The symposium ‘Responsibility, Fraternity and Sustainability in Law’ in memory of the honourable Charles D. Gonthier took place at the McGill University Faculty of Law on May 20-21 2011. The themes of the symposium were designed to recognise and commemorate the outstanding legacy of Charles D. Gonthier. As a judge, he sought for novel and contextual solutions to a wide variety of legal problems, gaining inspiration from values that are essential to our society. In his research, he developed these values in several legal domains, in common law as well as Quebec civil law. This prestigious event brought together more than fifty Canadian and foreign speakers, including three judges of the Supreme Court of Canada, five judges from Canadian appeal courts, one member of the French Constitutional Council, a former vice-president of the International Court of Justice and a former judge of the South African Constitutional Court. Judge-student mentorship sessions open to all student attendees were also organised during the conference. A gala dinner will took place during the symposium, on Friday May 20th and was be hosted by the Right Honorable Beverley McLachlin, CP, Chief Justice of Canada.
The symposium was recognised as an instant and tremendous success by participants, speakers and organisers alike. Keynote speeches were delivered by leading international and Canadian jurists, who were also close to Charles D. Gonthier, such as Justice Albie Sachs (South African Constitutional Court), Justice Ian Binnie (Canadian Supreme Court), Justice Christopher G. Weeramantry (former Vice-President of the International Court of Justice) or Mr. Guy Canivet (French Constutional Council), to cite only a few. Panels, all derived from themes dear to Charles D. Gonthier, successfully brought together leading practitioners and scholars with upcoming young jurists. The judge-student session was very much appreciated by all of the student attendees, and allowed an informal interaction between law students and several judges from Canadian Appellate Courts.
Please find the programme of the symposium here.