Dear Friends of CLA-ACE!

We have been working hard these last few months and have exciting news to update you on:

• We are launching a program to empower Aboriginal youth
• New student chapters at University of Manitoba & University of Saskatchewan!
• Our summer interns are back with great stories to share
• Blakes joins as Pro Bono Sponsor of Ghana Legal Clinic Project
• CLA has a new website (and we want your feedback!)

Dare to Dream: Empowering Aboriginal youth

CLA-ACE launched a national consultative initiative among Canada’s Aboriginal leaders, lawyers and law students in the summer of 2011 in order to determine how CLA-ACE and its partners can work with Aboriginal youth, support them in completing high school, and encourage them to consider law and law-related careers. We will be announcing more about this exciting initiative in the coming months.

Student Chapter Program

The school year is underway once again and that means that our Student Chapter Program is back in full gear! Welcome to our new Chapters at the Faculties of Law at the University of Manitoba and the University of Saskatchewan. Our chapters will be learning, thinking, and engaging in activities around this year’s theme of “Indigenous Rights and Increasing Access to Justice for Canada’s First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples.” We are very excited to have our Chapter Presidents from across the country join us again in Ottawa for leadership training. Thank you to our longstanding sponsors LexisNexis Canada and The Dominion of Canada General Insurance Company.

Welcome back to Student Interns

CLA Intern Jeanne Tremblay with some of her co-workers from Maliiganik Tukisiiniakvik Legal Services

Welcome back to all of the students who participated in internships this summer! Students worked with our amazing partner organizations including the Yukon River Inter-Tribal Watershed Council, the Federation of Women Lawyers in Nairobi, Kenya, and the Law Society of Nunavut. You can read about JoAnne Barnum’s experience at Keewatin Legal Services in Rankin Inlet here, Jaimie Tax’s summer working with the Asia Foundation in Sri Lanka here, and Stephanie Cox’s summer working with the United Nations Development Program in Timor-Leste here. Warmest thanks to all the host organizations that make these opportunities possible for such a great group of law students. Watch out for our exciting 2012 internships which will be posted on our website in December.

Ghana university legal clinic update

Our partnership with the KNUST Faculty of Law in Kumasi, Ghana and the University of Ottawa Faculty of Law to establish a university legal clinic at KNUST is going well. Ebenezer Bediako, a recent graduate of KNUST, spent the summer working at the University of Ottawa  Community Legal Clinic where he gained insight into the functioning of a legal clinic. You can read more about his experience here. Thank you to Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP who have joined as the Pro Bono Sponsor of this project.

Take a look at our new website!

Our website has been revamped and we would love to hear your feedback! Be sure to check out our projects or sign up for regular updates through our mailing list if you have not done so already. Thanks to Amanda at Better Than Chocolate web design for her amazing help with this project.

Thank You for a successful “Rights of Spring” Cocktail Party

Thank you to everyone who joined us at our inaugural “Rights of Spring” Cocktail Party on June 1, 2011 at Globalive’s SHAMBA foundation patio in Toronto. Over 200 guests had the chance to listen to Ontario Securities Commission Chair Howard Wetston’s keynote speech on promoting the rule of law, followed by food and refreshments. Check out photos here as well as in the Globe and Mail’s “Party Photos of the Week.” Many thanks to our gold sponsors: Borden Ladner Gervais LLP and Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP. Thanks also to our silver sponsors: FTI Consulting, Wildeboer Dellelce LLP, Macleod Dixon LLP, the Flat Armadillo Society, and other event sponsors including Chitiz Pathak LLP, the SHAMBA foundation, ZSA Legal Recruitment, Precedent: The new rules of law and style, Oliver & Bonacini, Steam Whistle Brewing, and Legends Estates Winery.

Remarks to Canadian Lawyers Abroad
“The Importance of Promoting the Rule of Law”
OSC Chair Howard Wetston

June 1, 2011

Good evening. I want to express my thanks to Catherine McKenna and Canadian Lawyers Abroad (CLA) for inviting me to this event. It’s an honour to have been invited by the CLA to speak about the rule of law.

The Council of the International Bar Association has referred to the rule of law as the “foundation of a civilized society”.[1] And some might suggest that the rule of law is a key difference between successful and failed states. Our own rule of law tradition dates back to the Magna Carta of 1215, which set out, for the first time, certain limits on the King’s authority. Rule of law discussions often invoke legal principles well known to you, such as fair trials, an independent judiciary, fairness, access to justice, human and civil rights, and equality before the law.

While discussions about the rule of law are most often focused on these matters, there are also economic and regulatory components, which have been partially developed through the case law relating to property and civil rights and trade and commerce with its origins the Magna Carta.

In fact, modern formulations of the rule of law in Canada often date back to the Supreme Court of Canada decision in Roncarelli v. Duplessis in 1959,[2] where Premier Maurice Duplessis acted beyond the scope of his authority in directing the liquor license commissioner to cancel Roncarelli’s license because of his support for fellow Jehovah’s Witnesses who had spoken out against the Catholic Church.

The court found that if “an administration according to law is to be superseded by… the arbitrary likes, dislikes and irrelevant purposes of public officers acting beyond their duty”, it would signal “the beginning of disintegration of the rule of law as a fundamental” aspect of our constitution.  These principles have guided my work as a member of the public service for many years.

In his recent book The Rule of Law, former Lord Chief Justice of England Tom Bingham asserted that “The law must be accessible and so far as possible intelligible, clear and predictable”.[3]

One reason in support of this proposition was that “the successful conduct of trade, investment and business generally is promoted by a body of accessible legal rules governing commercial rights and obligations”.[4]

But rules are not enough.  Discretion is a tool, indispensable for the individualization of justice.  But what do we rely on to structure discretionary power.  In my view it is “openness” – a natural enemy of arbitrariness and injustice, (Davis).

To that end, Lord Bingham went on to state that “No one would choose to do business, perhaps involving large sums of money, in a country where the parties’ rights and obligations were vague and undecided”.[5]

Investors need to feel confident to participate in the economy of a country. Clear rules that govern business transactions are an important part of fostering the rule of law and also investor confidence.

Economic and business regulation are also essential to promoting the rule of law. This includes the effective regulation of monopoly utilities, competition policy and the capital markets.  In this regard, I would add that not only are competition officials and regulators expected to act in a manner that is fair, predictable and consistent but also in a manner that is transparent and independent.

Without effective regulation, economies suffer. The final report of the 2011 Asia Pacific Rule of Law Conference, organized by the World Justice Project, found that “uneven enforcement of business regulations and a lack of knowledge or ability to access key legal business information create an environment of uncertainty and increase the susceptibility of the private sector to pressures from unscrupulous government regulators and inspectors”.[6]

An article from The Economist in 2008 took the view that in the previous ten years, the rule of law “has become the motherhood and apple pie of development economics”, and a key driver of investment and growth.[7]

I recently visited South Africa for a conference of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO). It was clear to me that a number of African nations are working hard to strengthen the rule of law. Indeed, IOSCO has dedicated one of its committees to the promotion and development of effective securities regulation in emerging markets.

And all IOSCO members commit to implement – under the relevant legal framework – three primary objectives of securities regulation:

• protecting investors;
• ensuring that markets are fair, efficient and transparent; and
• reducing systemic risk.

Strong, well-regulated capital markets are a cornerstone of a society that can achieve economic growth.

Law and economics scholar Judge Richard Posner has gone so far as to say that for developing countries, it may sometimes be even more important to focus on “creating substantive and procedurally efficient rules of contract and property rather than on creating a first-class judiciary or an extensive system of civil liberties”.[8]

I understand his suggestion but in my view, both are equally important.

Without the rules provided by commercial law and economic and market regulation, as noted by Justice Bingham, no one would want to take the risk of investing the capital needed to drive growth and development.

But without key institutions like an independent judiciary, the ability to enforce those rules would be undermined. In some situations, the rules could be effectively rendered meaningless.

This is where lawyers can make, and are making, a difference.

The work of the Nigerian Bar Association offers an example of the strong desire, and the extent of the process involved, in working to ensure the rule of law is understood, protected and promoted in a developing country.

In 2006, the Nigerian Bar Association in defending the rule of law boycotted courts across the country to pressure the government to comply with court rulings. It is also working to institutionalize compliance with court orders.[9]

Indeed, the positive impact of this type of work was highlighted in a recent address to the UN General Assembly by Helen Clark, the Administrator of the UN’s Development Program. She said:

“Under the rule of law, a country is more likely to be able to share the progress of its growth and development more equitably. That helps establish the social cohesion and stability which gives development momentum”, and ultimately “contributes to a more peaceful social order and functioning institutions.”[10]

The work of Canadian Lawyers Abroad is important to the ongoing process of promoting and developing the rule of law, whether it be working to encourage local procurement in Haiti, helping to support the management of petroleum resources in the Timor Sea, or supporting the establishment of a legal clinic in Ghana. This is valuable work.  You are part of an important opportunity to promote and defend the rule of law in these societies. To the students in the audience, I wish you good luck in your studies and your work with Canadian Lawyers Abroad.

Thank you.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CANADIAN LAWYERS ABROAD CELEBRATE SIX YEARS OF RULE OF LAW, GOOD GOVERANANCE AND HUMAN RIGHTS WORK

Organization highlights work in Africa, Asia and Canada’s North at its “Rights of Spring” Cocktail Event

Toronto: June 1, 2011 – Canadian Lawyers Abroad / Avocats canadiens à l’ étranger (CLA-ACE) is holding a celebratory cocktail party tonight to celebrate six years of innovative legal work around the world and in Canada’s north. A mix of Toronto’s legal, business and academic communities will gather to learn more about CLA-ACE’s programming, and to hear the guest speaker of the evening, Ontario Securities Commission Chair Howard Wetston Q.C., speak about the importance of building the rule of law. The Honourable Henry N.R. Jackman will introduce him.

“We are very proud of our achievements to date both domestically and internationally” says Catherine McKenna, CLA-ACE’s Executive Director. “Canadian Lawyers Abroad has demonstrated that Canadian lawyers and students, working with innovative and effective partners abroad and in Canada’s north, can have a major impact on the lives of those who are underserved and marginalized. CLA-ACE welcomes all those who have an interest in law and development issues both in Canada and abroad to attend the event.”

The event will introduce CLA-ACE to a Toronto audience and raise awareness of the organization’s work, including its summer internship program that has sent over 70 students abroad and up north. The program’s participants have worked on issues ranging from law reform and women’s rights in Kenya, to good governance and development work in Sri Lanka, to aboriginal and environmental rights in the Yukon.

One of CLA-ACE’s current projects in Ghana will also be highlighted. The project is a partnership with the University of Ottawa and the KNUST faculty of law in Kumasi, Ghana that will establish a University legal aid clinic in Ghana. The clinic will consider the successful model used at Canadian law schools, and will serve marginalized Ghanaians and train a new generation of lawyers and leaders for the country.  Ebenezer Bediako of KNUST will be at the event to speak about the project, and his training this summer with the University of Ottawa Community Legal Clinic.

The event is free but attendees must register ahead of time. They can do so by going to  http://rightsofspring.eventbrite.com/. The event is being held at Globalive’s SHAMBA foundation, 48 Yonge Street, Suite 1200, from 6-9 pm today.

CLA-ACE would like to thank its all of its event sponsors, including gold sponsors, Borden Ladner Gervais LLP and Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP, and silver sponsors, FTI Consulting, Wildeboer Dellelce LLP, Macleod Dixon LLP and The Flat Armadillo Society.

About Canadian Lawyers Abroad:

CLA-ACE is a dynamic charity that supports good governance, rule of law and human rights work in the developing world and Canada’s north.  It does this through its national Student Program that runs out of 13 law schools from coast to coast [internships?], by developing innovative legal projects focused on systemic change, and by raising awareness about pressing international legal issues.

Contact:

Catherine McKenna
Executive Director
Canadian Lawyers Abroad
613 797 1173
www.cla-ace.ca

Dear Friends of CLA-ACE!
Canadian Lawyers Abroad – Avocats canadiens à l’étranger has some exciting updates to share with you.

Join us at our “Rights of Spring” Cocktail Party in Toronto on June 1, 2011
You are invited to our “Rights of Spring” Cocktail Party at Globalive’s SHAMBA foundation to celebrate six years of rule of law, good governance and human rights work in Asia, Africa and Canada’s north. Our guest speaker, Howard Wetston Q.C., Chair of the Ontario Securities Commission, will be speaking about the importance of promoting the rule of law. For more information click here. We hope to see you on June 1st! To request a complimentary ticket, email us at event@cla-ace.ca. Special thanks to our gold sponsor, Borden Ladner Gervais LLP, and other event sponsors including the SHAMBA foundation, ZSA Legal Recruitment, Precedent: The new rules of law and style, Steam Whistle Brewing, and Legends Estates Winery.

Student Interns set off
We’ve completed our 2011 Summer Intern selection process. Find out more about the amazing group of law students who will be spending the summer working with CLA’s great partners in Canada, Africa and Asia here. Their experiences will range from assisting criminal counsel at the Maliiganik Tukisiiniakvik Legal Services Centre in Iqaluit, to working with the Federation of Women Lawyers in Kenya on its Transformative Justice program, to conducting research on traditional and restorative justice with the United Nations Development Program in Timor-Leste. You can read more about our 2011 internships here.

Student Chapter Program
The school year has come to an end and so has this year’s Student Program. Our Student Chapters from across the country were busy holding conferences, film festivals, panel discussions, and publishing a law journal to raise awareness about this year’s theme on children’s rights. Read the Université de Montréal’s bilingual law journal “Droit de l’Enfant: Perspectives nationales et internationales” here and find a recent CLA blog post on the importance of promoting the rights of Canadian children and their well-being here. Thanks to all of our Student Program sponsors: WeirFoulds LLP, LexisNexis Canada, The Dominion of Canada General Insurance Company, the Department of Justice, and The Department of Canadian Heritage.

Ghana university legal clinic update
We have exciting news with respect to our partnership with the KNUST Faculty of Law in Kumasi, Ghana and the University of Ottawa Faculty of Law to establish a university legal clinic at KNUST. Ebenezer Benaki, a recent KNUST graduate who is now teaching at their Faculty of Law, is spending this summer working at the University of Ottawa Community Legal Clinic. He will return to KNUST in September to help establish the KNUST clinic. Welcome Ebenezer!

See where we’re working
Are you wondering where Canadian Lawyers Abroad is working and who our partners are? Have a look at this map.

Follow Us on Twitter.
Click here to read our blog.

CLA-ACE is a registered charity that depends on the support of friends like you! To donate, go to www.canadahelps.org, type in Canadian Lawyers Abroad, and click on “Donate Now.”

2010-2011 Student Program Sponsors

Read our blog to get the lowdown on our “Rights of Spring” party. You can also read about it in The Precedent Blog and see pictures in the Globe and Mail’s “Party pictures of the week” here.

It was with great sadness that CLA-ACE learned of the death of former Supreme Court Chief Justice Antonio Lamer. The Rt. Hon. Lamer was a forceful advocate for the rights enshrined in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and in particular, aboriginal and minority rights. He also was strongly committed to the rule of law and judicial independence and one of his guiding principals was to assist Third World countries set up their own judicial systems.

On a more personal level, the Rt. Hon. Lamer was a strong supporter of CLA-ACE. He was a member of the CLA-ACE Advisory Committee and in this role provided invaluable advice to the organization. In particular, he emphasized the need for CLA-ACE to promote pragmatic solutions to pressing Canadian and international issues especially in relation to aboriginal rights. The Rt. Hon. Lamer was also very committed to CLA-ACE’s Student Program as he demonstrated during his lively discussion at the 2005 Annual CLA-ACE Conference on Counter-terrorism and the Rule of Law.

In the Rt. Hon. Lamer’s memory, CLA-ACE is creating a bursary in his name to assist a student participating in the CLA-ACE Summer Student Internship Program.

CLA-ACE Executive Directors and members of the University of Ottawa Chapter (and aspiring members) participate in the CBA March to the Supreme Court of Canada in support of the Pakistan legal community’s courageous fight to end emergency measures and restore the rule of law in the country.

For more information including what you can do to show your support, go to http://www.cba.org/CBA/news/pakistan

By: Toby Kruger, UNB Student, 2007 CLA-ACE Internship with the Asia Foundation in Bangladesh

This past summer I had the opportunity to participate in an internship organized by Canadian Lawyers Abroad (CLA) and hosted by the Asia Foundation in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The Dean’s Office at UNB Law provided generous financial support for the experience, in addition to funds raised at the CLA student chapter annual fundraiser, “A Taste for Justice” held last February. 

Bangladesh is a small, seemingly disaster prone nation tucked between Myanmar and India on the Ganges river delta. Despite its small size, it boasts a population of over 150 million people, making it one of the most densely populated areas on earth. Bangladesh is a fascinating country in many respects, but particularly so from an international development perspective. Because of its susceptibility to devastating natural disasters, the country has frequently made international headlines, and as a consequence has at times been a darling of relief aid.

Yet relief aid is temporary, and many of the modern theories of longer term development aid are first produced in Bangladesh and then exported to the rest of the world. For example, rehydration salts to treat diarrhea were first popularized in Bangladesh. The Grameen Bank, a revolutionary micro credit lending scheme that has assisted in lifting millions of people out of the darkest reaches of poverty, finds its origins in the country.

Thus, with the eyes of the development world on Bangladesh, what happens on the ground there has a great potential to impact other regions of the world struggling to break free from the scandal of poverty. The focus of my internship in Bangladesh was Legal Empowerment for the Poor. There are many definitions of “legal empowerment,” but the project I was involved with defined it as the ability of women and disadvantaged groups to use legal and administrative processes and structures to access resources, services, and opportunities. Specifically, the project was meant as a pilot to test strategies to increase the benefits everyday citizens realize from Asian Development Bank (ADB) projects. The ADB, the World Bank’s sister, funnels hundreds of millions of dollars to developing states every year. However, even the ADB itself is not immune to the realization that some – even many – of the monies do not in fact reach the populations they are intended to benefit.

For example, legal empowerment is essential in a situation where a development aid program aims to bring social and economic benefits to women and other marginalized groups, but residents of areas served by the project receive little information about the project, including the rights and entitlements that it confers or the steps to be followed to take advantage of them. Imagine a rural water project wherein a series of small dams and canals is to be constructed to manage agricultural water supplies. Residents whose land is flooded as a consequence of the construction are, on paper, entitled to compensation, yet they are either not aware of the fact or afraid to approach the authorities or both. Legal empowerment is designed to minimize this effect and can help disadvantaged people and communities access benefits and enforce their rights.

Working with local stakeholders and development professionals (including some that were legally trained) I worked to enhance the benefits that women or other disadvantaged groups derived from an ADB small-scale water resources development project. Directly applying the concepts of Rule of Law and governance learned in the classrooms of Ludlow Hall at the University of New Brunswick, I worked to address the legal, administrative, or other constraints that affected people’s equitable participation in and benefit from the project, focusing on the interaction between local water management committees and the affected population. Through a series of awareness and outreach activities, including community trainings, theatre presentations, and legal aid provided by local human rights groups, we found that in a short time we were able to create awareness and increase confidence amongst users of the water infrastructure and as such were able to increase the livelihoods of beneficiary populations.

Legal empowerment and the Rule of Law have a substantial contribution to make to international development. There are two hallmarks of legal empowerment:

• Knowledge: Do people know their rights, and are they familiar with the rules that define their responsibilities and access to specific services?
• Confidence: Do people feel confident to assert their rights?

There is a severe deficit of both knowledge and confidence throughout the developing world. Tackling these barriers is essential to achieving successful poverty alleviation outcomes.

The overall outcome of the pilot project I worked on in Bangladesh will be to integrate the strategies to enhance knowledge and confidence used in rural Bangladesh into mainstream development projects. In that way, I had an opportunity to apply my legal training to meaningful and sustainable change. At the same time, I gained tremendous experience that I will carry back to the community at Ludlow hall. To me, the experience confirmed the notion that a legal education can be used as a powerful means of social change, both at home and abroad.

In December, 2006, members of the University of New Brunswick CLA-ACE Student Chapter interviewed an international lawyer named Carolyn McCool, to get her advice about careers in international law and development work.

Carolyn McCool is a refugee lawyer who began her international legal career by going to Kosovo to work for the CIDA-funded Balkans Civilian Deployment Project. While in Kosovo, she worked first as the Director of the Mitrovica region for the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe, and then as the Director of Democratization in Pristina. Since returning to Canada in late 2002, Carolyn continues to work on international development projects as a consultant in Kosovo and Afghanistan.

What are some practical steps a lawyer can take to begin a career in international law and development?

The two great activities are learning and helping. Do everything you can to educate yourself about the issues in development work. There are phrases – nation-building, state-building, institution-building, peace-building, development assistance, emergency aid – which have imprecise meanings, but if you study them critically and understand them as working tools, rather than divine or immutable concepts, and start to tug on them, then like threads to a seam, you’ll be drawn to intersections of thought and action. Once you get a handle on some of the basic ideas, look around your own community and see what organisations there are that are doing those kinds of things, and get involved. In many Canadian cities there are new immigrant support organisations or welcome centres, survivors of torture offices, and branches of major human rights organisations and aid agencies (Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, PEN International, CARE, Save the Children,) including Canadian-based international organisations such as Rights and Democracy, and IMPACS. Spend some time on the web, make a list of them all and see what you’re most interested in. Call them up and offer your time. If you’re in a small town, establish e-mail communications and see what you can do to help out on a long distance basis. Not all organisations are going to be able to accommodate much in the way of volunteer assistance, but it’s worth a shot.

Always keep in mind that there are likely to be major differences in experience and perspectives between refugee, exiled and expatriate communities and the societies which they have left behind, forcibly or voluntarily. You will have to learn to keep a distance from the political views of the people you work with, and never assume that the views you are exposed to, here in Canada, about particular countries, are appropriate to take abroad with you. Expatriates’ ignorance of the conditions ‘back home’, and their false belief that they can run their home country, has been a negative factor in more than one peace-building endeavour.

It is possible to take courses in peace-building. The Pearson Peacekeeping Centre here in Canada has been offering courses to military personnel and civilians for years. The European Academy for International Training, in Spain, and the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre in Ghana are more recent institutions. If you are interested, look for a one- or two-week course which has a practical aspect as well. Ideally this would include some practical training in things like map-reading, navigation and two-way radios, mission life and how to get a job, as well as all of the basic elements of military and civilian institution-building and humanitarian aid. If you do decide to take a course like this, remember that everything you learn will be something you should be able to re-transmit on to people that you work with in a post-conflict society.

What practical steps can a law student take to start an international legal career?

As a law student you are suddenly part of one of the great professions, globally, and one that can, potentially, give you access to work in many areas of law in many parts of the world. The Canadian legal profession is increasingly active outside of Canada. There are committees of the Canadian Bar Association, e.g., international committees, refugee committees, and independent organisations, such as Canadian Lawyers Abroad, Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada, and International Criminal Defense Attorneys Association that you can contact to offer assistance on a volunteer basis. There are also organisations that may take on interns, such as various international criminal tribunals (the ICC, ICTY, ICTR, etc.), the United Nations through some of its agencies such as UN Volunteers (UNV), and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). Start with the CBA and any other domestic legal organisations you can find, and work out from there.

What skills can you develop to prepare yourself for overseas work?

You will want to develop (1) organisational and time-management, (2) cross-cultural communication and (3) professional skills. But first and foremost, you have to develop your ability to be teachable. You have to understand that you know very little about what your hosts, and their country, have been through, and let them teach you. You have to be prepared to realise that they know more than you do about what they need and how to do it, while needing the support of others who have not suffered as much as they have and, therefore, have more peace of mind to help them identify and assess their options and make practical decisions. At the same time, you need to be smart, sensitive, competent, consistent, fair, firm, a great team player and capable of working independently. You need to know what your limits are, and be prepared to push them. You need to be able to help someone learn how to run a meeting – very importantly, and especially in the case of younger people, the skill of chairing by listening to what others have to say, rather than all the time telling them what to do – and write a report about all of that by candle-light in freezing temperatures. You need to be able to keep your head, and follow instructions, when a situation deteriorates into frightening danger. And you still need to be teachable, in a foreign culture, and understand that you don’t know what it is that you don’t know, and that others, i.e. the people whose land you are living in, do know. To develop all these skills, you can seek out the most difficult projects that you can find. Find a lawyer that will let you work on a complex case. Find a group of new immigrants that want help organising a non-profit society. Work in a legal aid clinic where you start out with absolutely no idea what is going on, or what anyone is talking about. Become teachable, get yourself organised, learn to work with people from other cultures, and learn the law.

What kind of legal education and legal background would be most helpful to those want to embark on an international legal career?

Anyone wanting to work as a Canadian lawyer abroad needs a thorough grounding in Canadian law. This includes such black-letter topics as property and corporate law. Courses in the law of war are a good introduction if that is going to be an area you work in, but remember that societies emerging from violent conflict are building themselves from the ground, literally and metaphorically. Property disputes are a huge area of work as huge numbers of people start to return home, sometimes after years of absence. The law of property is quite likely not going to be the same there as it is in Canada, but having a good grasp of our system will at least mean that you’re not too intimidated to learn another. The same is true of the corporate and banking/finance sector – there are major questions to be sorted out in a post-conflict society. What are for-profit and not-for-profit organisations? How do you set up a banking institution so that the new Ministry of Economic Development can start a micro-credit loan programme? These are major questions. In addition, don’t forget criminal law. At an international level, human rights and criminal law merge. You tree-hugging human rights activists, and you hard-boiled criminal defenders and prosecutors, have to learn each others’ languages, if you want to work abroad, just as all of you lawyers are going to have to learn the various languages of the military, the police and the humanitarian assistance community

The other thrust of your education should be to learn as much as you can about the major systems of law in use, globally, today. There is the common law, and civil law, both of which we have in Canada. A grounding in both would be invaluable in working abroad. Many post-conflict societies are working in both of those traditions, because of the prevalence of European and North American legal advisors, all touting the supposed virtues of their own countries’ legal systems. A debate between American and European lawyers in the context of a country ravaged by war can be a frightening event, and you will be in a stronger position if you can understand both and try to mediate! In addition, however, there are these legal systems: Islamic law (Shari’a), customary law and international law. Don’t be afraid of Islamic law, it gets a bad press for political reasons. It’s a wide-ranging and long-established (nearly 1,400 years old) system of law in use in the Muslim world in different ways, depending on the country. Customary law is the traditional form of law, or decision-making, in practice in many parts of the world, and is as varied as those places are. By “international law”, in the context of post-conflict societies, is usually meant both that body of law which governs the relations between states, and that body of international covenants, instruments or treaties that set international standards of human rights.

The best legal education is that which incorporates all of this. I’d say most of us would be looking at a master’s degree, or two, in order to achieve such a goal. There are, I believe, graduate degrees in Islamic law available in French and English in some parts of the world.

What can you expect when working overseas?

Overall there are two sides to an early post-conflict mission: military and civilian. The military side may be a peacekeeping force (as under the United Nations or some other multi-lateral organisation,) or may have a combat presence. On the civilian side, there will in general be two types of work: development, emergency relief, and refugee or displaced person re-settlement on the one hand, and on the other hand, building the institutions of governance and society. The people involved in each of these areas of work will not necessarily have any expertise in the others, but will be required to work closely together. In fact coordination of effort is a major pre-occupation in an early post-conflict society.

What it’s going to be like will depend on where you wind up. If you go to live and work in a very early post-conflict society, living and working conditions can be extremely limited. This can mean almost no electricity or running water or telecommunications or e-mail. This can mean, in fact, almost nothing in the way of infra-structure at all, except tents, or perhaps some form of building structures still standing to work in, some vehicles, pens, paper, candles, and two-way radios for communication. Assignment to countries or societies where the conflict is a bit more in the past, or where development has been an on-going initiative for several years, will be accordingly more comfortable.

But the most important thing to say about what it will be like is that it can touch your heart, and affect your mind, and change your life. If you let yourself be the teachable person we talked about above, you will never, ever, be the same again. This will not necessarily be an easy thing, or without pain, and we can talk about all of that in another forum, but it can change you, and your life, irrevocably.

Any final comments?

However you pursue your own path in this area, remember that it is an area of work which must be built upon values. If you are going abroad to get rich, or to get married, stay away from post-conflict societies. They are fragile beyond comprehension already. The goal, however it is articulated by the people that live there, will almost certainly be something like sustainable peace. In order to help them achieve that, we must work on the basis of first principles, core among which are respect for local ownership of the state-building project, and the centrality of the rule of law, whatever their law is, in that project. If you keep those two things engraved on the hard drive of your brain, you cannot go too far wrong, and you will become a better person, and a better lawyer, for it.