Friday, November 14, 2014 – Incoming Munk School Director Stephen J. Toope, a noted international law scholar and university leader, will be awarded the John E. Read Medal this evening from the Canadian Council on International Law (CCIL). As a world renowned expert on international human rights law, Professor Toope has been granted the Medal in recognition of his innovative work bridging the disciplines of international law and international relations.
The Canadian Council on International Law bestows this gold medal from time to time to commemorate the life and work of John E. Read, who was a distinguished member of the International Court of Justice. The award is granted to Canadians who have made a distinguished contribution to international law and organizations (or non-Canadians who have done the same in fields of special interest to Canada.)
Professor Toope receives the award this year for his innovations in international law scholarship, his accomplishments as a leader in post-secondary Canadian education, and his strong commitment to the advancement of the study of international law in Canadian law schools. Beginning in Janurary 1, 2015, Professor Toope will assume the position of Director of the Universtiy of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs.
Before joining the Munk School, Professor Toope was President of the University of British Columbia from 2006 to 2014. He represented Western Europe and North America on the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances from 2002-2007. He continues to conduct research on many aspects of international law and is currently working on issues of continuity and change in international law, and the origins of international obligation in international society. His most recent book, with Jutta Brunnée, is Legitimacy and Legality in International Law: An Interactional Account, which won the American Society of International Law’s 2011 Certificate of Merit for Creative Scholarship.
Prior to joining UBC, Toope was President of the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation, a position he held since 2002. The Foundation is an independent, private, and non-partisan organization created to promote outstanding research and interaction between researchers in the social sciences and humanities and the wider society. From 1994-1999, he served as the dean of McGill University’s Faculty of Law. Previously, he served as Law Clerk to the Rt. Hon. Chief Justice Dickson of the Supreme Court of Canada from 1986-1987.
A Canadian citizen, Professor Toope earned his PhD from Trinity College, Cambridge (1987), his degrees in common law (LLB) and civil law (BCL) with honours from McGill University (1983), and graduated magna cum laude with his AB in History and Literature from Harvard University (1979).
About CCIL
The Canadian Council on International Law (CCIL) was established in 1972 to promote the co-operative study and analysis of international legal problems by scholars and professionals in both government and private practice. As a non-profit organization, the CCIL is independent and non-partisan, relying on membership fees and donations or grants from individuals, corporations, foundations and governments to support the organization financially. The genesis of the CCIL was a concern expressed among Canadian international law professionals over a lack of resources available to professors, students and practitioners of international law in Canada. The solution was the creation of an independent organization to foster a community of international lawyers in Canada. The CCIL has grown into an organization with over 400 Members from within Canada and around the world and provides numerous resources within this community of international law practitioners.
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