VISCOUNT BENNETT LECTURE & PANEL DISCUSSION
November 7th and 8th, UNBF, LUDLOW HALL
The UNB Faculty of Law invites you to the 34th Viscount Bennett Lecture, to be given by Justice Robert Sharpe of the Ontario Court of Appeal, on November 7th, 2012 at 5:30 p.m. in the Mary Louise Lynch Room at Ludlow Hall, UNBF. Justice Sharpe's lecture is entitled "The Persons Case and the Living Tree Theory of Constitutional Interpretation". We invite you as well to a panel
discussion on the subject of equality on November 8th, 11:30 am in Room 2A, Ludlow Hall.
Justice Robert J. Sharpe was appointed to the Ontario Court of Appeal in 1999. He obtained his LL.B. in 1970 from the University of Toronto and a D.Phil from Oxford University in 1974. Justice Sharpe practised law with the firm of MacKinnon, McTaggart before joining the Faculty of Law at the University of Toronto in 1976. In 1988, he worked as Executive Legal Officer to former Chief Justice Brian Dickson for two years, from 1988 to 1990. At that point he returned to serve as the Dean of Law at the University of Toronto until 1995 when he was appointed to the Ontario Court of Justice (General Division).
Justice Sharpe is the author of many scholarly articles and books. Among the latter are The Last Day, the Last Hour: The Currie Libel Trial (1988), Injunctions and Specific Performance, 3d (2000); Brian Dickson: A Judge's Legacy (with Professor Kent Roach) (2003); The Persons Case: The Origins and Legacy of the Fight for Legal Personhood (with Patricia McMahon) (2007); The Lazier Murder: Prince Edward County, 1884 (2011).
Justice Sharpe has received numerous awards and has served as a member of the Advisory Panel to assist the Constitution of Kenya Review Commission regarding the judiciary (2002), and as a member of the International Bar Association Rapid Response Missions to investigate threats to judicial independence in Russia (2005) and Pakistan (2007).
The panel has been organized in cooperation with the UNB Law Journal and will be chaired by Professor Aloke Chatterjee of the Faculty of Law and will include Nathalie des Rosiers, Executive Director of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association.
- The lecture on November 7th is open to the public and is followed by a reception in the Student Lounge.
- The panel discussion on November 8th is open to interested members of the UNB and STU academic community.
