Course Offerings 2017-2018

1L Required

LAWG 100D1/D2 Contractual Obligations/Obligations contractuelles (6 credits)
Fall & Winter

Section 001: Professor Helge Dedek
Description (LAST YEAR): Basic concepts of contractual obligations in the Civil and Common Law.  Formation and consent; formalities; cause and consideration. The interpretation of contracts and State control over the formation and the content of contracts. Vitiation of consent. Performance and breach; frustration and hardship; contractual remedies. Relativity of contracts and privity.
Method of Evaluation (LAST YEAR): Midterm exam in December, final take-home exam in April; Optional assignment.

Section 002: Professor Rosalie Jukier
Description: This course covers basic concepts and theories of contractual obligations in the Civil and Common Law including how to define agreement; examining the kinds of agreements that are enforced; the content of contractual obligations; reasons for setting aside agreements; contractual remedies and rights of third parties.
Format: Lecture
Method of Evaluation: ​25% mid-term exam, 25% optional assignment and 50% (or 75%) final exam (depending on whether student did the optional assignment).

Section 003 (Français): Professeur Fabien Gélinas
Description: Le cours couvre les concepts, discours et arguments fondamentaux du droit des obligations contractuelles dans la tradition du common law et celle du droit civil. The course includes the following topics: the definition of agreement; the kinds of agreements that are enforced; the content of contractual obligations; reasons for setting aside agreements; contractual remedies and rights of third parties.

Du point de vue de la méthode, outre l’accès aux notions de base, le cours développe une approche pratique et critique. Pratique : divers exercices sont proposés aux étudiant.e.s afin d’apprendre le maniement du discours juridique. Critique : le cours offre un recul critique afin de faciliter l’appréhension du phénomène contractuel dans le monde contemporain.

Remarque : Non-native speakers of French are encouraged to take the course.  A particular effort will be made to render French legal language and terminology accessible.
Method of Evaluation: midterm in December (20 %), group presentation in the class (20%) during fall or winter term, final take-home exam in April (60%).

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LAWG 101D1/D2 Extra-Contractual Obligations/Ex-contractuelles (6 credits)
​Fall & Winter

Section 001: Professor Geneviève Saumier
Description :TBA 
Method of Evaluation: TBA

Section 002: Professor Stephen Smith
Description: This course provides a critical examination of the law in Canada governing what are called ‘extra-contractual obligations’ in Quebec and ‘torts’ in common law provinces. Broadly, these labels refer to the law governing legal obligations (or ‘duties’) that citizens and other legal persons (e.g., corporations, the state) owe to one another other than obligations arising from a contract or a breach of contract. Some of these duties owe their existence to general legal rules (e.g., ‘everyone has a duty to take care not to injure others’); others find their source in court rulings (‘it is ordered that the defendant pay the plaintiff $1000). In this course, we explore the circumstances in which such duties arise, the actions they require, and the consequences of breaching them. We also study their history, their relationship to other norms—both legal and non-legal—and, most importantly, their value. 
Method of Evaluation: Mid-term examination in December; final examination; in-term assignment.

Section 003 (Français): Professeur Richard Janda
Description: TBA
Method of Evaluation: TBA

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LAWG 102D1/D2 Criminal Justice/Justice pénale (6 credits)
​Fall & Winter

Section 001: Me Alexandre Bien-Aimé
Description: TBA
Method of Evaluation: TBA
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Section 002: Professor Frédéric Mégret
Description: This course will introduce the basis, nature and functioning of criminal justice within and across legal orders, with a focus on Canadian criminal justice. It will examine the main determinants of crime and explore the rationales for criminalizing certain conduct, presenting criminalization as one among a number of possible models for responding to different types of conflicts, behaviours and phenomena.  Further, the course will introduce key substantive, procedural, evidentiary and sentencing aspects of the criminal law, with attention to formal but also informal sources of law, including the exercise of discretionary powers by police, prosecutors, and judges, as well as the role of the different participants in the criminal justice process. Finally, the course will engage closely with the social impact of criminal justice, with particular attention to race, class, gender, indigeneity, ethnicity and power.
Method of Evaluation: Class preparation participation (25%), Class expert (25%), Mid-term (25%) take-home, Final exam (25%).

Section 003 (Français): Professeure Marie Manikis
Description: Ce cours offrira une introduction à la nature et au fonctionnement de la justice pénale au sein de différents ordres juridiques, en mettant l’accent sur la justice pénale au Canada. Il examinera les principaux facteurs déterminants du crime, explorera les principes justificatifs de la pénalisation de certaines conduites, et présentera la pénalisation comme un parmi plusieurs modèles possibles en réponse aux différents types de conflits, comportements et phénomènes. De plus, ce cours introduira les principales notions de fond, de procédures, de preuve et de peine en droit pénal, en accordant une attention particulière aux sources formelles et informelles du droit, y compris l’exercice légitime du pouvoir discrétionnaire de la police, des procureurs, et des juges, ainsi que le rôle joué par les multiples participants du système de justice pénale. Ultimement, ce cours analysera l’impact social de la justice pénale, en portant une attention particulière à l’influence de la race, de la classe économique, du genre, de l’indigénéité, de l’origine ethnique, et du pouvoir dans le cadre de l’exercice et l’administration de la justice pénale.

Les thèmes traités peuvent inclure : les théories relatives aux sanctions pénales; les théories criminologiques du crime; les principes fondamentaux du droit pénal, y compris les éléments essentiels d’infractions et sur les composantes des moyens de défense; les conceptions autochtones de la justice sociale; les principes de justice réparatrices; les tribunaux axés sur la résolution collective de problèmes; la surveillance et l’exercice du pouvoir policier; la notion du « droit à un procès juste et équitable »; la pénologie; les droits des victimes; le rôle de la communauté; la réforme pénale; l’impact des cadres juridiques des droits, notamment de la Charte canadienne des droits et libertés; l’analyse des approches comparatives et interdisciplinaires; le pluralisme dans son application au droit pénal; et l’internationalisation du droit pénal. 
Method of Evaluation: Séance d’observation d’une enquête sur la remise en liberté provisoire à la Cour du Québec et analyse écrite en lien avec les thèmes abordés en classe-  Projet de présentation orale et brève analyse explicative écrite (1000 mots) en équipe-Participation en classe-Examen final 

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LAWG 110D1/D2 Integration Workshop (4 credits)
​Fall & Winter

​Section 001: Professor Johanne Poirier & Professor Mark Walters
Description: TBA
Method of Evaluation: TBA

Small Group Teaching Sections:

Section 002: Professor Kirsten Anker
​Section 003: Kelly Sloan
​Section 004: Professor François Crépeau
​Section 005: Professor Helge Dedek
​Section 006: Professor Kun Fan
Section 007: Professor Evan Fox-Decent
​Section 008: Professor Pierre‐Emmanuel Moyse
​Section 009: Professor Johanne Poirier
​Section 010: Professor Colleen Sheppard
​Section 012: Professor Mark Walters

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PUB2 101 D1/D2 Constitutional Law/Droit constitutionnel (6 credits)
​Fall & Winter

​Section 001: Professor Colleen Sheppard
Description: This course provides an introduction to fundamental principles, institutions and legal developments in Canadian constitutional law.  The course explores the rule of law, democracy, judicial independence and federalism.  It also examines human rights and freedoms, and constitutional issues affecting Aboriginal peoples and minority linguistic communities.  The course is designed to provide students with a framework for understanding constitutional issues through a comparative lens, as well as thinking critically about the historical and social context of Canadian constitutional law.
​Method of Evaluation : First semester examination: 25% (assist only); Optional written assignment: 25%; Final examination: 50%.        

​Section 002: Professor Mark Walters
Description: This course in Constitutional Law provides an introduction to the basic principles, institutions, and legal developments in Canadian constitutional law. Given the number of students, a large part of each class will involve an explanation of assigned reading materials by the instructor; however, ample time will be made for discussion and debate involving students and for questions and comments by students, and students will be expected to have read the assigned materials and be prepared to talk about them. 

​Method of Evaluation: First semester examination: 25% (assist only); Optional written assignment: 25%; Final examination: 50%.        

​Section 003 (Français): Professeure Johanne Poirier
Description : Un traitement de l’histoire, de la théorie, de la pratique du droit constitutionnel canadien, en partie à la lumière du droit comparé.   Examen des principes généraux (État de droit, constitutionnalisme, démocratie); de la séparation des pouvoirs (législatif, exécutif et judiciaire); du fédéralisme;   du droit public relatif aux peuples autochtones; et de la protection des droits fondamentaux, y compris des droits linguistiques.      
​Method of Evaluation : :  Examen du 1er semestre: 25 %; travail d’équipe (15%); examen final (60%). Il est possible qu’un résumé d’arrêt – corrigé mais pas noté – soit exigé. Cela dépendra notamment du “cours d’intégration"

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PUB3 116 D1/D2 Foundations/Fondements de droit
​Fall & Winter

Section 001: Professor Mark Antaki
Description (LAST YEAR): This course aims to help you identify, articulate, and call into question some of your pre-conceptions about law and justice so that you may experience law as historically and culturally located. It aims to help you find law where you least expect it but also to appreciate law differently where you most expect to find it. It invites you to explore and appreciate the burden of judgment that various (‘legal’ and other) actors bear so that you may learn to see and celebrate acts of practical wisdom and not simply sets of objective rules. This course is a foundational one in that it encourages you, in the trans-systemic spirit, to think carefully and critically about the language you not only speak, but also inherit and inhabit.
​Method of Evaluation (LAST YEAR): Multiple assessments. 

Section 002: Professor Ronald Niezen
Description: Foundations of Law offers an initiation to law as a subject matter that goes beyond codes, laws, and judgments in order to question the nature of law, to emphasize its plurality and contingency, and the power it has to produce social conditions far beyond the immediate actions of legislatures or courts. Its subject matter is based on the Faculty’s commitment to legal pluralism, to the view that law is to be found in many places and experienced in many ways. This includes exploring the ways in which legal normativity influence behaviour and attitudes, the extent to which certain normative frameworks belong to a given legal tradition, and the nature of the interactions between different legal traditions. The appearance of the word “foundations” in the course title does not imply the transmission of certainty, but a method of inquiry based on questioning pre-suppositions. The central premise of this course is that the most important questions concerning law do not have clear answers. This leaves the student (and scholar and practitioner) with the task of exploration, identifying points of contention and ambiguity, as a first step in understanding the processes and consequences of law. Foundations of Law aims to encourage and multiply the questions associated with law, as well as providing the necessary elements that will feed such inquiries over the course of your careers and lives.
​Method of Evaluation: Quiz (15%)- Take home exam (25%)-Final Exam (40%)- Classroom participation (20%)

Section 003 (Français): Professeur Daniel Weinstock
Description: Le principal objectif du cours est de susciter par de multiples moyens une réflexion soutenue de la part des étudiants sur la nature du droit, de son rôle dans l’organisation de la vie en société, de sa contribution tant à la justice qu’à l’injustice (des rapports coloniaux, des rapports entre les genres, etc.), de sa relation à d’autres institutions telles que la moralité et la religion. Le droit est une institution tellement englobante et massique qu’il est vain de penser que nous réussirons à la saisir à partir d’une seule perspective disciplinaire, ou encore que nous réussirons à en avoir une vision parfaitement cohérente. (Nous ne devrions en effet pas entamer l’étude du droit en pensant que nous en ressortirons avec une vision cohérente!). Ainsi, nous lirons de la philosophie du droit des traditions européennes et autochtones, mais nous lirons également des romans populaires, visionnerons des films, etc
​Method of Evaluation: Quiz (15%), Examen de mi-parcours (25%), Examen final (40%),  Participation en classe (20%)

2L Required

LAWG 210 Legal Ethics & Professionalism (3 credits)
Fall

Section 001: Me Cristina Toteda
Description: Ethics and professionalism go to the core of any successful legal professional. Even if you master the Civil Code of Quebec or a complex statute regarding securities, write persuasive demand letters or are an expert negotiator, it will all be futile if you do not act professionally and in an ethically sound manner

Method of Evaluation: Critical Reflection Piece 20%-In-Class Assignments (15%)-Professionalism Skills Development Activities during Focus Week (20%)- Final Exam (40%)

Tutorial Sections:

Section 002: Stephanie Fontana
Section 003: Chantelle Dallas
Section 004: Andréanne Poirier
Section 005: Alexandra Alacchi
Section 006: Rebecca Kaeser Reiss
Section 007: Ben Jarvis
Section 008: Nicolas Labbé-Corbin
Section 009: Joel Badali
Section 010: Alexandra Vall

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LAWG 220D1/D2 Property (6 credits)
​Fall & Winter

Section 001: Professor Kirsten Anker
Description: The foundations, principles and mechanisms of property law from a

transsystemic point of view. Examination of common law, civil law and indigenous

traditions in respect of property. Key relationships in respect of things and services as well

as limitations on property rights.

Method of Evaluation: 
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Section 002: Professor Tina Piper
Description: The foundations, principles and mechanisms of property law from a

transsystemic point of view. Examination of common law, civil law and indigenous

traditions in respect of property. Key relationships in respect of things and services as well

as limitations on property rights.

Method of Evaluation: TBA

Section 003 (Français): Professeure Yaëll Emerich
Description: The foundations, principles and mechanisms of property law from a

transsystemic point of view. Examination of common law, civil law and indigenous

traditions in respect of property. Key relationships in respect of things and services as well

as limitations on property rights.

Method of Evaluation: TBA

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PROC 124 Judicial Institutions & Civil Procedure/Droit judiciaire (4 credits)

Fall & Winter (D1/D2):
Section 001: TBA
Description: TBA
Method of Evaluation: TBA 

Fall & Winter (D1/D2): 

Section 001: Me Geeta Narang 

Description:: This course is about the judicial institutions and civil procedure by which the legal system endeavours to resolve disputes between individual parties who turn to the court system for solutions. It is about the machine that produces the judgments that you have been reading in law school and (increasingly) the system that tries to coax parties to settle their disputes out of court. At the end of the course, you should have a solid understanding of the Canadian court system and first instance proceedings. This means you will know how and where to file legal proceedings. You will learn about the major steps leading up to trial:  choice of venue, summoning the defendant, preliminary matters, safeguard orders, pre-trial discovery, the defense, and setting down a case for trial. This is the practical aspect of the course. It is designed to give you the tools needed to fulfill one of the most important mandates that practicing lawyers are given: instituting a lawsuit on behalf of a client and getting that lawsuit in front of a judge.  We will also explore the principles underlying judicial institutions and civil procedure and some of the current debates in this regard: the merits of the adversarial and inquisitorial models for adjudication, the importance of an independent judiciary, the costs of litigating, access to justice, proportionality, the improper use of procedure and civil law reform initiatives. At the end of the course, you should be able to engage in an intelligent and informed debate on these issues. This is the more theoretical aspect of the course.   Finally, this class will explore the current legal landscape in Canada, as well as the trends and issues affecting the practice of law in the 21^st century.  Through discussions and presentations, we will examine different models for the delivery of legal services and how they compare with traditional firm structures. 

Method of Evaluation: 60% Final open-book, sit down exam, during exam period & 40% Three to four in-class exercises and take-home assignments throughout the year, at least one of which will be optional  

Fall:
Section 001: Professor Rosalie Jukier
Description: This course is intended as an introduction to the basic structure, values and problems of civil procedure.  It should be seen as a vehicle for exploring issues arising in most systems of civil procedure in Canada and in the Western world generally, rather than as a survey of the rules of procedure that will dominate the lawyering experience of those who will choose litigation as a career.  It is in this sense that the course is transsystemic.  It addresses a broad range of questions, from strategic and financial considerations of litigation all the way to broad principles of the judicial order, as well as the key aspects of pre-trial procedure.  The course is meant as an effort to highlight fundamental tensions in the organization and implementation of dispute resolution by state-appointed judges.
Method of Evaluation (LAST YEAR): Final examination (sit-down, open book, 75%) and one mid-term assignment (25%).

Section 002: Jakub Adamski

Description:(LAST YEAR): This course offers an introduction from a legal perspective to the most important ways by which individuals have structured their collaborative commercial activities.  It will consider how essential questions associated with such activities are dealt with by several distinct legal structures.  Attention is given to the basic legal features of agency and partnerships, the dominant legal business structures historically; and to the corporation, the predominant contemporary business form.

Method of Evaluation (LAST YEAR): In-class exercise (25%), final exam (75%).   

Winter:
Section 003 (Français): Professeure Geneviève Saumier
Description (LAST YEAR): Le droit judiciaire privé a essentiellement pour objet le rôle que jouent les tribunaux judiciaires dans la résolution de différends en matière civile.  On peut diviser la matière en trois grands thèmes : a) le droit d’agir en justice (intérêt pour agir, capacité, renonciation au profit d’un tribunal arbitral ou d’un tribunal judiciaire étranger, limites dues à l’immunité de l’État étranger, etc.) et l’accès aux tribunaux judiciaires; b) l’organisation des tribunaux judiciaires (nomination, irresponsabilité, indépendance et impartialité des juges, compétence rationae materiae et rationae personae, etc.);  c) le fonctionnement des tribunaux judiciaires, tant lorsqu’ils sont appelés à trancher eux-mêmes le fond du différend que lorsqu’ils sont appelés à intervenir afin de contrôler ou de prêter assistance à un autre mode de résolution de différends (négociation, médiation ou arbitrage, décision d’un tribunal administratif ou d’un tribunal judiciaire étranger, etc.).  Ce cours transsystémique porte principalement, mais non exclusivement, sur le rôle que jouent et que devraient jouer les tribunaux judiciaires canadiens. 
Method of Evaluation: In-term evaluation and sit-down open book final exam.                

Other Required

BUS2 365 Business Associations/Droit des affaires (4 credits)

Fall:
Section 001: Professor Victor Muñiz-Fraticelli
Description : This course examines the law relating to federal and Quebec business organisations, focusing on partnerships and especially business corporations. It aims to provide students with a trans‐systemic introduction to the basic legal concepts underpinning the creation, management and governance of business associations. The term “trans‐systemic” is taken to mean not simply the side‐by‐side comparison of legal doctrine, although we will do some of that, but rather the attempt to gain insight into the way in which the corporation works across and between legal orders. We will therefore look at the operation of business associations diachronically (across time in the same or in different jurisdictions) and synchronically (across contemporary jurisdictions).

Method of Evaluation: Quiz-Partnership agreement exercise-Corporate constitution exercise- Shareholder meeting exercise-Final Exam

Winter:
Section 001:Professor Omar Farahat 
Description: TBA
Method of Evaluation: TBA 

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PRAC 200 Advocacy (1 credit)
Winter

Section 001: TBA
Description: TBA
Method of Evaluation: TBA

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For students in the program prior to 2016-2017:

PUB2 111 Criminal Law/Droit pénal (3 credits)

NOTE: Not open to students who have taken LAWG 110D1/D2 Criminal Justice/Justice pénale.

Fall:
Section 003 (Français): Me Maxime Hébrard
Description: Ce cours porte sur le droit pénal substantif canadien. Nous nous pencherons sur le système judiciaire canadien, sur les principes fondamentaux du droit pénal, sur les éléments inculpatoires et disculpatoires de la responsabilité pénale, ainsi que sur l’extension de la responsabilité pénale aux infractions incomplètes et aux tiers. Nous n’aborderons pas en détail la procédure criminelle, la preuve criminelle et les principes de détermination de la peine, qui font l’objet de cours à part entière. Ce cours vise à familiariser l’étudiant(e) avec le système pénal canadien, son fonctionnement et ses grands principes, lui inculquer les concepts fondamentaux de la responsabilité pénale de façon à pouvoir les appliquer à des cas concrets, et lui permettre de développer une pensée critique à l’égard du droit positif. 

Method of Evaluation: Travail durant la session (33,3%), Examen final (66,6%)

Winter:
Section 001: Me Robert Israel
Description (LAST YEAR): An introduction to Canadian Criminal Law as developed in the Criminal Code, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the common law. This course will examine the fundamental principles of criminal liability, from the presumption of innocence to the central elements of a crime (actus reus and mens rea). Various means of defending against charges will also be explored. Our analysis will focus on several specific offences.
The roles of the prosecutor and the defence attorney will also be considered, as will the purpose of criminal law in Canadian society.
Method of Evaluation (LAST YEAR): 33.3% in-term assignment and 66.6% Final Exam (24-Hour Take-Home)

PROC 124 Judicial Institutions & Civil Procedure/Droit judiciare (3 credits)
See "2L Required" course listing

Transsystemic Courses

Students in the BCL/LLB program prior to 2016 may count the following courses as transsystemic course credits:

LAWG 504 Death and Property (3 credits)
See "Electives" course listing

​LEEL 570 Employment Law (3 credits)

See "Principles of [Canadian] Administrative Law" course listing

LAWG 415 Evidence (Civil Matters) (3 credits)

See "Electives" course listing

LAWG 273 Family Law / Droit de la famille (3 credits)

See "Electives" course listing

LAWG 316 Private International Law (3 credits)

See "Electives" course listing

LAWG 200 Commercial Law (3 credits)

See "Electives" course listing

LAWG 400 Secured Transactions (4 credits)

See "Electives" course listing

Civil Law Immersion

BUS2 561 Insurance/Assurance (3 credits)
Winter 2018

Section 003&010 (Français): Co-taught: Prachi Shah, David, Nathalie, McCann, Trevor, Constant, Louis-Philippe Clyde 
Description: Le cours couvre les éléments fondamentaux du droit des assurances, tant en droit civil québécois qu'en common law canadienne. Les sujets suivants seront notamment abordés: le contexte historique de l’assurance; les différents acteurs et les dispositions législatives et réglementaires; la formation du contrat d’assurance ; l’interprétation du contrat d’assurance; les assurance responsabilité, de biens et de personnes; la subrogation; les problèmes de couverture. Le cours permettra à l’étudiant d’acquérir des connaissances sur l’industrie de l’assurance et de comprendre le droit régissant ce type de contrat au Canada. Le cours étant enseigné par des praticiens, l’étudiant sera en mesure de saisir la manière dont les règles de droit sont appliquées au quotidien. 
Method of Evaluation: TBA

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PROC 200 Advanced Civil Law Obligations (3 credits)

Fall:
Section 001: Professor Kun Fan
Description (LAST YEAR): The first objective of this course is to allow students to have a deeper understanding of the civil law tradition and its methodology, through a concrete examination of the key elements of the law of obligations in the commercial settings. The course explores the main rules and principles regulating problems and interpretation of legally enforceable agreements, such as the formation of the contract, express and implied terms of the contract, breach, remedies and vitiating factors. The key for the course is to address essential features of the culture of the civil law, such as the place of written norms, codification, connection to romano-germanic sources, axiomatic formalism, etc. Throughout the course students will be expected to discuss the part played by contracts in facilitating economic and social co-ordination in a free community with particular reference to Québec’s context.
We will adopt an approach that places the study of legal obligations in the context of cultures, values, institutions and practices of different civil law traditions, so that students gain a broader understanding of characteristics of the civil law tradition.  The course is explicitly organized through problem-based learning, relying on the personal responsibility of students for their learning.  It requires a willingness to work in teams, a commitment to rigorous attention to written sources, and a desire to master the basic material in unconventional ways.  
Method of Evaluation (LAST YEAR): A final in-class examination, a team project, and a participation component.      

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PRV2 270 Law of Persons (3 credits)
Winter

Section 001: TBA
Description: TBA
Method of Evaluation: TBA

Common Law Immersion

PRV3 200 Advanced Common Law Obligations (3 credits)
Winter

Section 001: Professor Mark Antaki
Description (LAST YEAR): Advanced Common Law Obligations invites you to better appreciate and understand private law obligations in the common law tradition. We will explore the ways of speaking and reasoning of the common law as well as selected issues and problems in the substantive law of obligations.
Method of Evaluation (LAST YEAR): Final assignment and other in-term assessments

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PRV3 534 Remedies (3 credits)
Fall

Section 001&009: Professor Stephen Smith
Description: Focussing primarily on the common law, this course provides a critical examination of the law relating to court rulings made in the context of private law disputes 
Method of Evaluation (LAST YEAR): Final examination 50%, assignment 50%.

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PRV4 500 Restitution (3 credits)
Winter

Section 001&009: Professor Lionel Smith
Description: This course examines the common law of restitution for unjust enrichment. This includes the place of unjust enrichment in private law and competing ways of understanding claims in unjust enrichment; the elements of a claim in unjust enrichment, including the various grounds on which such a claim can be made; methods of restitution of unjust enrichment; and defences to claims for restitution.
Prerequisites: Common Law Property; Business Associations. 
Format: Lectures, discussion and student presentations (individuals and/or groups)
Method of Evaluation: Individual and/or group presentations; mid-term assignment; final examination

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PRV4 549 Equity and Trusts (3 credits)
Winter

Section 001&009: Professor Lionel Smith
Description: This course examines the common law trust, which is a mode of holding property. Topics will include the historical foundations of the trust as a creature of equity; the nature of the trust; its many applications in the modern world; the creation and conditions of validity of the trust; powers and obligations of trustees; breach of trust and its consequences; trusts arising by operation of law; and the termination of trusts. A theme underlying the whole course is the practical and theoretical implications of the juridical nature of the common law trust as a relationship with respect to property.
Prerequisites: Common Law Property; Business Associations
Format: Lectures, discussion and student presentations (individuals and/or groups)
Method of Evaluation: Individual and/or group presentations; mid-term assignment; final examination

Complementary Social Diversity, Human Rights and Indigenous Law

CMPL 500 Aboriginal Peoples and the Law (3 credits)
Fall

Section 001&009: T. Raybould 
Description: The history of Indigenous title and rights litigation tells us as much about the views of society towards Indigenous peoples and about the process of social change as it does about the law itself.  Historically, the law and the courts have played a central role in justifying the colonization of Indigenous Peoples and the acquisition of Indigenous Peoples’ lands and the denial of rights.  In contrast, during the modern era, and, in particular, since the inclusion of section 35 in the Constitution Act, 1982, the law and the courts have been increasingly used in an attempt to change patterns of relations between Indigenous Peoples and the Crown based on recognition of Indigenous Peoples’ rights with a call for “reconciliation”.  In large part, it is as a result of recent litigation that Indigenous Peoples are today in period of profound transition, rebuilding their societies in the wake of the colonial experience. Through a critical analysis of the organization, development and evolution of the case law respecting Indigenous title and rights, students will gain an understanding of the historical, current, and possible future roles and responsibilities of the law, legal processes, and judiciary in contributing to reconciliation. 
Method of Evaluation: 60% for completion of two short reflection pieces during the semester of (1,250 – 1,500 words each). 30% for completion of the in-class project and presentation.   10% for participation in the in-class dialogues, activities, and group work

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CMPL 516 International Development Law (3 credits)
Winter

Section 001&009: Professor Fabien Gélinas & Professor Nandini Ramanujam
Description (LAST YEAR): This course will explore evolving understandings on the relationship between the law – domestic, international, transnational, formal or informal – and development. This relationship has been one of the central concerns of both social scientists and development professionals. A significant focus of the course will be on the interaction between laws and institutions in the context of socio-economic development. The course will also provide a forum for students to critically analyse concepts such as the right to development and the human rights approach to development more generally. The course will be interdisciplinary in nature, drawing upon literature from economic, cultural, and legal theories of development as well as contemporary literature on the concept of the rule of law, international documentation, and selected case studies.
Method of Evaluation (LAST YEAR): This course will count towards writing requirements of the BCL/LLB Program. One 8,000-word paper (75%) - you will have the choice between preparing a case study analysis, a normative policy paper based on material studied in the course, or working on a novel topic in the field of law & development; Class participation (15%); MyCourses blog entry (10%). 

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CMPL 565 International Humanitarian Law (3 credits)
Fall

Section 001&009: Alain Guy Tachou Sipowo
Description: International humanitarian law, as a set of rules designed to regulate situations and behaviour marked by chaos, challenges our very notion of law.  Politically, international humanitarian law has become a significant factor in international relations generally, and for Canada’s foreign policy in particular.  At a substantive level, international humanitarian law has experienced exponential development in the last fifteen years, largely in reaction to a series of armed conflicts in which the belligerents’ conduct has been scrutinized by the international community.  As a result, humanitarian law has emerged as a complex and unique regime to protect a series of fundamental individual and community interests during wartime.  The seminar aims to provide students with an overview of the basic principles of international humanitarian law while at the same time stimulating critical perspectives on the current state of rules aimed at the protection of the victims of war.
Method of Evaluation: 75% Final Essay-25% class participation, two 500-word critiques, present paper and lead discussions 

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CMPL 571 International Law of Human Rights (3 credits)
Winter

Section 001&009: TBA
Description: The phrase “Human Rights” often features as a catchy slogan and ultimate point of reference in the discourse of states seeking to justify their policies or attempting to garner support and shore up legitimacy for practices that they are implementing vis-à-vis state and non-state actors. Yet “human rights” have also had an impact that goes beyond mere rhetoric: spearheading developments in the international criminal law enforcement through the creation of international criminal tribunals and special courts. But are human rights really of universal value? Is international human rights law really state law? If so, what is the nature and scope of the application of human rights and how have they been enforced at the international level and within states?

To answer this and other questions, the course seeks to introduce students to international human rights law, including its historical development, evolution, sources, standards and institutions. It will trace developments in the substantive protection of human rights before and after the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the two Covenants, and highlight the debate regarding the universality/cultural relativism of human rights as well as arguments regarding the indivisibility and interdependence of rights. In addition, the course will provide an introductory overview of different categories of rights including group rights (self determination, minorities, refugees and indigenous people). A selection of other substantive rights will be examined such as the right to development, women’s rights and the right to the integrity of the person. A substantial part of the course will survey the wide range of instruments and mechanisms promoting and protecting human rights standards and norms at the international (UN) and regional levels (African, European, Inter-American), before addressing current challenges such as the application of human rights in armed conflict; while countering terrorism or by non-state actors.  Another theme that will be briefly addressed is the role of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the implementation of human rights. 
Prerequisites: Public International Law  
Format: Lecture
Method of Evaluation: Participation (10%); presentation on topic covered in class (25%); final research paper of 8,000 words (65%). 
Biography: TBA

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CMPL 573 Civil Liberties (3 credits)
Fall 

Section 001&009: Professor Pearl Eliadis
Description : The course examines civil liberties from a legal, historical, and social perspective. The roles of the State, civil society, and the media, are examined as catalysts or, conversely, "disenablers" of these rights and freedoms. The course takes students through both traditional and emerging topics, from torture and fundamental freedoms, to cyber-surveillance, secularism, prisoners' rights, and the right to die. A key theme is the intersection between civil liberties and equality law which is examined through the lens of Indigenous peoples, people with disabilities and trans people who have historically been excluded from the protections of civil liberties. Guest lecturers will offer alternative perspectives and different voices to the perspectives raised in the course. In addition to Canadian and international human rights law, the course will also look at key decisions from other jurisdictions.
Prerequisites: Constitutional Law. Graduate students should have a strong background in public law and international human rights law. 
Method of Evaluation: Research paper (fulfills faculty writing requirement - 75%) and combined alternative methods (presentations, short research reports) for the remaining 25%. No final exam.

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CMPL 575 Discrimination and the Law (3 credits) 
Winter

Section 001&009: Professor Colleen Sheppard
Description (LAST YEAR): The purpose of the seminar is to provide you with an opportunity to do advanced research and writing on a topic related to discrimination and inequality.  The course is designed to introduce you to key conceptual debates and legal developments surrounding equality rights in both the statutory human rights, international and constitutional domains.  We will inquire into the multiple roles that the law plays in both perpetuating systemic inequalities and in promoting social and legal equality.  We will also examine the importance of developing a contextual and structural approach to equality rights from a micro, institutional and macro perspective.
Method of Evaluation (LAST YEAR): research-based term paper (approximately 8,000 words - excluding footnotes & bibliography) 75%- a short oral presentation of your research findings 15%-seminar participation 10%

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LAWG 505 Critical Engagements with HR (3 credits)
Fall

Section 001: Professor Nandini Ramanujam
Description (LAST YEAR): This seminar examines the connections between the theory and practice of human rights. It explores theoretical, ethical and strategic issues related to human rights discourse, advocacy and activism, and critically examines fact finding, monitoring and reporting, litigation, grass roots mobilization and media engagement in advancing human rights.

The seminar is built upon recognition that students bring knowledge, experience and a diversity of perspectives to the classroom. The seminar draws heavily from students’ experiences, which guide the exploration of theoretical, ethical, and strategic issues related to human rights work.  It represents part of an innovative clinical education program developed at the Faculty.

The second half of the course is conceived as a writing workshop with the aim of translating field experiences into academic writing. The seminar employs participatory and collaborative learning strategies and the research and writing was guided through a systematic peer review process.

Students who register in the course must have completed a Human Rights Internship, unless permission is granted by the instructor.
Prerequisites (LAST YEAR): Human Rights Internship Field Placement (open to students who have pursued independent internships).
Method of Evaluation (LAST YEAR): 15 per cent class participation (rubric attached to the syllabus), 35 per cent – Group project and class presentation (suggested themes, project guideline and group composition attached to the syllabus), 50 per cent final paper and participation in the peer review process (guidelines attached to the syllabus.

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LEEL 369 Labour Law/Droit du travail (3 credits)
Fall

Section 003 (Français): Maude Choko
Description: Le cours a pour objectif de permettre l’identification des concepts clés des rapports collectifs de travail au Québec. Il vise l’étude du régime général encadrant les rapports collectifs de travail, soit le Code du travail du Québec. Il vise à susciter la réflexion quant aux principaux enjeux entourant le régime général, son champ d’application, ses limites. 
Method of Evaluation: la participation en classe sera de 20%, l’examen final de 60 à 80% et l’évaluation facultative de 20%

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LEEL 582 Law & Poverty (3 credits)
Winter

Section 001&009: TBA
Description: This course investigates the law’s relationship with poor and socially marginalized people and groups.  It examines the potential and limits of constitutional law, administrative law, domestic and international law for addressing poverty related issues through case studies in areas that have a significant effect on poor and marginalized people, such as housing, social welfare and criminal law. Major themes include access to justice, equality of arms, state-funded legal aid, test case litigation, the relationship between international, domestic, local and community legal orders, and issues of enforcement and accountability. 
Method of Evaluation: Independent work, presentations, journals and substantive class participation

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PUB2 105 Public International Law/Droit international public (3 credits)

Fall:
Section 003 (Français): Professeur François Crépeau
Description: Description: Ce cours envisagera l'émergence historique d'un droit international entre États ainsi que la théorie qui sous‐tend le droit international. Le cours couvrira un certain nombre de grandes questions telles que la théorie des sujets du droit international, la théorie des sources du droit international, et le rôle des institutions du droit international. Il sera aussi l'occasion, à travers l'étude d'un certain nombre de crises et de grandes affaires internationales, de s'interroger sur les possibilités d’un « ordre international » effectif. Quelques grands thèmes seront envisagés tels que la souveraineté territoriale et ses limites, le droit des délimitations territoriales, le droit des immunités, la Charte des Nations Unies, le droit international des droits de l’homme, etc. 
Format: Seminar
Method of Evaluation: TBA

Winter:
Section 001: Professor Payam Akhavan
Description (LAST YEAR): This course is an introduction to the public international legal order, focusing on the complex inter-relationship between normative aspirations, power realities, and the globalization process. The concept, viability, and discourse of legal authority in a decentralized system of sovereign States will be explored through the prism of diverse topics ranging from human rights to the use of force. The influence and practical consequences of this peculiar system on the emergence, content, and implementation of norms will also be examined. In addition, the transformation of the elements and attributes of State sovereignty will be assessed in light of the proliferation of diverse non-State actors such as liberation movements, non-governmental organizations, and transnational corporations. Beyond this distinct normative system, a significant part of the course is dedicated to understanding the interrelationship between international law and domestic law, and its far-reaching impact on Canadian constitutional law. Upon completion of the course, students should be (1) conversant with the basic principles, rules, processes and institutions of public international law; (2) capable of applying these to the analysis of legal issues; (3) proficient in international law research; (4) be able to critically evaluate various aspects of the public international legal system; and (5) develop an informed opinion about the relevance and viability of public international law.
Method of Evaluation (LAST YEAR): An open‐book exam, worth 70% of the final grade; 2. A concise 500‐word writing assignment on a selected topic worth 20% of the final grade; and 3. Active participation in class throughout the course, worth 10% of the final grade. Students will be called upon to discuss the assigned readings and should prepare for classes accordingly. Familiarity with class discussions will also be necessary for parts of the final exam.

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PUB2 500 Law & Psychiatry (3 credits) 
Winter

Section 001&009: Derek Jones
Description: For centuries, mental health conditions have bedeviled law and society. From the lunacy statutes and insanity defense of the 19th century, to the asylum laws and deinstitutionalization rulings of the 20th century, to human rights and therapeutic justice-inspired laws of the 21st century, the law has played a diversity of roles with psychiatry.

This seminar explores the dynamic dimensions of law and mental health.

We begin with an overview of evolving scientific knowledge and understanding, the social construction of mental “disorders,” and their treatment by institutionalization, surgical and shock therapy, drugs, counseling, etc. The overview is intended to advance critical reflection on the roles of law as it interfaces with psychiatry/mental health sciences and modern interdisciplinary thought. We then draw on diverse sources of mental health law – e.g., human rights, equality and disability law; health, torts and administrative law; criminal law -- to examine traditional and novel issues: informed consent and rights to treatment, provider-client relations, competency/capacity, civil commitment and community treatment, human research, medical liability, forensic psychiatry, stigmatization theory and disability discrimination. The analyses draw on international and comparative norms to contrast the strengths, limits and voids of Canadian law.

Method of Evaluation (LAST YEAR): class participation -written assignment-final paper 

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PUB2 502 International Criminal Law (3 credits)
Winter

Section 001&009: Professor Payam Akhavan
Description: This course is an introduction to international criminal law, based on the law and practice of contemporary international criminal jurisdictions. These include the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), and the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Throughout most of modern history, criminal law has been part of domestic rather than international law.  A turning point was the establishment in 1945 of the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg to try the Nazi leaders, and the International Military Tribunal for the Far-East, to try the Japanese leaders.  At the conclusion of these proceedings in 1946, the United Nations International Law Commission was called upon to draft a treaty for establishing a permanent international criminal jurisdiction.  Because of Cold War politics however, this would not come to pass until 1998, when the Statute of the ICC was adopted at the Rome Diplomatic Conference.  This Statute built upon the ICTY and ICTR precedents, established in 1993 and 1994 respectively, following the horrors of “ethnic cleansing” in the former Yugoslavia and the genocide in Rwanda.  Thus, over the past twenty years, international criminal law has been transformed from a marginal subject of historical curiosity to a burgeoning and revolutionary field that has significantly impacted the international legal order.  There is now a substantial body of jurisprudence and scholarship on a broad range of legal issues that forms the subject of this course.

This course will examine international criminal law bearing in mind the context of mass-atrocities.  In particular, a recurring theme will be whether it is possible to simply graft the principles and assumptions underlying national criminal law onto international criminal jurisdictions in order to prosecute the State-sponsored or systematic commission of otherwise ordinary crimes (e.g. murder, rape, etc.) that are deemed international crimes because of a factor of scale and gravity typically involving massive victimization.  Students are encouraged not only to master the legal issues, but also to think critically about both the limits and potentials of “doing justice” for such heinous crimes.

Topics covered include: the historical evolution of international criminal tribunals; the legal basis for international criminal jurisdiction; State cooperation in the arrest and surrender of accused persons; the sources of international criminal law; immunity of Heads of States and other officials; the definition of war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, aggression, torture, terrorism, and piracy; the attribution of individual criminal liability including command responsibility; and grounds for the exclusion of criminal responsibility (defences).
Prerequisites: Criminal Law and Public International Law (Recommended)
Format: Seminar
Method of Evaluation: Writing assignment (20%); class participation (10%); final exam (70%).

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PUB2 551 Immigration & Refugee Law (3 credits)
Fall

Section 001&009: Professor François Crépeau
Description: The history of humankind is that of a constant migration towards more stability and more prosperity. Over the past fifty years, migration has considerably changed, in nature, in distance and in numbers. Proactive immigration policies in the New World traditionally contrast with the “Fortress Europe” nationalist vision, although populism has blurred the border between the two in recent years. 20^th Century was that of refugees. 21^st century will be that of migrants. This seminar aims at understanding the multiple drivers of migration dynamics, exploring its complexity, and analysing the causes and effects of contemporary migration policies. This seminar therefore explores various aspects of mobility and migration, as they affect the two paradigms of international law, i.e. territorial sovereignty and human rights, and tries to draw the outline of a common conceptual framework for understanding domestic migration and mobility policies and practices, as well as regional and global migration governance issues: definition and relationship between “forced” and “voluntary” migration, repression of irregular migration, temporary migrant worker programmes, anti-trafficking policies, the securitisation of migration and border policies, climate-change-induced migration, gender- and age-related migration policy issues, the empowerment of migrants as rights-holders, the negotiation of the Global Compact on Migration, etc..
Format: Seminar
Method of Evaluation: 35% team presentation -65% final exam

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PUB3 515 Canadian Charter of Rights & Freedoms (3 credits)
Fall

Section 001&009: Professor Vrinda Narain
Description: This course explores the structure, meaning and impact of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, examining in depth selected themes and specific rights issues arising under the Charter including Religious Freedom and Multiculturalism; Equality and Grounds of Discrimination; and Aboriginal Rights and the Charter. The course seeks to provide students with a framework for analyzing the debates that shape Charter jurisprudence. It is designed to assist students in critically evaluating Charter rights from doctrinal, theoretical and practical perspectives.

As far as possible, the course will be run as a lecture/advanced seminar class. Classroom time will be distributed between lectures and seminar discussions. Students are expected to attend class, participate actively and be prepared to discuss the issues raised in the assigned readings. 

Method of Evaluation : Mid-term assignment: 25%, Final Exam take home: 75%

Principles of [Canadian] Administrative Law

BUS1 532 Bankruptcy & Insolvency (3 credits)

FALL

Section 001&009: Me Kenneth Atlas 
Description: Canadian federal bankruptcy and insolvency laws, including the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act and the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act. Contrasting Canadian and other laws. Purpose of bankruptcy and insolvency laws. Voluntary and involuntary bankruptcy. Nature of claims provable in bankruptcy. Priorities. Workouts and corporate restructuring, both as an alternative to and using insolvency laws (proposals and Plans of Arrangement). Effects on creditors, property, individual bankrupts. Avoidance powers. Discharges from bankruptcy. Current events and implications.
Prerequisites: Secured Transactions recommended
Format: Lecture
Method of Evaluation: 25% mid‐term, 75 % final exam

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BUS2 504 Securities Regulation (3 credits)
Winter

Section 001&009: TBA
Description (LAST YEAR): This course will introduce students to the regulatory regime governing the distribution of securities in Canada; the disclosure and governance requirements entities that issue such securities have imposed on them Canada by virtue of making such a distribution; the making of takeover bids and merger transactions; and the regulation of securities intermediaries.
Method of Evaluation (LAST YEAR): optional mid-term assignment; take-home final exam

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CMPL 543 Law and Practice of International Trade (3 credits)
Winter

Section 001&009: TBA
Description: TBA
Method of Evaluation: TBA

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CMPL 575 Discrimination and the Law (3 credits)
See "Complementary Social Diversity, Human Rights and Indigenous Law" course listing

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CMPL 577 Communications Law (3 credits)
Fall

Section 001&009: Dr. Sunny Handa
Description: This course deals with both the carriage and content dimensions of communications law and with regulatory institutions and regimes; it also touches upon related areas of law such as copyright law and other laws that apply to the distribution of content on the Internet. The central jurisdictional example used throughout the course will be Canada and the role of the CRTC (telecommunications and broadcasting), Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (telecommunications and radiocommunications) and the Department of Canadian Heritage (broadcasting). The course will track the tension between economic regulation in telecommunications and cultural policy in broadcasting and the new paradigm being brought forward by the Internet. Technological and business convergence, rapid change in business organizations, international business structures and the role of the Internet will form the backdrop to the course.
Method of Evaluation: Participation (25%), Quizzes (30%), Presentation (15%), Paper (30%)

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CMPL 580 Environment & the Law (3 credits)
Fall

Section 001&009: TBA
Description: TBA
Method of Evaluation: TBA

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LEEL 369 Labour Law (3 credits)
See "Complementary Social Diversity, Human Rights and Indigenous Law" course listing

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LEEL 570 Employment Law (3 credits)
Winter

​Considered transsystemic for students in the program prior to 2016-2017.

Section 001&009: Professor Adelle Blackett
LANGUAGE OF INSTRUCTION: This course is taught in English, but students should expect significant reading and in-class discussion in both French and English

Description: This course provides a transsystemic study of the individual employment relationship. It examines the historical development of private law notions of the master-servant relationship, and considers the impact of codal reform, protective statutory regimes and human rights law on employment law and practice. Throughout the course, the relationship between economic globalization and the efficacy of existing approaches to governing employment will be explored. Challenges to the territorial regulation of employment law within the nation state will be explored, including the regulation of labour market informality, and of migrant labour.

PREREQUISITES : There are no prerequisites

SEMINAR:  No, but a premium is placed on participation

Method of Evaluation: Optional Assignment: 25%, Final Examination: 75 or 50%, participation: 25%

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LEEL 582 Law & Poverty (3 credits)
See "Complementary Social Diversity, Human Rights and Indigenous Law" course listing

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PUB2 400 The Administrative Process (3 credits)
Winter

Section 001: Professor Richard Janda
Description (LAST YEAR): Your first encounter with the law as law students might have given rise to the misleading impression that the law is comprised of a body of rules of general application administered by courts of general jurisdiction. Basic private law, criminal law, commercial law and constitutional law norms appear to work that way. Yet there is a myriad of institutional settings outside courts within which legal norms are generated, interpreted and applied. This is true even, and perhaps especially, of the formal institutions of the political state. Having set the scene for the nature of administrative process as government in miniature, we will explore a set of case studies meant to illustrate the roles and functions of the different agencies through which policy can be rendered into effective compliance. These include an economic regulatory agency, a human rights commission, a criminal injuries compensation board, a licensing-inspection agency, an ombudsman, a freedom of information commissioner, a Crown corporation and a self-regulatory voluntary association. These are not intended to give you an encyclopedic knowledge of the vast and intricate corridors of public and private power. They are, rather, meant to provide a synoptic illustration of the range of institutions, forms, processes and purposes by which legal normativity in contemporary human is generated, understood and deployed.
Method of Evaluation (LAST YEAR): Group exercises on creation and application of an administrative regime (50%); blog post contributions (25%); Take home exam (25%)

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PUB2 401 Judicial Review of Admin Action (3 credits)

Fall:
Section 003 (Français): Me Alexander Pless
Description (LAST YEAR): Le sujet de ce cours de droit public est la théorie et la pratique du contrôle judiciaire de l’action administrative. Nous nous pencherons donc sur le droit qui émane des décisions juridiques en matière de contrôle judiciaire des décisions administratives. La jurisprudence à l’étude provient de différents domaines du droit, notamment du droit du travail, du droit de l’immigration, du droit environnemental, du droit municipal, du droit des licenses commerciales, du droit de la communication, du droit bancaire et du droit des valeurs mobilières. Dans chacun de ces domaines, des agences administratives sont mandatées pour interpréter et implémenter des régimes de droit public complexes. Comme nous le verrons, les administrateurs publics ont développé leur propre compréhension du mandat que leur donne la loi habilitante ; leurs pratiques, directives et décisions illustrent la mise en oeuvre et l’application particulière de cette délégation de pouvoirs.

Method of Evaluation : 30%  travail optionel et examen final 70% (ou 100% sans travail optionel). 

Recommendation: NO prerequisite.  However, students may enjoy taking it at the same time as Admin Pro, but it is not a prerequisite.  

Winter:

Section 001: Professor Evan Fox-Decent
Description (LAST YEAR): Can a judge order the Prime Minister to seek clemency for a Canadian on death row in the U.S.? Can the CRTC suspend the license of a radio station because the shock-jock makes defamatory remarks? Does the Barreau need to give you a copy of your exam if you fail the Bar admission course? These are the problems of administrative law. The course examines the theory and practice of judicial review of administrative action. The theoretical questions are the central ones to our democratic system and the separation of powers in Canada. The practice touches almost every area of substantive law where government action is present. If constitutional law is concerned with the making of law, administrative law concerns its application.

You are encouraged to take Administrative Process prior to or concurrently with this course, since the focus of that offering is the internal law developed by administrative agencies, and it is judicial review of the law and its outcomes that comprises the subject matter of the present course. Note as well that you should take this course, Judicial Review, if you wish to participate in the Laskin Moot. Having taken this course will count in your favour during the selection of McGill’s Laskin team.
Prerequisites (LAST YEAR): Administrative Process (Recommended)
Method of Evaluation (LAST YEAR): oral presentation, group assignment, open-book exam

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PUB2 500 Law & Psychiatry (3 credits)
See "Complementary Social Diversity, Human Rights and Indigenous Law" course listing

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PUB2 551 Immigration & Refugee Law (3 credits)
See "Complementary Social Diversity, Human Rights and Indigenous Law" course listing

Electives

Graduate students are eligible to register for 500-level courses or higher. You may also wish to consult courses in the following tabs: Graduate Courses, Civil Law Immersion, Common Law Immersion, Complementary Social Diversity, Human Rights and Indigenous Law, and Principles of [Canadian] Administrative Law. Make sure to look for sections 009 & 010.

BUS2 502 Intellectual and Industrial Property/Propriété intellectuelle (3 credits)

Fall: 
Section 003&010 (Français): Professeur Pierre-Emmanuel Moyse
Description: Ce cours a pour objectif de présenter les principaux droits intellectuels, soit le droit des marques, le droit d’auteur et, dans une proportion moindre, le droit des brevets, d’introduire les questions fondamentales posées dans les débats actuels concernant la protection des objets immatériels. La participation étudiante sera fortement encouragée. Vous serez invités à prendre part à de nombreux évènements organisés par le Centre des politiques en propriété intellectuelle (CIPP) de la Faculté de droit dont votre professeur est le directeur.  
Prerequisites (LAST YEAR): Civil Law Property 
Method of Evaluation (LAST YEAR): 10% IP News, 30% mid-term assignment and 60% final

Winter: 
Section 001&009: Professor Richard Gold
Description (LAST YEAR): Intellectual property (IP) law provides a means through which to analyze the ways in which legal systems and markets seek to regulate aspects of innovation and creativity. Taking both a transsystemic and interdisciplinary approach, this course will investigate not only IP legislation, but how common law and civil law systems interpret those laws, the politics around IP, especially at the international level, the history of different IP regimes, and other aspects of innovation and creativity. The course will cover patent, copyright and trademark law but will also briefly touch on trade secrets, genetic resources, traditional knowledge and plant variety protection. As patent law will provide a central focus in this course, students ought to be generally familiar with basic biology, genetics and information & communications technologies.

Prerequisites: Innovation (or equivalent); Common Law Property suggested
Method of Evaluation (LAST YEAR): Participation-Paper-Final Exam

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BUS2 505 Corporate Finance (3 credits)
Fall

Section 001&009: Me Marc Barbeau
Description:  This course introduces students to the relationships between corporations and the principal participants in their financial capital structure. Corporations raise capital essentially in one of two ways: they either borrow money or issue debt obligations (debt) or issue shares (equity). These forms of financing create rights, obligations and expectations. In this course, we will carefully examine related considerations. A table of content materials will be made available providing required and discretionary readings. 
Prerequisites:  This course presupposes an understanding of the nature and governance of corporations. As such, Business Associations (or its equivalent) is a requirement, although derogations have been agreed to on a case-by-case basis.
Method of Evaluation : The mode of evaluation for this course is: (i) a 75% take home final exam, to be available during the term’s final exam period and to be completed within six hours of having been accessed by the student (3000 words limit in English); and (ii) a 25% mid‐term take‐home test, to be available during a one‐week mid‐term period to be determined and to be completed within six hours of having been accessed by the student (500 words limit in English). Each student must work independently on the exam or test. Any student who is unsure what this means is strongly encouraged to consult the Faculty regulations.

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BUS2 531 Banking Law (3 credits)
Fall

Section 0001&009: Me Marc Lemieux

Biography:Me Lemieux has been practicing financial services law for nearly 25 years. He is a member of the Bars of Quebec and Ontario, and acts for clients in court cases, in commercial transactions and in regulatory compliance matters. He also is a certified mediator and arbitrator.
Description (LAST YEAR): This course focusses on the forms of payment that banks and other participants make available for use in Canada: cheques and drafts, letters of credit, credit, debit and prepaid cards, automated fund transfers (direct deposits and pre-authorized debits), electronic fund transfers and e-wallets. The main themes to be studied include: How is the payment industry regulated in Canada? What rules govern the various forms of payment? How are bank accounts and other payment and collection accounts instrumental in payment transactions? What legal relationships, statutory duties and other liabilities arise in payment transactions? Recent developments and emerging issues are discussed in a practical and trans-systemic manner. Class participation is encouraged. Format: Interactive lectures, class discussions.
Prerequisites: Contracts and Torts

Method of Evaluation: Two mid-term take-home assignments (each worth 25% of the final grade) and one open-book final exam (worth 50% of the final grade

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CMPL 501 Jurisprudence (3 credits)

Fall

Section 001&009: Professor Evan Fox-Decent
Description (LAST YEAR): This is a course about the purpose, nature and legitimacy of law.  The course’s method will be to read closely and discuss critically Hobbes’s Leviathan.  Hobbes is regarded as the greatest English-language political and legal philosopher of all time.  Leviathan is his masterpiece. The arguments and ideas contained within Leviathan still resonate through disciplines such as law, philosophy, political science and economics. Over the term we will focus on Hobbes’s discussion of law and the state.  More specifically, we will explore Hobbes’s views on the nature of authority, liberty, legal obligation, the duty to obey the law, the role of the judge, the role of legal institutions and legal principles within legal order, and the limits (if any) on the sovereign’s authority to announce and enforce law. 
Method of Evaluation (LAST YEAR): Ethics Lab (20%); group presentation and group assignment (30%); 2-hour open book final exam (50%).

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CMPL 506 Legal Theory (3 credits)
Winter

Section 001&009: Professor Victor Muñiz-Fraticelli
Description: What is the law of religious associations? Is it principally a matter of constitutional law, or are principles of private law involved in the regulation of religious groups? Do any extra-constitutional principles bear on their status? Is there a unified theory of how state law should approach religious organizations? Is such a theory possible or even desirable? The course will focus on (some of) the ways in which state law governs the recognition, constitution, governance, internal disputes, obligations and liability of churches and other analogous religious groups.

Method of Evaluation: Class participation/presentations, Final Paper

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CMPL 513 Talmudic Law  (3 credits) 

Winter

Section 001, 002 &009: Rabbi Michael Whitman ​
Description: We will trace the philosophical, theological, and historical foundations of classical Jewish Law. We will also study the methodology and structure of Jewish Law. We will seek to formulate an understanding of the process of decision making in Jewish Law, as distinct from the process in Civil Law or in Common Law. Then, in the second half of the course, we will apply these principles to specific areas of law. This is a lecture course.

Method of Evaluation: The course will be evaluated based on class attendance (10%), responses to questions about reading (15%), and a research paper of 8,000 words (75%).

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CMPL 521 Trade Regulation (3 credits) 
Winter

Section 001&009: Professor Adelle Blackett
Description: This advanced research seminar examines the interface between trade law and social justice, with a focus on transnational labour law.  The course will proceed in three parts.  Part I will provide an historical contextualization of the underlying principles of the world trade system.  In particular, the course will develop the notions of treaty interpretation and the harmonization of laws.  Part II will explore the field of transnational labour law, surveying international labour standards and their growing relevance to multilateral and regional trade. Part III will focus on case studies, and leave space for class participants to take the lead in presenting and commenting upon their research papers.

Method of Evaluation: 75% paper, 25% participation

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CMPL 533 Resolution of International Disputes (3 credits)
Fall

Section 001&009: Professor Fabien Gélinas
Description (LAST YEAR): A seminar dealing with current methods of resolving international disputes, with an emphasis on international commercial arbitration.  Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanisms will also be examined in their international aspects.  The course will address the issue of transnational rules of law and the interplay between rules of public and of private international law, notably in the context of dispute resolution between states and private parties.  The programme will feature several high-profile speakers.
Prerequisites  Public International Law, Private International Law (recommended)
Method of Evaluation (LAST YEAR): BCL/LLB students: Participation, paper; LLM students: Participation, with class presentation, paper/oral exam option

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CMPL 536 European Union Law 1 (3 credits)
Fall

Section 001&009: Professor Armand de Mestral
Description: An analysis of the institutional provisions of the Treaties establishing the European Union creating a homogenous structure for commerce and competition within the Single Market. This course will stress the law governing the institutions, external relations, the relationship between community and domestic law and the process of judicial review by the Court of European Communities.  The central principles governing the free movement of goods, services, persons and capital in the internal market are covered as well as the principles of EU completion law. Comparisons are made with federal systems and free trade areas. The current challenges to the integrity of the EU posed by the UK’s Brexit vote, the EURO and the influx of refugees will also be discussed.
Prerequisites:  Public International Law recommended
Format: Lecture and class discussion
Method of Evaluation: Students are required to take a 3 hour partial open book examination worth 100% of the final grade. Students are strongly encouraged to also prepare an optional research paper of 15 pages in length (worth 33 1/3% of the final grade. In this case, the final exam is worth 66 2/3%).
Biography: Emeritus Professor, Jean Monnet Chair in Law;  Co-Director McGill - Université de Montréal, Institute of European Studies 2002- 8; Interim Director, Institute of Air and Space Law McGill University, 1998-2002; Senior Fellow CIGI 2014- ;  Recent publications : Second Thoughts: Investor-State Arbitration between Developed Democracies (2017); Improving International Investment Agreements, 2012 (co-author); International Law 7th Ed, 2006 ( co-author), Law and Practice of International Trade (2nd edition; 1999) ; The North American Free Trade Agreement – A Comparative Study,  Hague Academy of International Law , Receuil des cours (2000) Panelist and arbitrator in disputes under WTO, CUFTA  and NAFTA. Member of the Canadian Delegation to the UN Law of the Sea Conference 1973 -80. Consultant to NACEC and Law Commission of Canada.  President, Canadian Red Cross Society 1999-2001. Appointed Member of the Order of Canada December 28, 2007.
Teaching: International Trade Law; European Union Law; The Law of International Economic Integration; Public International Law; International Arbitration; Law of the Sea; International Environmental Law; Constitutional Law and Comparative Constitutional Law; International Humanitarian Law.

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CMPL 539 International Taxation (3 credits)
Winter

Section 001&009: Professor Allison Christians
Description (LAST YEAR): This course explores the principles and practice of international tax law under Canada’s Income Tax Act and its tax treaties. The course includes a discussion of both inbound (the taxation of employees, businesses, and investment in Canada by non-residents) and outbound (the taxation of employees, businesses, and investment outside of Canada by Canadian residents) elements of international tax. It also includes a discussion of the underlying tax policy justifications for the current international tax regime.
Method of Evaluation (LAST YEAR): class attendance-first written assignment-final written assignment

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LAWG 200 Commercial Law (3 credits)
Winter

​Considered transsystemic for students in the program prior to 2016-2017.

Section 001: Professor Jeffrey Edwards
Description: The contract of sale in the Civil Law and Common Law traditions; nature and scope of the contract of sale; conditions of formation; sale of property of another; obligations of the seller, including quality and title; obligations of the buyer; product liability; comparative reference made to the rules of the U.N. Convention on the International Sale of Goods and to American U.C.C. rules.  
Format: Lecture
Method of Evaluation: Final examination for 90% of the grade. There will be a 10% component of the evaluation for active participation in class throughout the course. Students also have the possibility to submit a paper on a subject to be agreed upon with the instructor. The paper will count for 40 % of the final grade and is to assist. A student who submits a paper will have the option to be exempt from completing questions having a weight of 40 % on the final exam.
Biography: *Judge of the Court of Quebec (Civil Division), B.C.L. (McGill), LL.B. (McGill), LL.D. (Laval), is a former practitioner who was one of the leading experts in Quebec in the law of product quality and defective workmanship. Adjunct Professor. He is the author of the reference book on the subject: La garantie de qualité du vendeur en droit québécois.  
**LL.B. (Université de Montréal). Attorney at the firm of Tutino Joseph Grégoire, a leading law firm in Quebec in the law of sale, construction law and product liability

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LAWG 273 Family Law/Droit de la famille (3 credits)
Fall

Considered transsystemic for students in the program prior to 2016-2017.

Section 001: Professor Angela Campbell
Description : This course is designed to introduce you to various doctrines of family law in Canadian common law and within Quebec civil law. We will examine formal law’s understanding of, and approaches to, the relationships that constitute “a family”, and the rights and obligations that exist within these relationships. We will take a critical perspective to the themes of filiation and adoption, custody and access by parents and other actors, child and spousal support, spousal unions, and separation and divorce. More specifically, we will ask whether the ways in which formal law conceptualizes and treats these issues is consistent with present realities for Canadian families.  
Method of Evaluation: Final Exam-In-Term Assignment

Section 003 (Français): Professeur Robert Leckey
Description: Le cours de Droit de la famille se veut une étude de l’état civil et des effets extrapatrimoniaux des rapports entre parents et enfants ainsi que ceux entre conjoints. Couvrant à la fois la common law et le droit civil, il examine notamment le contraste entre les rapports familiaux de droit et ceux considérés – à tort ou à raison – comme étant de fait. Le cours comportera un angle historique et se référera à des données empiriques sur les pratiques familiales courantes. Le cours abordera de nombreuses perspectives théoriques, parmi lesquelles se retrouvent les approches féministe, queer, pluraliste et économique. Le cours mettra un accent sur la lecture attentive des jugements et des lois. 
Method of Evaluation: un examen final take home de six heures valant 75% de la note; un travail écrit de 650 mots valant 25% de la note, rédigé en plusieurs étapes (dont la rédaction, l’évaluation par les pairs et la révision).

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LAWG 316 Private International Law (3 credits)
Fall

Considered transsystemic for students in the program prior to 2016-2017.

Section 001: Professor Catherine Walsh
Description: This course is concerned with multi-jurisdictional private law relationships and disputes with a focus on contractual and extra-contractual obligations. We will inquire into how court jurisdiction is established, what law governs transborder legal relationships and disputes, and the effect of court judgments across borders. Sources will focus on the law of Canadian provinces but European, American and international sources will also be examined.
Prerequisites: Judicial Institutions and Civil Procedure recommended
Format: Lecture and in-class discussion
Method of Evaluation: Final take-home examination (50%) and minimum of two in‐term problem or case based written assignments (25% each or best two grades if more than two are submitted)  

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LAWG 400 Secured Transactions (4 credits)

Fall

​Considered transsystemic for students in the program prior to 2016-2017.

Section 001: Professor Catherine Walsh
Description: This course is about the legal institutions by which debtors deploy their assets to secure the payment of an obligation due to their creditors and the relative rights of secured creditors as against other claimants. The course will focus primarily on security over movable property; only passing reference will be made to security over immovable property. Attention will be paid to the underlying economic and political logic of secured transaction regimes in market economies. The secured transactions regimes examined will primarily be the Personal Property Security Acts in effect in the twelve common law Canadian jurisdictions and the regime for hypothecary security and ownership-based security in the Civil Code of Quebec including the interaction of these regimes with federal bankruptcy and insolvency law and other federal law. Passing reference also will be made to international sources and other national sources.
Prerequisites: Property or Common Law Property recommended
Format: Lecture and in-class discussion 
Method of Evaluation: Final take-home examination (50%) and minimum of two in‐term problem or case based written assignments (25% each or best two grades if more than two are submitted)  

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LAWG 415 Evidence (Civil Matters)/Preuve civile (3 credits)
Fall

​Considered transsystemic for students in the program prior to 2016-2017.

Section 001: Dr. Giacomo Marchisio

Description:The law of evidence is concerned with the information used by adjudicative institutions—such as courts and arbitral tribunals—to resolve disputes. As adjudication typically involves the application of legal norms to facts, the law of evidence regulates the acquisition and use of information bearing on conclusions of both fact and law. As this course focuses on evidentiary issues relating to civil and commercial matters, it does not address issues that are specific to penal/criminal or administrative matters. While the emphasis throughout the course will be on the law of evidence applicable in Canada, it will primarily serve as a guide to understanding how evidentiary issues are typically regulated in the common law and civil law traditions. This course pursues three main objectives: first, to understand which issues are typically addressed by the law of evidence; second, to understand how those issues are regulated in modern legal systems; third, to develop the ability to reflect critically on the rules of evidence.

Method of Evaluation: Final Examination (sit-down, 50%),  Paper or Mid-term exam (30%), Class participation (20%) 

Winter

Section 003 (Français): Patrick Ferland

Description: Basic principles of evidence as applied and developed in the context of civil litigation in Quebec and in common law jurisdictions in Canada. Topics include: historical roots of the law of evidence; the role of the judge in the administration of evidence; burden and standard of proof; relevance and probative value; the different kinds of evidence, i.e. documentary evidence, testimonial evidence (lay and expert evidence), presumptions, admissions and real evidence; the principal rules of admissibility, including the hearsay rule and its exceptions, specific rules relating to the proof of contracts, and rules of extrinsic policy such as privileges, professional secrecy and the exclusion of improperly obtained evidence.

Prerequisites: N/A
Seminar: No
Method of Evaluation: Optional take-home exam (30%), final exam (sit down) (70%)

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LAWG 426 Evidence (Criminal Matters) (3 credits)
Winter

Section 001: TBA
Description: TBA
Method of Evaluation: TBA

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LAWG 502 Sustainable Development
Winter

Section 001/009: Professor Sébastien Jodoin – English
Description: This course aims to prepare students to design and implement innovative initiatives that seek to move the world toward more sustainable forms of development and related patterns of behaviour. Part I of the course introduces students to the key concepts, principles, and indicators of sustainable development and provides a guiding framework for the pursuit of change in a world characterized by significant complexity. Part II of the course exposes students to the basic skills required for the pursuit of various forms of change, namely design thinking, theory of change approaches, transformative leadership and social skill, and story-telling. Part III of the course examines the potential and limitations of different types of interventions that can be pursued to promote meaningful transitions to sustainability, including public interest litigation, policy advocacy, social mobilization, behavioural interventions, corporate social responsibility, and social entrepreneurship. In doing so, it explores multiple theories of change drawn from political science, economics, management, sociology, and social psychology that apply in various domains and at various scales. Part IV of the course focuses on an array of instruments of policy and governance that can be adopted to move the world towards a more sustainable path, including both “old governance” approaches that focus on regulatory enforcement and “new governance” approaches that emphasize the use of markets, social norms, and learning. Part V of the course features the presentations of the group projects completed by the students in the course. Ultimately, this course aims to provide students with the skills and knowledge that will enable them to develop a sophisticated theory of change and use it to craft and implement effective solutions to complex economic, social, and environmental problems.

Format: This class will be taught through a combination of interactive lectures, in-class group discussions, and problem-based learning.

Method of Evaluation: 10% participation and leadership in class discussions; 30% oral presentation; and 60% group term project. Teams of 3 to 5 students can choose to complete one of the following types of group term projects: (1) the creation of the business plan or model for a new social enterprise; (2) the crafting of an innovative policy proposal; (3) the drafting of a memo outlining a new avenue of strategic public interest litigation; or (4) the development of a campaign of behavioural, organizational or social change.

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LAWG 504 Death and Property (3 credits)

Winter

Considered transsystemic for students in the program prior to 2016-2017.

Section 001&009: TBA
Description: TBA
Method of Evaluation: TBA

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LAWG 511Specialized Topics in Law 1: Aircraft Finance Law  (1credit)

Winter​: Monday Feb. 26 (14:35-17:25) Tuesday Feb 27( 10:05-12:55) Wednesday Feb 28 (14:35-17:25) Thursday March 1 (8:35-11:25)

Section 001-009:  Dr Donal Hanley

Description: This short course will introduce the student to the main principles of aviation financing and leasing in the context of public and private international air law, with particular reference to the Cape Town Convention. Although leasing now accounts for about 40% of the commercial aircraft fleet worldwide, and many of the remaining aircraft are subject to secured financing, most international air law treaties were drafted before the development of aviation financing and leasing. This fast evolving area of air law, where operation and ownership of the aircraft no longer automatically go together, offers much scope for further research and study.

Dr Donal Hanley, FRAeS is a solicitor qualified in Ireland and England and an attorney qualified in California. He has almost 30 years' experience in practicing aviation financing and leasing law in Ireland, England, Japan and California. He has, among other degrees, an MBA in International Aviation from Concordia University in Montreal and LLM and PhD degrees in Air and Space Law from Leiden University in The Netherlands. He is Managing Director of ACG Aircraft Leasing Ireland Limited and an instructor in aircraft acquisition and financing for IATA.

LAWG 516 Specialized Topics in Law 6: Anatomy of a Murder Trial (3 credits)
Fall

Section 001: Madam Justice Carol Cohen
Description : This course will cover jury trials as seen through the eyes of a Superior Court judge, using murder trials as a backdrop, and will include the following topics:

• getting to a jury trial
• murder trials in Superior Court
• judicial interim release and other pre-trial matters
• jury selection
• the voir dire (before and during trial)
• questions of procedure and trial process
• hearsay and other evidentiary issues

There will be guest speakers, including lawyers and other judges.
Prerequisites: All students registering for this seminar course must have successfully completed the basic course in Criminal law. Criminal Procedure and Criminal Evidence are strongly recommended. No more than 20 students will be accepted into the seminar. 
Format: Seminar
Method of Evaluation: 10% for class participation, 50% for a paper dealing with one of the topics covered in class (including in-depth research) and 40% for a verbal presentation of each student’s position paper during the final weeks of the course. 
Instructor biography: Madam Justice Carol Cohen was appointed to the Quebec Superior Court in 1997. She is an adjunct professor at McGill’s Faculty of Law, and created a prize at the Faculty in Ethical Advocacy. Justice Cohen is judicial representative on the Comité consultatif of the Laboratoire de sciences judiciaires et de médecine légale and is actively involved as board member and speaker at numerous legal and judicial organizations, including the Canadian Chapter of the International Association of Women Judges, the Lord Reading Law Society, the Canadian Superior Court Judges Association, the Conférence des juges des Cours supérieures du Québec, the Canadian Bar Association, and the Juriclub of Montreal. Madam Justice Cohen was called to the Quebec Bar in 1983, and practiced at the law firm Chait Amyot (now de Grandpré Chait), becoming a partner in 1989.

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LAWG 516 Specialized Topics in Law 6: Mediation (3 credits)

Winter

Section 001&009: Professor Kun Fan
Description (LAST YEAR): Mediation is “a facilitative process in which disputing parties engage the assistance of an impartial third party, the mediator, who help them try to arrive at an agreed resolution of their dispute”. This course will examine Mediation as a method of dispute resolution in civil matters. Students will be exposed to the theoretical foundations of mediation and to different schools of mediation practice.  Through numerous role-playing exercises, the course will also provide students with an opportunity to develop proficiency as mediators and advocates taking into account the legal, ethical and public policy issues surrounding the practice of mediation.
Method of Evaluation (LAST YEAR): A team project and a participation component

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LAWG 517 Specialized Topics in Law 7: BCE Revisited (3 credits)
Fall

Section 001&009: Silcoff
Description: This course addresses the rights, obligations and recourses of shareholders, directors, officers and various other stakeholders in the context of their corporate and commercial relations. As a foundation for this examination, we will analyse the concepts and distinctive rights attaching to ownership and management and the relationships one with the other in various forms of business organizations.

The course will then examine in greater detail and as it relates to the BCE case: (i) the principles of corporate democracy, (ii) the separation of rights and powers among shareholders (owners) and directors and officers (management) and (iii) management’s fiduciary and statutory accountability to the corporation and, if any, to its shareholders and other stakeholders. The course will then focus on the various shareholder/stakeholder remedies available to aggrieved parties, including notably (i) the oppression remedy and (ii) the contestation of a proposed corporate arrangement deemed by the BCE debentureholders to be inappropriate or unfairly prejudicial to their interests. Several prominent guest lecturers will be invited to discuss the BCE case and the jurisprudence which has followed.
Prerequisites: Business Associations or equivalent
Seminar: Yes
Method of Evaluation: A mid-semester mock trial composed of groups of 2-3 students acting on behalf of the plaintiff or defendant in the context of an oppression remedy (25%). A final assignment due at the end of exam period (3000 words – length is subject to change). Students are to write a judgment based on a given fact pattern involving an oppression remedy (75%). 

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LAWG 517 Specialized Topics in Law 7: Agency Law (3 credits)
Winter

Section 001&009: Professor Evan Fox-Decent
Description: Understood broadly, agency relations exist whenever one party (the agent) is authorized by law to act on behalf of another (the principal) so as to change the legal position of the principal. For example, when an agent signs a contract on behalf of her principal, her principal’s legal position is changed because the principal is now bound to a third-party by the terms of the contract the agent signed on the principal’s behalf. Lawyers, directors and officers of corporations, partners, joint venturers, parents, guardians, trustees, persons holding powers of attorney or mandates, municipalities, provinces, states, government officials, diplomats and international institutions are all, in a broad sense, agents. Understanding the law of agency and mandate is crucial to understanding the law that governs these decision-makers, because it establishes or reflects structurally the legal framework within which their decisions and actions are assessed for legal validity.

Most of the course will investigate transsystemically the common law’s law of agency and the civil law’s law of mandate. Questions to be discussed include: Under what conditions do relationships of agency or mandate arise? What is the best justification of the agent’s legal power to bind her principal to an obligation owed to a third-party? What are the consequences when an agent exceeds her mandate and an innocent third-party relies on the agent’s apparent authority to bind her principal?

Toward the end of term, we will consider how the law of agency and mandate helps us understand the authority of states and international institutions at international law. Questions to be discussed include: Are states properly considered the only entities entitled to represent groups or individuals under international law? Can sub-state or transnational entities, such as the authorities of indigenous or minority peoples, represent their people internationally? Are states the agents of their people only, or are they also, in some cases—such as the case of climate change—agents or trustees of humanity at large? If corrupt state officials acquire a large debt in the state’s name, are the state’s people liable to repay the debt? In whose name do international institutions such as the U.N. Security Council speak, and why?

Method of Evaluation (LAST YEAR): 20% participation; 30% group presentation and short assignment; 50% 2-hour open-book final exam t is the basis of the legal authority international institutions purport to have?

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LAWG 518 Specialized Topics in Law 8: Political Law (3 credits)
Fall

Section 001&009: Me Gregory Tardi
Description: The purpose of this course is to examine the constitutional and legal rules of democratic government in their live context of public policy and politics.  In this perspective, "Political Law" or "droit politique" refers first to a comprehensive and coherent body of public law dealing with state institutions and processes of government, as well as to the interdisciplinary interaction between that body of law and the related instruments arising from public policy and from politics.  Democracy requires that public life be conducted in the public interest and for the common good.  Toward that goal, the legal, policy and political instruments must aim to ensure the rule of law.  This requires accountability to law on the part of the state, state institutions and state officials.  Further, Political Law seeks to understand the functioning of the rule of law by examining the interaction among legal, policy and political types of rules.  Political Law also mirrors the most current trends in public life.  Recent developments in democratic states necessitate the general reinforcement of the rule of law in the face of perceived political convenience or exigency, the necessary incorporation of legal norms into public decision-making, the sustenance of institutions dealing with the administration of justice, the preservation of judicial independence, the benefit of public ethics, the unavoidability of Parliamentary privilege and the use of legality for the advancement of disadvantaged groups in society.
Method of Evaluation: 75% essay; 15% "lessons learned" paper; 10% class participation. 

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LAWG 518 Specialized Topics in Law 8: Banking and Credit Law (3 credits)
Winter

Section 001&009: Me Marc Lemieux

Biography: Me Lemieux has been practicing financial services law for nearly 25 years. He is a member of the Bars of Quebec and Ontario, and acts for clients in court cases, in commercial transactions and in regulatory compliance matters. He also is a certified mediator and arbitrator
Description: This course focusses on the credit which is extended by banks to individuals and corporations in Canada: personal lines of credit, credit cards and mortgages, and corporate single and multi-lender credit facilities. The main themes to be studies include: What constitutes the extension of credit? What are the social and economic opportunities and challenges related to the extension of credit? How is the credit extended by banks regulated? Recent developments and emerging issues are discussed in a practical and trans-systemic manner. Class participation is encouraged.

Prerequisites: Contracts and Torts

Method of Evaluation : Two mid-term take-home assignments (each worth 25% of the final grade) and one open-book final exam (worth 50% of the final grade

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LAWG 519 Specialized Topics in Law 9: Legal Profession (3 credits)
Winter

Section 001-009: Fred Headon
Description: This course will introduce students to some of the tensions and challenges facing lawyers, educators, and the regulators of the legal profession as we grapple with rapidly changing client expectations. Among the issues we will address as we consider the role of the legal profession and who it comprises are the changing nature of professional services, innovation in legal service delivery, the emergence of new competitors to the profession, the shortcomings in serving legal needs today, and the effectiveness of professional conduct rules in helping meet legal needs.
Prerequisites: 1L completed
Seminar: No
Method of Evaluation: Not a final exam; likely presentation and paper.

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LAWG 521 Student-Initiated Seminar: Legal Writing and the Self 
Fall

Section 001: Prof. Tina Piper -Convenors: Rebecca Louis & Soo-Jin Lee
Description: Writing is a source of empowerment. Legal writing should be no different. Why, then, do many people feel disempowered and the need to compromise who they are when engaging in legal writing? How do systemic, historical, and societal factors influence the perception of legal writing and determine certain voices as legitimate? Individuals lose agency and a sense of ownership when they communicate for/to an audience that has not historically recognized their experiences and does not appreciate their ideas, expressed in voices more authentic to them. Others feel limited by the forms and structures of the status quo style in exercising creative expression. This seminar intends to provide space, tools, and knowledge for all interested students—especially individuals who find their voices underrepresented in public forums—to explore their authentic voices. It also asks how to have open and meaningful conversations about these differing experiences as participants of legal writing in the legal community.
Method of Evaluation: [Pass/fail] Weekly reflections, Writing Assignment

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LAWG 521 Student-Initiated Seminar: Fertility Law
Winter

Section 001: Dean Robert Leckey-Convenors: Katie Hammond, Michael Lang, Matt Malone 
Description: This seminar will focus on core issues in the area of fertility law in Canada. It will examine various discourses of reproductive rights, as well as the ways in which state power facilitates, controls, and obstructs childbearing and family building. Each class will be structured around an accessible case study that will enable students to unpack key legal questions on that week’s fertility law topic. Topics will include, for instance, third party reproduction, genetic screening, funding for fertility treatments, and medical practitioner issues. The course will explore the role of technology – in particular assisted reproductive technologies - in altering the fertility landscape. Additionally, it will look to the ways in which state power, bio-politics, capitalism, and feminism inform fertility law. Finally, in fall 2016 Health Canada sought input on the Canadian Standards Association draft guidelines for s.12 of the Assisted Human Repr oduction Act, 2004. With renewed interest on this federal legislation from a number of members of Parliament, it has been suggested that there will be further public consultation opportunities within the coming year. Thus, in anticipation of these consultations, a further component of this seminar will focus on developing deliverable policy input.

Method of Evaluation: Three commentaries (20% each)-Policy Paper (40%)

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LAWG 533 Specialized Topics in Law 14: Disability Law (3 credits)

Term: Fall

Section 001 & 009: Me Melanie Benard

Biography: Me Melanie Benard is a disability rights lawyer and consultant in Montreal. After obtaining her B.C.L./LL.B. at McGill University, she articled at the health law firm Ménard Martin Avocats. Me Benard is the co-founder of Québec Accessible, a grassroots initiative advocating for stronger provincial accessibility legislation. She has served on the Board of Directors of the Council of Canadians with Disabilities (CCD) and the Regroupement des activistes pour l’inclusion au Québec (RAPLIQ). Me Benard has presented her comparative disability law research at numerous conferences and in the media. Most recently, she served as a project manager and legislative researcher for the Alliance for an Inclusive and Accessible Canada.  

Description: This course critically examines the ways in which the law constructs and regulates the lives of people with disabilities. Topics include: theories and models of disability, the disability rights movement, equality and the duty to   accommodate, accessibility, legal capacity, institutionalization, education,     employment, transportation, health care, reproductive rights, death and dying and access to justice.

Method of Evaluation: 10% participation, 30% case comments, 60% essay.

LAWG 533 Specialized Topics in Law : International Competition Law (3 credits)

Term: Winter

Section 001 & 009:Dr. Joseph Wilson 

Description: The Course will cover the key substantive provisions of competition law in Canada (Competition Act) dealing with cartelization (criminal conspiracies), abuse of dominance (monopolistic practices), merger control,  misleading advertising and deceptive marketing. Given the transnational nature of businesses and fair competition requirements in NAFTA (North America Free Trade Agreement) and the recently concluded CETA (Canada Europe Trade Agreement), the students will be introduced with the Antitrust laws of the United States (Sherman Act, Clayton Act and FTC Act) and the European Competition Laws (Treaty of Rome, Articles 101 and 102) and concepts of “State aid.” Leading cases, covering the panoply of issues falling under the competition regimes from Canada, United States, and Europe will be discussed to understand the key concepts and different approaches. Topical issues dealing with algorithms, big data and disruptive technologies, will also be covered. The course will also discuss multilateral institutions, to name, International Competition Network (ICN), UNCTAD and OECD, that play pivotal role in shaping the global competition law and policy.

Dr. Joseph Wilson is a former-Chairman and founding member of the Competition Commission of Pakistan, where he served from November 2007 till November 2016.

Dr. Wilson’s experience spans over 24 years of public service, law practice, teaching, and research in regulatory laws. Before joining the Commission, he was an Associate Professor of Law at the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), Pakistan.

Dr. Wilson taught at McGill Faculty of Law, Montreal Canada, from where he earned Doctor of Civil Law (D.C.L.) with Dean’s Honour List and Master of Laws (LL.M.) degrees. He has an LL.M. from the University of Georgia, USA. He is a member of the State Bar of New York, USA and Lahore High Court Bar. He serves on the International Advisory Board of the Loyola University Chicago’s Institute for Consumer Antitrust Studies. He has authored a number of law journal articles, book chapters and a book titled “Globalization and the Limits of National Merger Control Laws.”

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LAWG 534 Specialized Topics in Law 15: Cyber-Security and Privacy (3 credits)

Term: Fall

Section 001 & 009: Prof. Allen Mendelsohn
Description: Internet legal issues are some of the most important and complex problems facing lawyers and scholars alike in the 21^st century. The course will be divided into two parts. The first half will consist of a broad introduction to the legal issues facing the internet; these include online contracts, jurisdiction, defamation, copyright liability, and more. The second half of the course will focus on diving deeply into the legal questions surrounding online privacy and cybersecurity, with a particular interest in comparing the legal regimes of Canada, the United States and Europe, and how the regimes interact in the internet’s world without borders. 
Method of Evaluation: 75% final essay, 25% class participation including presentation 

LAWG 534 Specialized Topics in Law  15: Transitional Justice ( 3 credits)

Term: Winter

Section 001 & 009: Nidal Nabil Jurdi

Description: This course examines the substance and the implementation of international criminal law (ICL) and transitional justice processes in theory and practice. It sheds light and reflects on the development and relevance of institutions and instruments concerned with the implementation of international criminal law that can arise in the course and through transitional justice processes. The course mixes theoretical and practical aspects by shedding light on previous and current situations in various regions of the world, including the Middle East and North Africa Region. The course will also reflect critically on the legal and practical challenges in prosecuting international crimes in societies in transition in selected regions. 

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LAWG 535

Specialized Topics in Law 16: Chinese Corporate and Securities Law  (3 credits)
Winter

Section 001&009: Dr. Robin Huang

Description:This course is designed to provide students with an opportunity to study key issues of Chinese corporate and securities laws more in-depth than is often the case in the typical introductory Chinese law course. Its primary objective is thus to develop a sophisticated, contextual and practical understanding of a number of relevant areas of law which are concerned with company and securities in China. Principal topics include Chinese financial regulatory framework, incorporation, corporate governance issues, shareholder remedies, foreign investment enterprises, securities offering and listing, market misconduct, and takeover of listed companies. 

Method of Evaluation: TBA

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LAWG 536 Specialized Topics in Law 17: Recours collectif (3 credits)
Fall

Section 003&010 (English and French): Me Shaun Finn & Me Marie-Christine Levasseur
Description: This course consists of a practical and comparative approach to class actions. Although mainly focused on Quebec, we will also look at the class action regimes of the common law provinces, the United States and other jurisdictions. Particular attention will be paid to class action practice from the perspectives of both plaintiff and defence counsel, notably with regard to how a class action is brought, analysed and pleaded. Students will be expected not only to attend class, but to participate actively by expressing their views, drafting pleadings and, at the end of the term, arguing an application for authorization to institute a class action. Experts in the field will also be invited to comment on key issues. 

Ce cours préconise une approche pratique et comparative aux actions collectives. Bien que principalement axé sur le régime d’actions collectives du Québec, le cours tiendra compte également de ceux des provinces de common law, des États‐Unis et d’autres juridictions. Une attention particulière sera portée à l’analyse de cette procédure tant du point de vue de l’avocat en demande que de celui de l’avocat en défense. Les étudiant seront appelés non seulement à assister aux rencontres hebdomadaires, mais à participer activement en exprimant leurs opinions, rédigeant des plans d’argumentation et plaidant pour ou contre une demande pour autorisation à la toute fin de la session. De plus, des experts dans le domaine viendront commenter des questions d’intérêt particulier.
Format: Seminar/séminaire
Method of Evaluation: 10% for class participation; 40% for a written outline of argument; 50% for a verbal presentation of the argument. 10% pour la participation; 40% pour une plaidoirie écrite; 50% pour une plaidoirie orale.

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LAWG 536 Specialized Topics in Law 17: Restorative Justice (3 credits)
Winter

Section 001&009: Professor Richard Niezen
Description (LAST YEAR): This course will introduce students to the philosophy, history, guiding principles, and practice of restorative justice (RJ).  It offers a comparative approach, with material drawn from Canada, the U.S.A. Great Britain, continental Europe, Africa, Latin America, and elsewhere, to consider the ways that RJ is being integrated into the study and practice of criminology, sociology, social work, and transitional justice.  The contrast between retributive and restorative approaches to crime and conflict resolution will be the foundation for a critical examination of the RJ movement, with a focus on its potential to reduce crime rates while providing alternatives to prison systems.
Method of Evaluation (LAST YEAR): Research paper; take-home final exam.

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LAWG 532 Specialized Topics in Law 18: Copyright in the Making (3 credits)
Winter 2018

Section 001: Professor Pierre-Emmanuel Moyse
Description: This course is offer in collaboration with the Department of Canadian Heritage of the government of Canada and involves four other sister universities. It is conceived as a way for students to become involved in public policy thinking and drafting. Teams of paired students from each affiliated institutions will research, prepare and present, in a moot-like exercise, a report (Memorandum to cabinet, for an example: http://www.cippmcgill.ca/files/sites/45/2016/06/Goddard-Sculthorpe.pdf ) on a topic proposed by the Government of Canada. The oral competition will take place in March 2018 in Ottawa before a panel of experts and officials (e.g., senior policy analysts, academics, various stakeholders from the industry and decision makers). This is a unique opportunity for McGill students to showcase their research skills, legal talents and imagination. They will engage the community of professionals and policy specialists in bringing their own views and recommendations on important current issues. The teams will be convened to a minimum of five 3-hour sessions covering policy matters and matters raised by the topics provided by the government. Associated travel costs will be covered by the Faculty of Law.

Method of Evaluation: Report (term essay format) and evaluation of the oral presentation(Grand Oral will take place in Ottawa on March 23) Graded on a Pass/Fail basis

Prerequisites: BUS2 502 Intellectual and Industrial Property (recommended)

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LAWG 537 Specialized Topics in Law 18: Innovation (3 credits)
Fall

Section 002&004&010: Professor Richard Gold
Description : The rhetoric around innovation is everywhere. Despite its ubiquity, what it is and what it means varies by audience; its relevance to economic growth and income disparity remains controversial; its history and place in society is too often underanalysed. This course provides an introduction to the concept of Innovation, its role in the economy, the institutions that foster or hinder it, the laws that promote or undermine it and its historical, psychological and social context. Through interactive lectures, students will explore the complexity of the subject and its connections with law, the economy, history, sciences and technology and government and firm policies. In addition, through small group assignments, students will deploy and extend their knowledge through the exploration of case studies. 

Method of Evaluation : Final exam: 50%; Individual project (20%); Team project (including oral presentation and peer review): 30%

LAWG 537 Innovation for Non-Law Students

Professor Richard Gold

Fall, 3 credits

Description: The rhetoric around innovation is everywhere. Despite its ubiquity, what it is and what it means varies by audience; its relevance to economic growth and income disparity remains controversial; its history and place in society is too often underanalysed. This course provides an introduction to the concept of Innovation, its role in the economy, the institutions that foster or hinder it, the laws that promote or undermine it and its historical, psychological and social context. Through interactive lectures, students will explore the complexity of the subject and its connections with law, the economy, history, sciences and technology and government and firm policies. In addition, through small group assignments, students will deploy and extend their knowledge through the exploration of case studies.

Method of Evaluation:  Final essay: 60%; Team project (including oral presentation and peer review): 40%

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LAWG 537 Specialized Topics in Law 18: Investment Arbitration (3 credits)
Winter

Section 001&009: Professor Kun Fan
Description (LAST YEAR): The recent development of international investment protection law is remarkable and international investment law is emerging as a distinct and important field of international law. There has been a dramatic increase in the number of bilateral investment treaties and other agreements with investment related provisions. There has also been a sharp increase in the number of disputes between foreign investors and host governments.
This seminar aims to introduce the students to the public international law standards for the treatment of foreign investments and the resolution of investment related disputes. Students will gain a thorough understanding of the theory and practice of international investment law and dispute settlement principles and practice, through lectures, case study, in-class discussions and group presentations. This seminar will examine the law of investor-State dispute resolution.  We will focus on treaty law as reflected in regional trade agreements such as NAFTA and bilateral investment treaties (BITs), as well as on customary international law that protects investors from expropriation, denials of fair and equitable treatment, and discrimination on the basis of nationality.  We will examine the actual mechanisms for investor-State dispute settlement under arbitral facilities such as the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes as well as under ad hoc rules.  We will also address the environmental and social issues surrounding international legal protection of foreign investment and proposals for modifying or even eliminating agreements due to concerns about regulatory “chill”.
Method of Evaluation (LAST YEAR): The primary method of assessment for the course will be a research paper worth 70 percent of your grade.  The paper should be between 8,000 and 10,000 words and can be used to satisfy the McGill writing requirement. Class participation will account for the other 30 percent of your grade.  Further details on both are below.

(1)  Regular attendance and class participation are mandatory.  I will be taking attendance each class, and I will be noting which students participate during discussion.  In addition, each student will be responsible for leading the discussion during one class.  Depending on enrolment numbers, it might be that two or more students co-lead some discussions.  Discussion leaders should be prepared to address the questions that I provide to accompany the readings, as well as to raise new questions that occur to them as they do the readings and prepare for the class. 

(2) Research Paper Requirements.  The research paper is an opportunity for you to delve into an investment law topic chosen in consultation with me.  The paper should be between 8,000 and 10,000 words in length, and can be used to fulfill the McGill writing requirement.   A list of potential paper topics will be posted on the course website.  You are not limited to this list –  these are just some ideas to get you started.  I would also be happy to discuss other possible topics.

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LAWG 538 Specialized Topics in Law 19: Sports Law (3 credits)
Fall

Section 001&009: Benoit Girardin
Description: This course is an introduction to sports law. The following themes will be discussed and presented during the course. Generally, the course presents the legal issues in both amateur (or Olympic sports) and professional sports.
1. Sport systems (/Olympic Movement, pro sports systems)
2. ADR in sport (national and international ADR in sport)
3. Doping in sports (WADA and National Anti-Doping Programs,)
4. Liability and Violence in sports
5. Commercial issues in amateur and Pro sports
6. Legal issues in major sporting events (sports issues, risk management, marketing issues, and other commercial issues) (Legal issues at Olympic Games)
7. Professional Sports CBA and SPC in Pro Sports (Collective Bargaining Agreement and Standard Players Contracts for professional players)-Agents and professional and amateur athletes
8. Corruption in sports
9. Sports law in Canada and Careers in sport law

This introductory sport law course will consist of lectures by Professor Girardin and invited guests, simulation exercises (arbitration simulation), intensive class discussion and debate, business cases in sports law. Students will be invited to participate in sports law debates presented by our guest.

The student will gain a good overview and understanding of the sports law issues on a national and international scale along with a new body of knowledge of specific sports related issues and topics. The course is practical, dynamic and diversified, but hard work will be required to obtain the maximum benefit of it.
Format: Seminar, jurisprudence analysis, arbitration simulation, guest speakers. Course presented in both French and English.
Method of Evaluation: In-term assignments: (75%, in teams of 2); Sport Arbitration case which includes the preparation and filing of written submissions (25 pages) and oral pleadings. Mandatory participation (25%) Preparatory research, preparation for debates/discussions, preparation of questions for speakers, active participation in class, unannounced in-class tests, mandatory attendance.

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LAWG 538 Specialized Topics in Law 19: Introduction to Islamic Law (3 credits)
Winter

Section 001&009:  Prof. Omar Farahat 
Description: 
Method of Evaluation: TBA

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LAWG 539 Specialized Topics in Law 20: Animal Law (3 credits)
Fall

Section 001&009: Me Alanna Devine & Me Sophie Gaillard

Description: Through a thematic exploration of the major issues facing animal protection in Canada today, this course will introduce students to the legal framework governing human-animal relations, both from a practical and critical legal perspective. The instructors will draw from real cases they have worked on as lawyers for the Montreal SPCA in order to provide students with an understanding of the practical difficulties that arise in protecting animals under the current legal regime. A series of interdisciplinary guest lectures will also allow students gain insight into important philosophical and political concepts that inform, or should inform, the way in which society, and the law, treats animals. 

Language of instruction mainly English. Some readings and guest lectures in French.
Prerequisites: Criminal Law
Seminar: No. Lecture format with guest lectures.
Method of Evaluation: Class participation, take‐home assignment, and final sit-down examination

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LAWG 539 Specialized Topics in Law 20: The Law of Entrepreneurship (3 credits)
Winter

Section 001&009: TBA
Description: The main goal of the course is to expose students to the lawyer’s role in representing a start-up in commercial matters during its entire life-cycle: the start-up phase, the expansion phase, and the exit (or liquidity event). Students will gain a practical “legal perspective” they can apply to business formation, business negotiations and transactions. The course will also provide students with tools to think like entrepreneurs, and a sense of how to build an interesting career using a rare combination of entrepreneurial and legal skills.   
Prerequisites: Business Associations, Securities Regulation (recommended)
Seminar: No
Method of Evaluation: 30%: A research paper of 1,500 words. The idea is that students will pick a special topic, research it and write a thoughtful commentary. 20%: A brief presentation to the class about a start-up law issue. Each student will be responsible for one presentation about a topic agreed to with one of the instructors. The presentation will be short – no longer than 20 minutes. 50%: The Dragon’s Den Simulation. Class attendance and participation are mandatory. Strong class participation can raise grade by one level (e.g. turn a B into a B+).

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LAWG TBC: Specialized Topics in Law TBC: Indigenous Law course TBD
Fall

Section 00X: 
Description: 
Method of Evaluation:

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LAWG TBC: Specialized Topics in Law TBC: Human Rights in Asia

Term TBC

Section 00X: 
Description: Since the middle of the nineteenth century, the western world has expanded into East Asia. On the continent where the pre-modern Confucian values critically remain strong, the contention of applying certain laws and principles guaranteeing fundamental human rights versus the so-called ‘Asian Values’ has never stopped. Besides, although East Asian states have ratified a large number of international human rights conventions, the violation of human rights is common across the region. This course will explore the cross-cultural interpretations of human rights in East-West comparative context and, mainly through case studies, examine major human rights related issues in mainland China and other regions of East Asia such as Hong Kong, Taiwan, South & North Korea, Japan. These issues will cover social, economical, and cultural rights as well as civil and political rights. This course will also introduce emerging strategies and forms of human rights advocacy, including the work of human rights organisations and activists. 
Seminar: The module will be delivered in a format of interactive seminars.
Prerequisites: There is no prerequisite for the course. You will be expected to look through the reading materials given by the instructor prior to each seminar for class discussions.   
Method of Evaluation: An essay of 1,500 words (25%); a collaborative presentation (25%); a final take-home exam in April (50%) 

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LAWG 519: Specialized Topics in Law 9: Law and Society in China

Fall 2017

Section 001-009: Jue Jiang 
Description: This course will provide you with a critical understanding of law and society in the People’s Republic of China (China) and prepare you for future engagement with Chinese law in various professional contexts. A central claim underlying the design of this module is that law in China must be studied in context, through a combination of general readings and specific case studies, and with particular attention to historical, economic and political circumstances in which Chinese law re-emerged and developed in the post-Mao era.

This course entails firstly a systematic study of the institutions, general principles, and institutional practices of law in China, and secondly a close-up of major areas and issues critical with understanding law and society in China. They include the Constitution; access to justice and the judicial system; the dispute resolution systems such as mediation and reconciliation; criminal justice and policing; law and socio-economic development; family laws and China’s family planning policy; human rights advocacy and civil society in domestic and transnational settings. 
Seminar: The module will be delivered in a format of interactive seminars. 
Prerequisites: There is no prerequisite for the course. No background of China or Chinese law will not pose an obstacle. You will be expected to look through the reading materials given by the instructor prior to each seminar for class discussions.  
Method of Evaluation: Class participation (10%); a collaborative presentation (30%); a final take-home exam in December (60%) 

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PROC 459 Civil Litigation Workshop (3 credits)

Fall

Section 001: Me Sarah Woods & Me James A. Woods 
Description :  The course is designed to provide both the technical and practical tools necessary for the advocate in civil litigation including the techniques applicable in discovery, production of exhibits, the examination of expert and ordinary witnesses, legal argument and trial tactics, culminating in a day‐long simulated trial.

Format: Lecture

Method of Evaluation: Class Participation: 40%; Final Trial Performance: 60%

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PRV 500 Droit des enfants ( 3 credits)

Winter

Section 001-009: TBC

Description: TBC

Method of Evaluation:TBC

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PUB2 313 Taxation (4 credits)
Fall

Section 002: Me Nadia Rusak
Description : This course introduces students to the fundamentals of Canadian federal income taxation, with focus on principles gpverning taxation of individuals. It examines key structural and policy elements of the income tax system by addressing the following questions: who should be taxed; what should be taxed; how much tax should be payable; when tax should be payable ; and how the tax system should be administered and disputes should be resolved between the taxpayers and tax collectors. The relevant legal principles will be explored by reading and interpreting statutory rules, administrative practces of tax authorities and case law. 
Method of Evaluation: 70% take home final exam-30% mid-term assignment

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PUB2 403 Municipal Law (2 credits)
Fall

Section 001: Professor Hoi Kong
Description:  This course aims to examine municipal regulation (with a focus on land use regimes), from legal, legal theoretical and interdisciplinary perspectives. The course will be taught primarily as a seminar. As a consequence, class preparation and participation are essential components of evaluation.
Method of Evaluation: Participation-Final Assignment

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PUB2 420 Trial Advocacy (3 credits)
Winter

Section 001: Catherine McKenzie & Me Janet Michelin
Description: The purpose of this course is to analyze and instruct on the methods and techniques of court room advocacy at the trial and appellate level in written and oral pleadings.  The course will investigate how evidence, law and jurisprudence can be organized and structured into legal arguments.  Examples of pleadings and Court room orations will be studied.  The role and conduct of plaintiff, Crown and defense counsel as pleaders will be examined.  The ethics of trial advocacy will be studied.  Secondary aspects of pleading such as the pleading of objections to evidence and motions will also be examined.  Class time will be used in theoretical lectures, practical exercises and demonstrations.  The emphasis will be on student participation. 
Prerequisites: Judicial Institutions and Civil Procedure
Method of Evaluation: A combination of oral presentation/pleading, written assignments, and class participation.  The oral submission will be based on the presentation of a final argument in a trial. The written aspect will be based on written pleadings such as an action or a defence.

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PUB2 503 Comparative Federalism (3 credits)
Winter 

Section 001&009: Professor Hoi Kong
Description: The concept of federalism lies at the cross-roads of a number of problems critical to contemporary constitutionalism and legal ordering. What is the function of sovereignty? What is the nature of citizenship?   From these broad questions stem a number of practical, pointed issues of governance, such as: How are fiscal resources to be allocated within a federal regime? Which levels of government, in what combination, have the obligation to provide public goods? How should federal arrangements address discrete and insular minorities? How can federal arrangements confront historical patterns of conflict?  The course will begin with an examination of broad issues in constitutional theory, comparative constitutional law and constitutional interpretation.  
Method of Evaluation: 75% paper, 25% participation

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PUB2 504 Sentencing in Canadian Law (3 credits)
Fall

Section 00&009: Professor Marie Manikis
Description: This course aims to introduce students to the law, theory and practice of sentencing in Canada. It will provide students with an introduction to the general objectives, foundations and principles of sentencing in Canada. Further, procedure and evidence in sentencing will be looked at and situated in a broader socio-legal context. A number of critical perspectives will be explored, including victims’ rights, race and gender. Finally, selected topics of this course will be analyzed and include mandatory sentences of imprisonment and constitutional considerations, comparative models for controlling judicial discretion, victim participation in sentencing, plea-bargaining, and aboriginal offenders.
Method of Evaluation: In-Term Take-Home Reflection -Final Take-Home Essay

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PUB2 422 Criminal Procedure (3 credits)
Winter

Section 001: TBA
Description: TBA
Method of Evaluation: TBA

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PUB2 515 Tax Policy (3 credits)
Fall

Section 001&009: Professor Allison Christians
Description : This course examines the foundations of tax policy in Canada and around the world, with a focus on both classical and contemporary writing. The course will integrate a colloquium with invited speakers, who will present works in progress on current issues of national and international tax policy. The theme of this year’s colloquium is 100 Years of Tax Law in Canada.

Method of Evaluation:  Grading will be based on three papers to be written over the course of the term (discussed below). Students will also write short reflections in connection with workshop modules over the course of the term (discussed below). These reflections will be peer-reviewed but not graded. There will be no exam. Because this is a discussion-based course, I expect attendance and meaningful participation in all classes but especially for sessions featuring invited speakers.

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PUB2 517 Corporate Taxation
Fall

Section 00X: TBA
Description: TBA
Method of Evaluation: TBA

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PRV2 500 Children and the Law/Droit des enfants (3 credits)
Winter

Section 003&010(Français): TBA
Description: Dans ce cours, nous étudierons les grands concepts de la protection de la jeunesse et tenterons une réflexion critique sur le contenu et la pratique dans ce domaine de droit. Le droit de la jeunesse, méconnu du monde universitaire, est pourtant riche d'enseignements sur les contours du droit, puisqu'il évolue dans une tension constante entre les droits et libertés fondamentaux protégeant la sphère privée et le rôle de protection de l'État. Son étude permet de questionner les limites du droit, d'une part dans les relations entre l'État et le citoyen et, d'autre part, dans l'arbitrage des relations étatiques d'aide aux populations vulnérables. Le cours portera principalement sur la Loi sur la protection de la jeunesse québécoise, en incluant des comparaisons ponctuelles avec les lois équivalentes dans les autres provinces canadiennes. Une attention particulière sera portée sur les fondements cliniques des principes de protection de la jeunesse, en particulier sur le rôle et l'impact de la théorie de l'attachement dans les lois de protection de l'enfance. L'adoption et le système pénal pour adolescents seront aussi brièvement abordés. 
Method of Evaluation: Un travail de mi-session (40%) et un travail de fin de session (60%).

Clinical Legal Education

Minerva course codes for the various clinical legal education opportunities can be found on our Non-course credits and outside credits page.

Descriptions of the various clinical legal education opportunities can be found in Clinical Legal Education at McGill Law section.

Essays & Theses

Minerva course codes and course descriptions for the Term Essay, Senior Essay and Writing and Drafting Project can be found on the Written Course Work and Essays website,

Minerva course codes and course descriptions for the Honours Theses can be found on the Programs with minors, majors and honours website,

Graduate Courses

Graduate students are eligible to register for 500-level courses or higher.  Information on 500-level courses are included in the following tabs: Electives, Civil Law Immersion, Common Law Immersion, Complementary Social Diversity, Human Rights and Indigenous Law, and Principles of [Canadian] Administrative Law. Make sure to look for sections 009 & 010.

ASPL 613 Government Regulation of Air Transport (3 credits)
Winter (last year)

Section 001&009: TBA
Description: This course focuses on the domestic and international economic regulation of air transport. Key subjects are: open sky and other bilateral air services agreements, economic regulation of domestic and international air transport including air carrier licensing and authorization, governmental review of tariffs, competition and anti-trust regulations, dynamics of airline alliances, safety, security, environmental regulation, and a wide variety of consumer protection regulations including accessibility requirements, delays, tarmac delays, cancellations, denied boarding, advertising regulations and disclosure requirements, travel agencies and global distribution systems. It also examines why governments regulate or deregulate markets for air transport, how the economics of the aviation sector impact regulatory policies, whether there is a need to harmonize new types of regulations over aviation and how such harmonization could be achieved. The present challenges and trends in the regulatory regime of air transport also are discussed.
Method of Evaluation: Presentation- Take-Home Final Exam

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ASPL 614 Airline Business & Law (3 credits)
Fall

Section 001&009: D. Chen
Description: This course, taught through a combination of interactive seminars and presentations by invited guest lecturers, introduces the student to an interdisciplinary analysis of the business and legal issues confronting airlines. Focus will be on such areas as economics, finance, securities, bankruptcy, pricing, marketing, distribution, alliances, joint-ventures and competition.
Method of Evaluation: 10% will be based on class participation and a presentation. 20% of the final grade will be based on a 10 page essay. 70% of the grade in this course will be based on the final

24-hour take-home examination.

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ASPL 632 Comparative Air Law (3 credits)
Winter

Section 001&009: Dr. Ludwig Weber
Description (LAST YEAR): The first part of the course provides an introduction to the comparative law approach and applies some basic concepts of the civil and common law traditions to the field of air law. The second part of the course deals with selected topics where applicable law has not, or only partially, been unified by private international air law conventions and where a comparative approach, based on national laws, must be used to find solutions. The selected topics include: the nature of the contract of carriage, product liability principles, aircraft manufacturers’ liability, State liability for negligent certification of aircraft, liability of air navigation service providers, and liability for damage caused by aircraft on the ground.
Method of Evaluation (LAST YEAR): In-term assignments (25%) and final examination (75%).

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ASPL 633 Public International Air Law (3 credits)
​Fall 

Section 001&009: Prof. Brian F. Havel
Description: The gateway course in Public International Air Law examines the relevant principles and rules of public international law that affect the use of airspace and aeronautics.
Method of Evaluation: In-term assignments 25%  and final take-home exam 75%

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ASPL 636 Private International Air Law (3 credits)
Fall 

Section 001&009: Dr. Ludwig Weber
Description: This course examines the unification of private international air law through the adoption of international conventions.  In particular, it reviews the liability of the air carrier towards passengers and shippers under the Warsaw Convention, as amended and supplemented by several other international legal instruments, including the Montreal Convention of 1999.  The course also examines the basic framework of several other conventions, such as the Rome Convention on surface damage done by aircraft, and ICAO’s recent initiatives to revise the 1952 Rome Convention.    Insurance aspects and implications of the air carrier’s international liability will also be addressed.
Prerequisites: None
Seminar: No
Method of Evaluation: In-term Assignment (20%) and final Examination (80%).

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ASPL 637 Space Law & General Principles (3 credits)
​Fall

Section 001&009: Professor Ram Jakhu
Description : The objective of the course is to examine the role of international law in the regulation of outer space activities. Specifically, the course examines the current and potential future uses of outer space; the law‐making process relating to space activities and the international institutions that are involved in this process; the legal regime of outer space and celestial bodies including the exploitation of space natural resources; the legal status of spacecraft including their registration; liability for damage caused by space activities; assistance to astronauts and spacecraft in distress; legal controls governing activities harmful to the environment and to peaceful uses of outer space; settlement of space‐related disputes, etc.

PREREQUISITES: None (however some knowledge of Public International Law is assumed).

SEMINAR:  No

METHOD OF EVALUATION: Evaluation will be based on either (a) the end of term open‐book examination (100%) or (b) the end of term open‐book examination (50%) and paper (50%). 

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ASPL 638 Law of Space Applications
Winter

Section 001&009: Professor Ram Jakhu
Description : This course deals with the international legal aspects of various space applications. In particular, the course examines the international law related to satellite telecommunications (including satellite broadcasting) and the role therein of various international organizations; remote sensing by satellites; space stations; space travel; navigational services by satellites; military uses of outer space; space‐based solar power; and international space technology transfers and international trade in space products and services, etc.

PREREQUISITES: None (however some knowledge of Public International Law is assumed).

SEMINAR:  No

METHOD OF EVALUATION: Evaluation will be based on either (a) the end of term open‐book examination (100%) or (b) the end of term open‐book examination (50%) and paper (50%).

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ASPL 639 Government Regulation of Space Activities (3 credits)
​Winter

Section 001&009: TBA
Description: TBA
Method of Evaluation: TBA

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CMPL 600 Legal Traditions (3 credits)

Winter

Section 009: Professor David Howes
Description: The concept of a legal tradition. Nature of particular legal traditions, both secular and religious, including the civil and common law. Social and philosophical foundations of different traditions. Comparative method. Relations between traditions (colonialism, legal pluralism, cross-cultural jurisprudence).
Format: Seminar
Method of Evaluation: Class participation; short reflection pieces; seminar presentation; end of term essay.

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CMPL 604 International Business Law (3 credits)
Winter

Section 001&009: Professor Catherine Walsh
Description : This foundational seminar aims to introduce students to the legal and practical issues relevant to the transaction of business by private actors across borders. The first sessions will focus on the concepts, sources and institutions of transnational business law, the reasons for the persistence of local differences despite the pressures of globalization, and thus the continued importance of harmonization of private international law rules (in the traditional sense). The focus will then shift to recent developments in specific domains of business law, for example, choice of law and choice of forum agreements, international dispute resolution, contract law including sale and carriage contracts, cross-border insolvency, letters of credit and financing.  Additional issues to be examined include anti‐corruption and anti-tax avoidance initiatives as well as the contested link between economic development and law reform and legal traditions.   
Prerequisites : Open to graduate students and to undergraduate students who have completed four terms in the Faculty of Law.
Method of Evaluation : 10% attendance, 30% participation, 50% research essay, 10% oral presentation of research essay topic.

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CMPL 610 Legal Research Methodology (3 credits)
Fall & Winter (D1/D2)

Section 009 (LLM): Professor Frédéric Mégret
Description (LAST YEAR): Exploration and critique of various methodological approaches to the pursuit of a research inquiry within the context of legal scholarship. Graduate students will develop familiarity with research methods and strategies and will be afforded with opportunities for developing and sharpening their legal research, writing and analytical skills.
Method of Evaluation (LAST YEAR): Multiple assignments, graded on a Pass/Fail basis

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CMPL 641 Theoretical Approaches to Law (3 credits)
Fall

Section 009 (LLM): Professor Daniel Weinstock
Description: This course will consist in theoretical analyses of central legal notions, such as rule of law, constitution, tort, crime, property, etc. It will be devoted to close reading both of historical and contemporary texts in the philosophy and theory of law. In 2017, the course will be devoted to the study of the concept of the rule of law, and will include readings drawn from important historical figures, such as Montesquieu and Bentham, and contemporary contributors to the debates about rule of law, from Fuller and Hart, to Waldron and Gowder.
Method of Evaluation: three papers will each be worth 20%-Class participation 20% -critical perspective on the rule of law 20%

Section 010 (DCL): Professor Mark Antaki
Description: This course aims to help you think about and experience law as historically and culturally located, and hence as contingent. Thinking about and experiencing law in this way will help you appreciate the concrete burden of judgment that various (‘legal’ and other) actors bear so that you can learn to see and celebrate acts of practical wisdom and not simply sets of objective rules. These two goals – experiencing law as contingent and appreciating the burden of judgment ‒ mean that we need to resist the reduction of law to the mere application of self-evident rules.
Method of Evaluation: Short assignment - 15% , 48-Hour Take-Home Exam– 25% , Final assignment – 40% 

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LAWG 625 Legal Education Seminar (3 credits)

Winter

Section 009&010: Professor Hoi Kong
Description : What does the meaningful teaching of law entail?  And what do students of law learn, question, and experience?  Participants in this seminar will engage in a discussion of the structures, institutions, objectives, and pedagogical possibilities connected to the learning and teaching of law.  By delving into examples found across time and space, they will reflect on the ways in which legal education continues to be challenged, modified, and redefined.  Written work for the seminar will explore different perspectives on the governance and pedagogical frameworks associated with the teaching of law.  Opportunities for teaching experience and for providing constructive evaluation of pedagogical techniques will be incorporated into the classroom sessions, and participants will be encouraged to pursue publication of their papers.  
Prerequisites : Note that the seminar will meet once a week for three hours, and is directed primarily, although not exclusively, to doctoral students in law.  Students in the BCL/LLB and LLM programs who wish to take the seminar should have demonstrated substantial preparation in the form of relevant experience, writing, or study, and may wish to consult the professor or respective Associate Deans before registering.
Method of Evaluation : To be determined in consultation with the class in the first week of instruction

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LAWG 702 Legal Research Methodology (2 credits)

Section 009 (DCL):  Professor Frédéric Mégret

Description (LAST YEAR): Exploration and critique of various methodological approaches to the pursuit of a research inquiry within the context of legal scholarship. Graduate students will develop familiarity with research methods and strategies and will be afforded with opportunities for developing and sharpening their legal research, writing and analytical skills.

Method of Evaluation (LAST YEAR): Multiple assignments, graded on a Pass/Fail basis

Exams

Please see the exam schedules at the very top of the page

Students may not make a course selection that produces an exam schedule conflict.

Students who find themselves with an exam conflict between a non-law and law course may be required to write the law examination in advance of the regular examination date, normally on the first available work day preceding the regular examination. Students will be asked to sign a confidentiality form confirming that they will not discuss the examination with anyone until after the regular examination has been written.

A conflict is defined as two overlapping examinations, or three consecutive examinations in two days.

More information on Examination at the Faculty of Law can be found on our website.

Tentative Summer 2018 Offerings

CMPL 504 Feminist Legal Theory, Faculty of Law

Section 001&009: Professor Vrinda Narain
Description : This course examines the foundations of feminist legal theory. We will study topics in feminist legal theory including: feminist research methods, feminist theories and jurisprudence, decolonizing methodologies, transnational feminisms, critical race feminism and postcolonial feminism.  We will explore significant developments in the field of feminist jurisprudence, and students will learn how the law is both a powerful force in the construction of women’s subordination and a site of feminist struggle. We will explore how the law is implicated in women’s systemic inequality and the potential of law as a subversive site. Upon completion of this course, students should have gained:

• an understanding of basic analytical concepts relevant to feminist legal theory
• the ability to engage in critical analysis and discussion of these concepts
• experience in feminist legal scholarship through the completion of a scholarly paper

Method of Evaluation: 

1. 25% Participation :4 critical reading responses (500 word limit)  with presentations Paper Proposals to be submitted and peer reviewed. 75% Final Paper