On June 17, 2008, an ICJ Canada Fiftieth Anniversary Dinner, generously sponsored by Lang Michener LLP, was held at H.M.C.S. Bytown Wardroom to introduce the International Commission of Jurists to the local legal community thirsty for knowledge, wisdom, and direction. Members of the local community included a balanced mix of current and former clerks of Canadian courts, junior and senior practitioners, academics, law students, and Ottawa members of ICJ Canada. The objective of the evening was two-fold: fellowship and increasing membership.

The dinner was organized by a former clerk of the Federal Court of Appeal, Maria Mascaro, and Madam Justice Maria Linhares De Sousa of the Ontario Superior Court, in close consultation with Eugene Meehan, Q.C., Chair of the S.C.C. Practice Group of Lang Michener LLP, Ottawa, who served as Master of Ceremonies. Paul Battin, currently articling with the Department of Justice, provided able assistance.

The guest speaker, the Honourable Charles T. Hackland, Regional Senior Judge of the Superior Court of Justice in and for the Province of Ontario, East Region, reflected on the extent to which clerking has changed since he clerked at the Supreme Court in 1975-76. Justice Hackland, who served as Secretary-Treasurer of ICJ Canada between 2000 and 2007, went on to impart wisdom about ICJ Canada as a group of Canadian judges, lawyers, law professors, and law students who share a commitment to the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary. He also spoke about ICJ Canada’s five-year project in the Balkans, the judiciary of Zimbabwe, and the Tarnopolsky Award.

The keynote speaker was the Honourable W. Ian Binnie, Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada and an ICJ Commissioner. Justice Binnie gave a passionate and inspiring presentation on the work of the legal community and the ICJ, and the need for socio-political reform as a foundation for the birth of rule of law in areas of the world where this is absent. More specifically, Justice Binnie spoke about the international body based in Geneva, describing its organizational structure as well as its history and principles. He talked about the ICJ’s recent and current projects, including: the 2004 Berlin Declaration on Upholding Human Rights and the Rule of Law in Combating Terrorism; the Eminent Jurists Panel, which in 2006-2007 conducted hearings around the globe on Terrorism, Counter-Terrorism, and Human Rights; and the ICJ’s most recent work on Corporate Complicity in International Crimes.

By all accounts, the evening was both informative and fun, and ICJ Canada thanks all those who made it such a success.