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Vancouver, Canada, March 3, 2009
The International Centre for Criminal Law Reform and Criminal Justice Policy (ICCLR) co-organized a one day discussion with the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada (DFAIT), the Liu Institute for Global Issues, the Canadian Council on International Law and the University of British Columbia.
The forum was led by Prof. Don McRae, member of the International Law Commission (ILC) and the Hyman Soloway Chair in Business and Trade Law at the University of Ottawa, and John Hannaford, the DFAIT Deputy Legal Advisor and Director General, and involved experts from western Canada. The ILC is the treaty drafting arm of the United Nations and reports to the General Assembly.
The substantive topics for discussion included agenda items before the International Law Commission, namely Immunity of State Officials from Foreign Criminal Jurisdiction, the Protection of Persons in the Event of Disasters, and the Obligation to Extradite or Prosecute.
The objective is to facilitate the work of the ILC through the Canadian member, Professor McRae, to explore whether the substantive topics should ultimately form the subjects of multilateral treaties; to engage experts and interested students in Western Canada; and, more broadly, to stimulate interest in the practice of public international law in Canada. Participants included faculty and students at the University of British Columbia, other academics, members of the legal community, and government representatives.