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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 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

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

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

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

View the event photo gallery Read our "Celebrating 10 Years" Magazine Read the Asper Centre's 2017 - 2018 annual report Watch the video of the event on YouTube It's been a full decade since the Asper Centre for Constitutional Rights opened its doors! To celebrate 10 years of dedicated advocacy, education and research, former Supreme Court of ... Read More