From different angles and through a variety of lenses, the papers in this collection examine the relationships between international and domestic law and the treatment of international law by Canadian governments, parliamentarians, and the courts. The book aims to address the need for a clearer and broader understanding of how international law impacts on domestic law and policy, in order to be able to use law more effectively in international and domestic litigation, dispute settlement, policy development, and decision-making. This book encourages the reader to think deeply about how law is evolving in a globalizing world and to consider how Canada and Canadians can influence this evolution in positive ways.

Table of Contents:
Introduction Oonagh Fitzgerald on behalf of the Department of Justice Canada Part One: What is International Law and How Do We Find It in Canada? SECTION A: Introduction to the Issues Surrounding the Relationship between International and Domestic Law The Use and Abuse of International Legal Sources by Canadian Courts: Searching for a Principled Approach Hugh Kindred Implementation and Reception: The Congeniality of Canada’s Legal Order to International Law Armand de Mestral and Evan Fox-Decent What is Reception Law? Gibran van Ert SECTION B: Canada’s Interest in International Law and Why It Is Relevant to Canadians Canada’s External Constitution and Its Democratic Deficit Stephen Clarkson and Stepan Wood Understanding the Question of Legitimacy in the Interplay between Domestic and International Law Oonagh E Fitzgerald Part Two: Procedural and Institutional Roles SECTION A: State Actors and the Democratic Deficit State Actors and the Democratic Deficit: The Role for Parliament in Treaty-Making Joanna Harrington SECTION B: Participants Other than National Governments in International Law-Making: Current Practice, Aspirations, and Possibilities Labour Conventions and Comprehensive Claims Agreements: A New Model for Subfederal Participation in Canadian International Treaty-Making Gibran van Ert and Stefan Matiation Fostering Compliance with International Biodiversity Law: Environmental Advocacy Groups Inside and Outside the Courtroom Natasha Affolder SECTION C: The Mediating Language of Domestic Implementation: The Challenges, Current and Best Practices A Legislative Perspective on the Interaction of International and Domestic Law John Mark Keyes and Ruth Sullivan International Law Statutory Interpretation: Up with Context, Down with Presumption Stephan Beaulac Evidence and International and Comparative Law Anne Warner La Forest Part Three: Case Studies SECTION A: The Special Case of Implementing Human Rights Treaties, Whose Standards Evolve Domestically and Internationally: Current Practice and Reform Making a Difference: The Canadian Duty to Consult and Emerging International Norms Respecting Consultation with Indigenous Peoples Stefan Matiation and Josée Boudreau Implementation by Canada of its International Human Rights Treaty Obligations: Making Sense Out of the Nonsensical Elisabeth Eid and Hoori Hamboyan The Domestic Implementation of International Human Rights Law in Canada: The Role of Canada’s National Human Rights Institutions Linda Reif SECTION B: Substantive Domestic Law and the Implementation of International Law Domestic Implementation of Canada’s International Human Rights Obligations Donald J Fleming and John P McEvoy The Role of International Treaties in the Interpretation of Canadian Intellectual Property Statutes Daniel J Gervais The Effect of International Conventional Criminal Law on Domestic Legislative Initiatives since 1990 Doug Breithaupt "If Commerce, Why Not Torture?" An Examination of Further Limiting State Immunity with Torture as a Case Study Maurice Copithorne Implementation of International Humanitarian and Related Law in Canada Oonagh E Fitzgerald Selected Bibliography / Contributors / Index