Melanie – Page 2

Oct 29

LWBC Annual Forum

By Melanie Funding Opportunities, Student opportunity, Upcoming Events

LWBC forum

CPIJ is proud to partner with Lawyers Without Borders Canada (LWBC) for the 2021 edition of its annual forum titled “Residential Schools: Truth, Justice and Healing – International Exchanges”. The event brings together many important actors in international human rights law and is intended for practitioners and law students.

The two-day Forum is composed of four half-day sessions. Each session addresses a key societal issue: truth-seeking, justice, reparations and guarantees of non-repetition.

Firstly, CPIJ is offering five (5) scholarships to students who wish to attend the Forum. The value is $20. Priority will be given to First Nations students.

Secondly, CPIJ is looking for seven (7) students interested in attending the Forum to take notes during the sessions and write a blog post. The blog post will be published on the Quid Justitiae blog (or a blog of your choice) during a multi-day seminar. Students will receive a $200 scholarship upon publication.

The post must include a detailed summary of the panel covered, the main objective being to bring the content of the Forum into the public domain. However, the student might include a critical commentary and additional content, including multimedia. The post must be between 1,500 and 2,500 words in length and written in English or French.

Students will have ten (10) days to submit their entry. The essay will then be edited. The registration fees of the selected students will be covered by the CJIP.

Apply for any of these scholarships before November 2.

APPLY NOW

Oct 27

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Changing Canada’s Extradition Laws: The Halifax Colloquium’s Proposals for Law Reform

By Melanie News

The report released in October 2021 states the Canadian process for sending people to face prosecution and incarceration abroad is riddled with shortcomings that make the system inherently unjust.

The recommendations for change come from the Halifax Colloquium on Extradition Law Reform at Dalhousie University in September 2018, which brought together academics, defence counsel and human rights organizations.

Funding for the Halifax Colloquium on Extradition Law Reform was provided by the Canadian Partnership for International Justice (CPIJ). The Colloquium was hosted and hospitality was provided by the MacEachen Institute for Public Policy, Dalhousie University. The Human Rights Research and Education Centre (HRREC) at the University of Ottawa kindly arranged for translation of this document.

This document was prepared by Professor Robert J. Currie of the Schulich School of Law, Dalhousie University, and represents the consensus of the participants in the colloquium.

Read the report. (PDF, 300 Ko)

Sep 27

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Professor Fannie Lafontaine takes honors in Canada’s Top 25 Most Influential Lawyers

By Melanie News

Professor Fannie Lafontaine, a full professor at the Faculty of Law of Université Laval, chair of the Canada Research Chair in International Criminal Justice and Human Rights, Director of the Canadian Partnership for International Justice and Co-Director of the International Criminal and Humanitarian Law Clinic, has been recognized by Canadian Lawyer Magazine in its prestigious annual Canada’s Top 25 Most Influential Lawyers.

Competing in the Government/Non-Profits/Associations category, she was named one of 25 lawyers and judges from across the country who have made a significant contribution to their profession and to Canadian society, a well-deserved honor.

Canadian Lawyer Magazine, which received 22,409 votes this year, reports a praise received on Professor Lafontaine: “Fannie Lafontaine’s analysis of genocide, as well as her impactful reports and interventions, are having huge impacts on the narrative surrounding the First Nations’ human rights violations in Canada”.

In recent years, Fannie Lafontaine has played an unprecedented role as an independent civilian observer of the police investigation into allegations of criminal conduct by police officers against Indigenous people across Quebec. Her expertise brought to light the existence of systemic racism in the police force towards Indigenous peoples in Quebec, contributing to the creation of the Viens Commission of Inquiry. In this role, rendered necessary by a serious social crisis, she helped develop principles for assessing the integrity and impartiality of police investigations against other police officers, particularly in an Indigenous context.

She was also the lead drafter of the Supplementary Report to the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, “A Legal Analysis on Genocide.” The report sparked a discussion countrywide and received wide international coverage, including at the United Nations and the Organization of American States. The painful discoveries of missing children from former residential schools across Canada further validate the importance and relevant of her analysis .

Fannie Lafontaine’s recent contributions are at the heart of some of the most pressing legal and societal issues in Canada and have influenced how colonial violence and systemic racism against Indigenous peoples can be named, addressed and deconstructed.

Congratulations to Fannie Lafontaine!

Fannie Lafontaine

Aug 24

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Intership Opening at ASFC

By Melanie News, Student opportunity

ASFC Avocats sans frontières Canada (ASFC) est à la recherche d’une personne engagée, dynamique et ouverte sur le monde qui veut contribuer à faire de l’accès à la justice un moyen de changement. Le/la stagiaire en droit appuie l’équipe du siège social d’ASFC pour plusieurs aspects juridiques des programmes de coopération internationale et des appels à propositions.

Titre du poste : Stagiaire en droit
Emplacement : Ville de Québec ou télétravail, selon les fonctions occupées
Date limite pour postuler 30 août 2021 à 23h59
Durée : Quatre mois (avec possibilité de prolongation)
Début : Septembre 2021
Conditions de stage : Stage rémunéré – 20 heures par semaine
Nombre de postes : 2

Consultez l’offre de stage pour en savoir plus.

Jun 16

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Alleged Massacre Perpetrator Lives Freely in Canada: Canadian Government Called to Act

By Melanie Press Releases

June 16, 2021, Quebec – Lawyers Without Borders Canada (LWBC), in collaboration with the Canadian Partnership for International Justice (CPIJ), calls on the Canadian government to respect its obligation to prosecute crimes against humanity and war crimes, particularly in the case of Jorge Vinicio Sosa Orantes, who is suspected of having participated in a massacre in Guatemala in 1982.

Mr. Sosa Orantes, a former second lieutenant in the Guatemalan army, has been living peacefully in Canada for several months. Forty years ago, the special unit to which he belonged beat, tortured and savagely murdered more than 200 people – including children – wiping out almost the entire civilian population of the Guatemalan village of Las Dos Erres.

Under the principle of universal jurisdiction, the Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act gives the Canadian government the power to initiate criminal proceedings against Mr. Sosa Orantes. Universal jurisdiction can be used for the most serious crimes committed in another country, such as the Las Dos Erres massacre. The person suspected of the crime must be present in Canada.

One of the only two survivors of the Las Dos Erres massacre, Ramiro Osorio Cristales, now lives in Canada. Mr. Cristales fled his country a little more than twenty years ago, after having lived through hell at the hands of one of the soldiers responsible for the massacre. He has been seeking justice ever since.

“Knowing one of these soldiers can pass in front of my house brings me back to 1982, to the day when my village was plunged into darkness. Among all the people, only two lights haven’t been snuffed out. I’m one of them. Seeking justice is my duty. I’m the voice of the people who died and I’m asking the Canadian government to join me and Lawyers Without Borders Canada in this quest by prosecuting the case of Jorge Vinicio Sosa Orantes.” – Ramiro Osorio Cristales, survivor of the massacre of Las Dos Erres.

Since 2017, Mr. Sosa Orantes has been facing proceedings initiated by the Canadian government in Federal Court to revoke his Canadian citizenship. However, by limiting itself to this procedure, Canada is forgetting the most important thing, which is Mr. Sosa Orantes’ alleged responsibility in the perpetration of the massacre of Las Dos Erres, risking that justice will never be served.

“The case of Mr. Sosa Orantes is an opportunity for Canada to demonstrate its commitment to fighting impunity for war crimes and crimes against humanity, and to demonstrate its solidarity with the victims of these crimes and their families. Canada has the tools and resources to assert its leadership and take concrete action for justice and human rights at the international level. By not seizing the opportunity to prosecute war criminals, Canada is allowing them to live a peaceful new life without having to answer for their actions. This should no longer be an option.” – Pascal Paradis, LWBC Executive Director.

Canada’s War Crimes Program: A Mirage in the Fight against Impunity

Even though Canada has the power to fight impunity, it has not demonstrated a real willingness to act. By continuing to rely solely on citizenship and immigration procedures, Canada is not fulfilling its obligations under international law to fight impunity for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

“Canada has the legal and financial means, and the relevant evidence, to prosecute Mr. Sosa Orantes here. Unfortunately, as in several hundred other cases since 1998, Canada is taking the easy way out and is ignoring its international responsibilities. Under the current system for fighting against impunity for international crimes, States bear the responsibility of trying war criminals. If he is not prosecuted here for his participation in this massacre, justice will not be served anywhere, to the detriment of the fundamental rights of victims and the rule of law.”- Fannie Lafontaine, CPIJ Executive Director

Although Canada’s War Crimes Program is active, its budget has seen almost no increase since its launch in 1998. There is a lack of transparency in how the funds are used.. No annual activity report has been made public for the past six years. Even today, the criteria that guide the discretionary power to prosecute remain unclear.

In more than 20 years, only two criminal prosecutions have been conducted under the Crimes against Humanity and War Crimes Act. Several other countries are doing much better.

Press conference: June 16, 10h30 EDT

About

Lawyers Without Borders Canada is a non-governmental international cooperation organization whose mission is to support the defence of the human rights of people in situations of vulnerability by strengthening access to justice and legal representation.

The Canadian Partnership for International Justice unites 24 leading Canadian academics and non-governmental actors from 12 partner organizations to work together to make the fight against impunity for most serious international crimes more effective and to increase victims’ access to remedies.

Contact

418-907-2607 poste 102

communications@asfcanada.ca

Apr 15

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Earth Day Forum – Ecocide as an International Crime? Global and Canadian perspectives

By Melanie Upcoming Events

Did you know? Support for recognition of an international crime of “Ecocide” – or mass damage and destruction of ecosystems – has been steadily gaining traction at a global level.

By June 2021, an expert panel of international lawyers, convened by the Stop Ecocide Foundation, will have developed a definition of ecocide as a crime that could be enshrined in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, alongside genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression.

Stop Ecocide Canada and the Stop Ecocide Foundation, along with the Canadian Partnership for International Justice, the Canada Research Chair on International Criminal Justice and Human Rights, the International Criminal and Humanitarian Law Clinic, and Université Laval’s Faculty of Law will convene an Earth Day Forum to discuss global and Canadian perspectives on the crime of ecocide.

Join us on 22 April 2021 at 12pm (UTC-4) – Earth Day – for a virtual conversation with panelists including:

Lisa Oldring, Co-Chair of the event, Law and Policy Advisor, Stop Ecocide Canada
Fannie Lafontaine, Co-Chair of the event, Full Professor, Faculty of Law, Université Laval
Jojo Mehta, Co-founder and Executive Director, Stop Ecocide International;
Darryl Robinson, Full Professor, Faculty of Law, Queen’s University;
Géraud De Lassus Saint-Geniès, Assistant Professor, Faculté de droit, Université Laval.

The panelists’ biographical notes can be found here. (PDF, 800 Ko)

The Forum will create an initial space for exchange, between academics and practitioners from different disciplines in Canada, on the potential contribution of an international crime of ecocide to long-term ecosystem protection efforts.

Event Registration: https://www.cdiph.ulaval.ca/fr/ecocide

The event will also be streamed on Facebook by the event’s organizers.

Jan 05

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2021 International Justice and Victims’ Rights Summer School

By Melanie News, Upcoming Events

May 24 to June 11, 2021

Distance course

What? The International Justice and Victims’ Rights summer school will bring together internationally renowned experts, and human rights organizations in order to discuss and reflect on issues surrounding victims’ rights and international justice.

This course serves to train and engage students and professionals in the areas of law, criminology, and related disciplines in key issues regarding the rights of victims of crime and abuse of power.

Topics include reparation of victims of crimes against humanity, addressing the needs of victims of sexual violence in the courts, how courts handle victims who at the same time are perpetrators, as well as the place of victims in transitional justice.

This distance course includes live discussion sessions with international experts. Each morning includes interactive seminars presented by different experts. These discussions last one hour and thirty minutes and follow a pre-recorded and previewed lecture by the participants as well as the reading of texts recommended by the speakers.

For whom? The course is intended for graduate and exceptional undergraduate students in the areas of law, criminology, and related disciplines at the Université de Montréal, as well as other universities in Quebec, Canada and abroad. It is also intended for interested professionals, including lawyers working in the field of international criminal law.

By whom? Course leader: Jo-Anne Wemmers (Université de Montréal). Lectures by: Fannie Lafontaine (Université Laval), Valerie Oosterveld (Western University), Mylène Jaccoud (Université de Montréal), Gilbert Bitti (ICC Pre-Trial Division), Mark A. Drumbl (Washington and Lee University), Miriam Cohen (Université de Montréal), Amissi Manirabona (Université de Montréal), Isabelle Daignault (Université de Montréal), Bilkis Vissandjée (Université de Montréal), Me Annick Legault, Stephan Parmentier (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven) and Antony Pemberton (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven). Special guests: Joseph Bitamba (indpendant director, producer and writer, Toronto) and Lawyers Without Borders Canada.

Language
The school is bilingual (French-English). Students are expected to be fluent in French or English and to have at least a passive understanding of the other language. Students may submit their work in French or English.

Registration
Students can choose either to obtain 3 credits (meeting all the requirements) or obtain 1.5 credits (attending lectures and doing only part of the assignments). Undergraduate students are required to have the authorization of their program director, an average of 3.5 out of 4.3 and have completed at least 60 university credits before enrolling.

University of Montreal students can register for PLU courses by contacting their program’s student records clerk.
Students from other Quebec universities must complete the online application form available on the BCI website (formerly the CREPUQ).
Non-Quebec, foreign or non-certified Canadian students are invited to see the instructions on the CÉRIUM website: https://cerium.umontreal.ca/etudes

Registration Fees

All fees are in Canadian Dollar.

• Government and business employees: $1,200
• General public (employees, retirees, self-employed): $1,000
• NPO and NGO: $500
• Uncredited or outside Quebec students: $475
• Daily rates: $350

(Rates may change)

CPIJ is offering 4 scholarships to graduate students from developing countries and countries in transition to attend this online school. See here for more information.

For more information about the course as well as details about how to register: https://cerium.umontreal.ca/en/programs-of-study/

Apr 28

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Student Projects: Funding Available

By Melanie Funding Opportunities, News

Student training is important for the Canadian Partnership for International Justice (CPIJ). This is why CPIJ notably funds students to take part each year in the Assembly of State Parties to the International Criminal Court, the Canadian Council on International Law’s Annual Conference, the ICC Moot Court Competition, and many other educational activities and events.

CPIJ encourages student initiatives and may support them financially. Students may apply to CPIJ to, for example, take part in a summer school, participate in a law-related competition, attend a conference or be involved in any other professional activity related to CPIJ’s mandate. The students selected for funding then become members of CPIJ’s student group.

CPIJ adapts to the current situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Until travel restrictions are lifted, online activities taking place outside the student’s home institution will be eligible to receive funding.

Admissibility requirements

A request is prepared by the student. To be presented to the Scholarship and Student Funding Committee for its consideration, the following conditions of admissibility must be met:

The request is presented by a student in international law or in a field related to CPIJ’s Research Program;
The request is sufficiently documented to allow the Scholarship and Student Funding Committee to appreciate its nature and importance for the student;
The request must include a detailed project plan and, if possible, the event’s agenda, registration confirmation, and an estimate of the admissible expenses;
The request must explain: the student’s link to CPIJ; the link between the project and CPIJ’s Research Program; the nature of the project and the expected learning outcomes; the relevance of the project with respect to the student’s development and goals; and the amount and purpose of any funding previously received from CPIJ.

Funding requirements

Those students selected for funding must comply with the following requirements:

The student must provide consent, unless an exception is justified, for CPIJ’s use and dissemination of the student’s texts, pictures and other outcomes of the project, with acknowledgement.
The student must respect the rules and regulations of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), CPIJ’s funding organization. For example, these rules do not permit funded individuals to be compensated for blogposts or other forms of publication.
The student will acknowledge CPIJ and SSHRC’s financial support in blogposts and other relevant fora.
The student must write a minimum of one 1000 to 1500-word blogpost, which will be published on any of the following platforms, at the choice of the student: Quid Justitiæ, IntLawGrrls, Justice in Conflict or the Philip Kirsch Institute’s Global Justice Journal. The blogpost shall comply with the rules related to the chosen platform. The post shall be written before, during, or within a reasonable time after, the project completion.

The following expenses are admissible:[1]

Registration fees to attend the online activity.

Regarding online summer schools, please note that tuition fees specifically related to earning academic credits are not eligible.

Selection criteria

In choosing which projects to fund, the Scholarship and Student Funding Committee will consider the:

Link between the project and CPIJ’s Research Program;
Nature of the project and the expected learning outcome;
Relevance of the project with respect to the student’s training development and goals;
Link between the student(s) and CPIJ; and
Amount and purpose of any funding previously asked for and received from CPIJ.

How to apply?

To request funding, students shall fill the following form.

The Scholarship and Student Funding Committee meets four times per year to review and select projects for funding. The committee meets on:

November 1st;
February 1st;
May 1st;
August 1st*.

*The deadline for the fall 2021 has been moved to October 1, 2021.

Results are announced within one month following the Committee’s meeting. It is possible to submit a request at any moment throughout the year, but applicants should have these dates in mind to know the processing time of their request.

If funding is granted, the Partnership will provide the approved funding once the student is confirmed as attending the event (a registration confirmation can be required) and after ensuring that the expenses claimed are admissible. The Committee may approve the full, or a portion, of the amount requested. The approved amount may be paid in full or in instalments.

[1] An expense is admissible when it complies with the administrative requirements of the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) and of CPIJ’s host institution, Université Laval (www.sf.ulaval.ca). CPIJ could refuse to reimburse an expense that is not admissible or that subsequently becomes inadmissible after CPIJ initially accepted to fund the project. It is the student’s responsibility to verify the admissibility of the expenses. It is strongly encouraged to have all planned expenses pre-approved by CPIJ. Additional information can be provided on demand.

Request funding to CPIJ

Mar 11

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19th Assembly of State Parties to the International Criminal Court: Call for applications

By Melanie News, Student News, Upcoming Events

Each year between 2016 and 2021, the Canadian Partnership for International Justice (CPIJ) sets up and funds a delegation of Canadian students, headed by academics and practitioners from various academic institutions and NGOs, to attend the Assembly of States Parties (ASP) to the International Criminal Court (ICC). This major event takes place in The Hague or in New York at the end of each year.

Through this activity, CPIJ trains a cohort of students who are educated, engaged and networked in international and transnational law. The Partnership also aims at training and educating diverse Canadian audiences about the challenges, pitfalls and potential of the system of international justice, and about the priorities to improve the system. Through its action, CPIJ also enhances Canada’s role as a global leader in the fight against impunity.

The 19^thICC ASP will take place from 7 to 17 December 2020. The training of the delegation for this ASP will be spread out throughout the year until the event. The recruited students may have to:

report on the ASP, its side-events and on Canada’s participation as a State Party with respect to various themes (such as sexual and gender-based crimes, complementarity, cooperation, elections, budget, etc.);
tweet and live tweet;
organize conferences or events at their institution;
write short papers and blog posts;
support the Partnership’s partners in implementing their ASP programs;
connect with professionals working in international criminal law;
visit relevant international institutions.

Applications for the 19^thASP are accepted until September 1, 2020.

Conditions

Availability between now and the ASP in December to prepare the mission;
Availability to attend the ASP;
Availability to report on the ASP before, during and after the ASP;
Being able to get a visa for and to fly to the United States before the ASP.

The ASP is a very demanding activity. Members of the delegation are requested to work long hours throughout the day. It is strongly recommended that students avoid other kinds of deadlines during or shortly after the ASP.

Evaluation criteria

Cycle of studies: priority is given to master or higher degree;
Link between the applicant and a team member or organization involved in the Partnership;
Link between the ASP/ICC and the field of study, the professional goals and the other academic/scientific activities of the applicant;
Availability to prepare the mission, to attend the ASP and to report on it thereafter;
Fluency and good writing command in English or French (bilingualism an asset);
Priority is given to applicants who have never received funding from the Partnership.

How to apply

Your application must include:

Your resume;
Transcripts;
A copyof your passport ;
A blog post or other legal dissertation of at least 1000 words in English or French;
A motivation letter explaining how your application meets the evaluation criteria. You are strongly invited to write few paragraphs of your motivation letter in French if your application is in English and vice-versa.

Please upload your application and fill in the application form below before September 1, 2020.

For further information, write to:

Érick Sullivan/Catherine Savard
Co-coordinators of the Canadian Partnership for International Justice
internationaljustice.sshrc@gmail.com

Apply now!

LWBC Annual Forum

Changing Canada’s Extradition Laws: The Halifax Colloquium’s Proposals for Law Reform

LWBC Annual Forum Application Form

Participation to the LWBC Annual Forum / Participation au Forum annuel ASFC

Professor Fannie Lafontaine takes honors in Canada’s Top 25 Most Influential Lawyers

Intership Opening at ASFC

Alleged Massacre Perpetrator Lives Freely in Canada: Canadian Government Called to Act

Earth Day Forum – Ecocide as an International Crime? Global and Canadian perspectives

2021 International Justice and Victims’ Rights Summer School

Student Projects: Funding Available

19th Assembly of State Parties to the International Criminal Court: Call for applications

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