Recent Publications

Assessing Canada's legislative scheme for tackling foreign corruption

This article undertakes a scholarly review of the past 20 years of Canadian effort under the Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act, identifying the need for more work to be done on defining the victims of foreign corruption. It also discusses the need to secure the return of proceeds of crime through improved inter-state cooperation across multiple jurisdictions. A short, but related, commentary for ‘The Conversation’ was published in February 2019.

Citation: Joanna Harrington, "Addressing the Corruption of Foreign Public Officials: Developments and Challenges within the Canadian Legal Landscape" [2018] 56 The Canadian Yearbook of International Law. Article available from CambridgeCore here. The pre-print version is available from SSRN.

The Oxford Handbook of the Canadian Constitution

Honoured to contribute a chapter on Charter interpretation to the first 'Oxford Handbook' on the Canadian Constitution, edited by Peter Oliver, Patrick Macklem & Nathalie Des Rosiers, with publication in 2017 aptly marking the 150th anniversary of the Canadian Confederation.

Citation: Joanna Harrington, "Interpreting the Charter" in P. Oliver, P. Macklem and N. Des Rosiers, eds, The Oxford Handbook of the Canadian Constitution (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2017) at 621-638. Pre-print version available from SSRN.

Written evidence to the UK Constitution Committee's Inquiry on Parliamentary Scrutiny of Treaties

On 30 April 2019, the United Kingdom's House of Lords Select Committee on the Constitution released its report on Parliamentary Treaty Scrutiny (HL Paper 345). The report endorses the call for a dedicated treaty scrutiny committee as a needed reform for making law by treaty, citing a written submission by Professor Joanna Harrington of the University of Alberta.

The report can be found here. ​The written evidence submitted by Professor Harrington to the committee's Inquiry on Parliamentary Scrutiny of Treaties in December 2018, Ref PST0018, can be found here.

New work on extradition, assurances and human rights

This article evaluates a recent Supreme Court of Canada judgment concerning a legal challenge to the use of diplomatic assurances to alleviate substantial risks of serious mistreatment faced by an individual wanted for trial in a foreign state.

​Citation: Joanna Harrington, "Extradition, Assurances and Human Rights: Guidance from the Supreme Court of Canada in India v Badesha" (2019) 88 Supreme Court Law Review (2d) 273-293. Pre-print version available from SSRN.

New edition of the Public International Law title for Halsbury’s Laws of Canada

Many thanks to LexisNexis for all their support in the publication of a revised edition of the Public International Law title for the Halsbury's Laws of Canada series (HLC), available in May 2019.

Established in 1907, "Halsbury’s" is the common law world’s best known first point of reference for legal practitioners. Launched in 2006, the first edition of a Canada-specific Halsbury's was completed in 2012. With over 100 subject titles written by academics, practitioners and judges, HLC aims to provide a clear exposition on every aspect of the current law of Canada. The series is available in print and online via LexisNexis Advance Quicklaw.

Reforming the working methods of the UN Security Council

This article examines the working methods of the UN's most powerful organ, using the principles of transparency, engagement and accountability, and the principle of conflict prevention, as guidance points for the implementation of change.

Citation: Joanna Harrington, "The Working Methods of the United Nations Security Council: Maintaining the Implementation of Change" (2017) 66:1 ICLQ 39-77.

List of Publications