Having dedicated the past 40 years to the field of international law, Professor Donald McRae will now journey down a distinguished and well-deserved pathway to become the third Canadian ever elected to the International Law Commission. This nomination brings “tremendous honour” to Professor McRae as an individual, as well as to the University of Ottawa and, ultimately, to Canada.
Established by the UN General Assembly in 1947, the International Law Commission is comprised of 34 members representing the world’s principal legal systems. The election of the commission’s members took place at the 54th meeting of the General Assembly, held on November 16, 2006. McRae was nominated by Canada, Australia, India, Mexico, New Zealand, UK and Northern Ireland, to fill one of eight seats representing the regional group “Western European and other States” into which, Canada falls. McRae’s five-year term will begin on January 1, 2007.
Commenting on the importance of the appointment, Bruce Feldthusen, dean of the Faculty of Law, said, “I believe this is one of the most prestigious appointments any university professor could ever aspire to. It is an enormous honour to have been nominated to represent Canada at the United Nations, and to have been supported in that nomination by countries from all over the world.” He added, “This is a real testament to the high regard in which Professor McRae is held in the international legal community.”
McRae holds the Hyman Soloway Chair in Business and Trade Law and is a former dean of the Common Law Section. He has been an advisor to the Government of Canada and Counsel for Canada in several international fisheries and boundary arbitrations. He was also chair of the first dispute settlement panel set up under the U.S. -Israel Free Trade Agreement. Currently editor-in-chief of the Canadian Yearbook of International Law, he is a member of the Board of Directors of the Canadian Council on International Law.
