TMU CSR Institute zoom session: Learning from Canada's Fast-Growing Rule of Law Lawyer's Pledge Initiative

The Rule of Law Lawyer's Pledge initiative of Canada's Rule of Law Project (external link)  is, as its website indicates, dedicated to creating a community of lawyers that will work together to support the rule of law. Lawyers from all areas of practice are welcome. The Project strives to educate all Canadians on the importance of the rule of law. As stated on the Rule of Law Project website: Members of the legal profession have worked hard to ensure that individual rights are respected; that governments across Canada cannot discriminate against people for their political or other beliefs; that everyone - including government - is accountable to the law; and that no one is above the law. This system requires that legal cases be decided according to the law, by an independent and fair judiciary. However, in recent months we have seen how fragile the Rule of Law can be and how quickly it can be eroded. Could the Rule of Law be attacked and eroded in Canada? The answer is yes, it could. The Rule of Law, like democracy itself, is more than a concept or ideal. Its very existence depends on the purposeful actions of government and citizens alike. The Rule of Law and democracy both require action....While there will be more to come, we thought we could start with this simple idea: Canadian lawyers should unite and collectively pledge to uphold the Rule of Law.

The actual pledge can be found here (external link) , and lawyers can take the pledge here (external link) . To date, more than 550 lawyers have taken the pledge.

The purpose of this in-conversation session is to learn more about the origins, purpose, evolution, challenges and opportunities associated with this initiative, and to explore potential and actual future developments, including with respect to the idea of a broad-based, multi-sectoral, multi-jurisdictional Global Rule of Law Coalition .In this regard, two of the organizers, Jennifer Orange and Okechukwu (Jake) Effoduh are well-positioned to provide their insights and comments.

About the speakers

Jennifer Orange

Jennifer Orange is an assistant professor in the Lincoln Alexander School of Law and part-time member of the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal. Prior to that, she was a post-doctoral fellow at the Bill Graham Institute for Contemporary International History at the University of Toronto, a member of the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario and a litigator at Torys LLP. Her interdisciplinary research investigates the ways that cultural institutions support the dissemination and evolution of human rights norms. Her work explains how human rights communities of practice that include both state and non-state actors can promote a human rights culture. Orange is also conducting research on the return of cultural artefacts to Indigenous communities. Orange's work is funded by grants from bodies such as the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC).Orange has written in the areas of international law, constitutional law, human rights, truth and reconciliation, dispute resolution and museology, including publications in Human Rights Quarterly, the Canadian Journal of Human Rights, the UCLA Journal of International Law and Foreign Affairs, and the Journal of Museum Management and Curatorship. She has held a number of fellowships, including a Jackman Humanities Institute-Mellon Fellowship.

Okechukwu (Jake) Effoduh

Jake Effoduh has gained significant expertise in international human rights advocacy at various ranks of domestic, regional, and international legal systems. He has also informed the regulatory frameworks and policy formulation on artificial intelligence (AI) both for supranational organizations and domestic institutions in several countries including the United States, Brazil, and Nigeria. Prior to joining Lincoln Alexander Law, Effoduh served as Chief Counsel of Africa – Canada AI and Data Innovation Consortium, mobilizing AI and big data techniques to build governance strategies. He is also the project coordinator of Canada’s Rights Role in Sub-Saharan Africa, a multi-year interdisciplinary SSHRC-funded partnership between Canada and several African countries. Effoduh has held multiple academic fellowships including at the Centre for Law, Technology, and Society at the University of Ottawa; the Harvard Library Innovation Lab of Harvard Law School; the Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance of the University of Cape Town; and the Center for Human Rights Science of Carnegie Mellon University.

Effoduh's research has been at the intersections of international law, human rights, and AI, with some of his works published by the Harvard Human Rights Journal; Oxford University Press; Journal of Robotics, AI & Law; African Journal of Legal Studies; and TWAIL Review. He is the Production Editor of the Transnational Human Rights Review, a peer-reviewed journal on transnational human rights normativity and practices. Effoduh has delivered lectures at various universities in Canada and at universities in Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Germany, Spain, and the UK. As a Vanier Scholar and Ph.D. candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School, Effoduh is examining ways that the legitimization of AI is impacting the pursuit and realization of human rights in Africa, and investigating if the technology will solve or exacerbate the “popular legitimization crises” that activist forces face in the region.

Kernaghan Webb

Dr. Kernaghan Webb holds Bachelor's, Masters and Doctorate degrees in law, and is an Associate Professor in the Toronto Metropolitan University Department of Law and Business. He is also the Founding Director of the TMU Institute for the Study of Corporate Social Responsibility. Prof. Webb's extensive law and regulation research and publications have among other things been cited and quoted  (external link) by the Supreme Court of Canada. Dr. Webb has also been employed by or advised governments and inter-governmental bodies, and he has been on the board of directors or otherwise assisted private sector, civil society organizations on regulatory matters. Of particular relevance to this session, Professor Webb was appointed Special Advisor to the UN Global Compact regarding the development of the ISO 26000 social responsibility standard, he has played leadership roles in the development of international and national social and economic standards, and received international and national recognition for his leadership.

Co-sponsors

This seminar is co-sponsored by the TRSM Law and Business Students Association and the TRSM Corporate Social Responsibility Student Society.

--------

Upcoming TMU CSR Institute talks

Click on "Events" tab of the TMU CSR Institute for upcoming talks.

--------

For more information concerning TMU CSR Institute events (videos and related information available for past sessions), click here.

To be included or removed from the TMU CSR Institute event email list, please email kernaghan.webb@torontomu.ca with "subscribe" or “unsubscribe” in the subject heading.

Follow TMU CSR Institute on X (@torontomu_csr) and Bluesky (@torontomu-csr.bsky.social).