Our academic background gives us unparalleled insight into some of the most complex issues arising today in the international and multijurisdictional spheres.
With an in-depth understanding of all aspects of public international law and international human rights law, we provide advice and representation to NGOs and individual claimants on both contentious and non-contentious matters.
We advise and represent on a wide variety of disputes, such as:
- inter-state disputes, including cases before the International Court of Justice and Permanent Court of Arbitration
- land and maritime boundary disputes
- investor-state disputes including those before the ICSID (International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes)
- international environmental disputes including climate change litigation
We also advise and represent individual litigants in matters raising questions of Public International Law, such as diplomatic protection and immunity from criminal and civil prosecution.
We also act for NGOs and claimants on non-contentious matters. Our expertise includes:
- treaty obligations, including how to interpret and implement them domestically
- international humanitarian law
- international and regional human rights law
- state succession, including succession to responsibility
- responsibility of international organisations
- recognition and representation on questions before the United Nations
Representative Mandates
Secretariat of the Monitoring Mechanism of the Istanbul Convention
2022Expert consultant for the Secretariat, Strasbourg, France. Commissioned to draft the “Focus Section” on family proceedings and children in the 2nd Annual Report of GREVIO.
Heegsma v. City of Hamilton
2022 - PresentCharter challenge to homeless encampment evictions on the basis of sections 7 and 15 discrimination on the basis of race, indigeneity, sex, marital status and disability, and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
Zoghbi v. Air Canada
2021 - PresentCharter challenge to decision of the Canadian Human Rights Commission, in a case of racial profiling, that international aviation exempt from remedy of damages under Canadian Human Rights Act, on the basis of section 15 of the Charter and the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination.
Hutlet v. AG Manitoba & AG Canada
2021 - PresentCharter challenge to clawback of the CPP disability pension from provincial disability benefits, on the basis of sections 7 and 15 of the Charter and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Jacob v. AG Canada
2020 - PresentCharter challenge to Canada Emergency Response Benefit, Canada Recovery Benefit and Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit for discriminating against disabled workers in breach of section 15 of the Charter and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Maritime Delimitation in the Indian Ocean (Somalia v. Kenya)
2019 - 2021Counsel for the Respondent.
Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (The Gambia v. Myanmar)
2019 - 2021Counsel for the civilian government as respondent.
Kenyan Chapter of the International Commission of Jurists
2011 - 2012Expert advice in a case concerning immunity of a head of state under the Rome Statute of the ICC.
Khadr v. Canada (Justice) & Canada (Prime Minister) v. Khadr
2008Charter rights of Canadian Guantanamo Bay detainee under section 7.
Birdlife International
2006Expert Advice in connection with the Revision of the 1968 African Convention on the Conservation of Nature.
Charkaoui v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration)
2005Charter challenge to security certificates under section 7.
