she will discuss issues related to inclusion ... Read More