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Biennial Research Report 2023-2025, Common Law Section

Welcome to the 2023-2025 Biennial Research Report for the Common Law Section. This report highlights the inspiring and transformative work of our researchers as they drive progress across diverse areas of law. Through their groundbreaking projects, our researchers continue to demonstrate the critical role that law scholarship plays in advancing justice, promoting inclusivity, and ensuring a just and sustainable future for all. We are excited to share this new online format, designed to make it easier than ever to explore the remarkable research being done at the Common Law Section.

Message from the Research Office

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CML Report, Research Office

Table of Contents

68

Full-Time Professors – advancing law across a vast range of fields in both French and English.

15

Active Research Chairs – leading projects that are pushing the boundaries of research in law.

17

Research Centres, Networks, Labs and Clinics – serving as hubs of activity within our research community.

Featured Stories

A visit to Kitigan Zibi

Strengthening ties, deepening connection: A visit to Kitigan Zibi

“Visiting Kitigan Zibi puts everything into perspective. It helps the Faculty deepen its understanding of what it means to practice and teach law.”…
Garrick Apollon

Bringing entrepreneurial and visual advocacy expertise to Common Law

“What we're trying to do is really create the next generation of leaders for our country,” says Garrick Apollon, LLB ‘03.
Carissima Mathen

Carissima Mathen’s indelible mark on our Faculty

The Common Law Section celebrates the appointment of Professor Carissima Mathen, LSM, to the Superior Court of Justice of Ontario in Toronto.

2023-2025 in Review

Roojin Habibi

Roojin Habibi

July 1, 2023

Professor Roojin Habibi, a graduate of the French Common Law Program (PCLF) in 2018, brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in international law, health law, and human rights. As a Senior Visiting Fellow of the United Nations University's International Institute for Global Health, and a Research Fellow of the Global Strategy Lab at York University and the University of Ottawa, Professor Habibi has established herself as a respected figure in the field. Bridging the fields of international law, health law and human rights, her current research program examines normative interpretation and change in global health law.

Doug Sarro

Doug Sarro

July 1, 2023

Before pursuing an academic career, Professor Doug Sarro clerked at the Court of Appeal for Ontario, practiced corporate law at Sullivan & Cromwell in New York, and was a senior advisor at the Ontario Securities Commission. His research is focused on corporate law, securities regulation, and the relationship between innovation, law, and politics. His recent work, featured in publications such as the Osgoode Hall Law Journal, UBC Law Review, Queen's Law Journal, Canadian Business Law Journal, and Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial & Commercial Law, has garnered recognition within the legal community. 

Julie Ada Tchoukou

Julie Ada Tchoukou

July 1, 2024

Professor Julie Ynès Ada Tchoukou's academic and professional journey is characterized by her strong dedication to theoretical and practical issues relating to the intersection between domestic and international law, with a particular focus on concerns arising from law’s engagement with gender, race and equality. Her principal fields of research include international human rights law, comparative law, law and gender, law and culture and human rights in cross-cultural perspectives. She is interested in policy reforms and projects with an end goal of social change.

Hugo Lafrenière

Hugo B. Lafrenière

January 1, 2025 

Prior to joining the University of Ottawa, Professor Hugo Lafrenière led a rich academic and professional career. He completed a post-doctorate at the Institut d'études politiques de Paris (Sciences Po) (2022-23), where he taught political and moral philosophy. More recently, he taught trans-systemic property law at McGill University as a Junior Boulton Fellow (2023-24). His current research interests lie at the intersection of private law, political philosophy and moral philosophy. He is particularly interested in the relationship between personal autonomy and distributive justice, and the implications of this relationship for property law.

Matt Malone

Matt Malone

January 1, 2025 

Professor Matt Malone brings a wealth of experience and expertise in law and technology, enriching both our academic and professional community. In addition to his appointment as Assistant Professor, Professor Malone has taken on the pivotal role of Director of CIPPIC (The Samuelson-Glushko Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic), Canada’s first and only public interest technology law clinic. Professor Malone's main research interest pertains to the various ways law protects secret information, especially in the context of trade secrecy, confidential information, access to information, privacy, data protection, and cybersecurity.  He also maintains a broad interest in legal issues pertinent to modern workplaces, in particular workplace investigations. 

Marcelo Thompson

Marcelo Thompson

April 1, 2025

Professor Marcelo Thompson’s distinguished academic and professional background literally spans continents, institutions and critical issues at the heart of our digital society. Prior to joining the University of Ottawa, he served as a full-time faculty member at the University of Hong Kong’s Faculty of Law, where he played leadership roles as Acting and Deputy Director of both the Law and Technology Centre and the Master of Laws in Technology and Intellectual Property Law. Professor Thompson’s teaching and research interests sit at the intersection of technology, law, and politics, with a focus on the regulation of technological platforms, privacy, data governance, and artificial intelligence. 

Research Themes

In this section, you'll find a wide variety of stories covering our researchers' involvement in the themes of Indigenous Law, Social Justice, Public Law, Law and Technology, Health Law, Environmental Law, Human Rights and International Law and Women, Gender and 2SLGBTQ+ Rights.

Indigenous Law and Legal Traditions

Indigenous Law and Legal Traditions

Responding to Call to Action 28 and research initiatives that explore water governance and traditional knowledge.

Social Justice

Social Justice

Research initiatives that give voice to marginalized and vulnerable communities and leaders who are finding ways to champion diversity.

Public Law

Public Law

A major public law conference and research efforts that explore a range of topics from democracy to language rights.

Law and Technology

Law and Technology

Shaping the future of AI, exploring the possibilities of legal data analytics, setting the stage for the future of innovation and much more.

Health Law

Health Law

Happiness and well-being for lawyers and law students, global health challenges and leaders pushing health law and ethics in new directions.

Environmental Law

Environmental Law

Research on food loss and waste, ocean ecosystem protection and climate change, and the experts pushing for a greener planet.

Human Rights and International Law

Human Rights and International Law

Research initiatives that respond to a range of global challenges, a video series on the WTO, and a celebration of our research leaders.

Women, Gender and 2SLGBTQ+ Rights

Women, Gender and 2SLGBTQ+ Rights

Youth-led approaches to tech-facilitated violence, homophobia in wrongful convictions and our leaders at the forefront of rights-based research.

Student Research

Our students are not only learning the law, but helping to shape its future. Whether attending international conferences, founding new student societies dedicated to emerging fields of law, or even getting the chance to participate in regulatory hearings, our students are actively contributing to key legal and policy debates. This section highlights their remarkable initiatives, showcasing the depth, diversity, and impact of student-driven research at our faculty.

Newly published books, 2023-2025

Our faculty members continue to shape legal scholarship through influential publications that advance knowledge, challenge assumptions, and contribute to public dialogue. This section highlights recent book publications that reflect the breadth and depth of our research community.

Decoding the Court: Legal Data Insights from the Supreme Court of Canada (Routledge, 2024)
Wolfgang Alschner
Vanessa MacDonnell
Carissima Mathen

La responsabilité délictuelle en common law, 2e éd (Éditions Yvon Blais, 2023)
Denis Boivin
Louise Bélanger-Hardy

Une introduction à la théorie et à la pratique de la résolution des différends (Éditions JFD, 2024)
Suzanne Bouclin

Artificial Intelligence’s Impact on Legal Journals: Challenges and Opportunities for the Ottawa Law Review (University of Ottawa Press, 2025)
Yan Campagnolo

CML Report, book cover 1, grey

Éléments de common law canadienne – Comparaison avec le droit civil québécois, 2e éd (Yvon Blais, 2024)
Yan Campagnolo
Louise Bélanger-Hardy
Aline Grenon

Droits, langues et communautés : Mélanges en l’honneur du professeur Pierre Foucher(Éditions Liber, 2023)
François Charbonneau
Stéphanie Chouinard
François Larocque

Research Handbook on Digital Trade (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2023)
David Collins
Michael Geist

How to Succeed (and Stay Human) in Law School: Pathways to Happiness and High Performance in the Study and Practice of Law(Emond Publishing, 2025)
Lynda Collins

CML Report, book covers 2, white

The Canadian Constitution, 3rd Edition(Dundurn Press, 2024)
Adam Dodek

Heenan Blaikie: The Making and Unmaking of a Great Canadian Law Firm (UBC Press, 2024)
Adam Dodek

Can’t Compute: Moving Towards an Equitable Digital World(University of Ottawa Research Chair in Technology and Society, 2023)
Suzie Dunn
Nasma Ahmed
Florian Martin-Bariteau

Pandemics, Public Health, and the Regulation of Borders (Routledge, 2024)
Colleen M. Flood
Y.Y. Brandon Chen
Raywat Deonandan
Sam Halabi
Sophie Thériault

CML Report, book covers 3, Grey

First, Do Less Harm: Harm Reduction as a Principle of Law and Policy(University of Ottawa Press, 2025)
Vanessa Gruben
Chelsea Cox

Drafting, Interpreting and Applying Legislation (Irwin Law, 2023)
John Mark Keyes
Wendy Gordon

Ghost Citizens: Decolonial Apparitions of Stateless, Foreign and Wayward Figures in Law (Fernwood Publishing, 2024)
Jamie Liew

Justice Rosalie Silberman Abella: A Life of Firsts (University of Toronto Press, 2025)
Vanessa MacDonnell
Stephen Bindman
Gerald Chan

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Awards and Distinctions

CML Report, Awards collage

Our researchers continue to earn recognition for their impactful work across diverse fields of law. Research-focused awards play a vital role in recognizing innovation, encouraging scholarly excellence, and highlighting the real-world impact of legal research on society. The following awards and honours reflect the strength, creativity, and influence of our research community.

Wolfgang Alschner

Wolfgang Alschner, Vanessa MacDonnell and Carissima Mathen

Angela Cameron

Yan Campagnolo

Jennifer Chandler

Aimée Craft

Paul Daly

Jeremy de Beer

Open African Innovation Research Network (Open AIR), represented at uOttawa by Professors Jeremy de Beer and Chidi Oguamanam

Adam Dodek

François Larocque

Jamie Chai Yun Liew

Florian Martin-Bariteau

Carissima Mathen

Delphine Nakache

Marina Pavlović and Katie Szilagyi

Alain Roussy

Doug Sarro

Teresa Scassa

Penelope Simons, Melisa Handl and Sara Seck

Samuel Singer

João Velloso

Contact Us

Maxime Raymond-Dufour

Assistant Dean, Research
[email protected]
613-562-5800 ext. 8872

Anna Bogic

Senior Research Advisor
[email protected]
613-562-5800 ext. 2046

Andrew Kuntze

Research Communications Strategist
[email protected]
613-562-5800 ext. 3444

Natalie Carter

Administrative Assistant, Research
[email protected]
613-562-5800 ext. 3249