Jabeur Fathally appointed Director of HRREC for one year

Faculty of Law - Civil Law Section
Research
Human rights

By Civil law

Communication, Faculty of law

Jabeur Fathally
Professor Jabeur Fathally, who teaches in the Civil Law Section, has been appointed as Director of the Human Rights Research and Education Center (HRREC) beginning July 1, 2022. Professor Fathally is replacing Professor John Packer, who will be on academic leave for one year.

Jabeur Fathally is a specialist in comparative and international law. He is a member of the Ontario Bar and received his LLL, LLM and PhD, all in Law, from the University of Ottawa.

Fathally's research and projects address a variety of complex and timely legal issues, and promote critical analysis and dialogue on the multifaceted relationships between law, religion and human rights. Through his research and teaching, as well as his extensive knowledge of legal issues, Canadian foreign policy and human rights, Professor Fathally has become an internationally recognized expert. He is often called upon to comment on international news in the media, because of his extensive and indispensable expertise, particularly his in-depth knowledge of the Arab-Muslim world. He is also the executive director and co-founder of Juriglobe, a research group on legal systems around the world. Professor Fathally is the recipient of numerous Canadian and international awards, fellowships and grants.

The HRREC

The Human Rights Research and Education Centre (HRREC) was created in 1981 and is one of the oldest in Canada and North America. It comprises researchers from the Faculties of Law, Social Sciences, the Arts, and the Telfer School of Management at the University of Ottawa. Its members benefit from a dynamic bilingual and bi-jural environment, placing a particular emphasis on public policy and social justice.

The Centre supports the work of the Gordon F. Henderson Chair in Human Rights, the Neuberger-Jesin Professor in International Conflict Resolution and a Fulbright Chair in Human Rights and Social Justice as well as postdoctoral fellows and a number of visiting researchers.

HRREC organizes numerous events and participates in various research initiatives to raise awareness of different human rights issues in Canada and internationally. The Centre represents the University of Ottawa in the Scholars at Risk Network.

As a member of the HRREC for many years, Professor Fathally is a natural choice to lead the Center in Professor John Packer’s absence. According to Viviana Fernandez, Associate Director of HRREC, "The team is very excited to work with Jabeur during the 2022-2023 academic year, following our 40th anniversary celebrations that took place between September 2021 and June 2022. We continue to engage with our members and partners to provide innovative programs and activities that showcase the research projects we are working on. Congratulations to Jabeur Fathally !”