An Historical Introduction to the Teaching of International Law in Canada

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to describe from an historical point of view the main developments in the teaching of international law in Canadian law schools from the time when the subject was first taught, in the mid-nineteenth century, to the early years of the present decade.The paper is divided into five parts, dealing respectively with the law schools of Quebec, the Maritime provinces, Ontario, the Prairie provinces, and the Pacific coast. A chronological account is given of the teaching of international law in each law school, describing first the teachers, their backgrounds, personalities, attitudes to international law and other interests, and, second, the courses taught, texts and casebooks used, and the importance placed on international law in the general curriculum, as indicated by the time devoted to it, whether it was elective or compulsory, and the year in which it was taught. For the most part, the discussion is restricted to the law schools in the various universities. Although it would be interesting to consider the parallel development of international law teaching in other disciplines, such as political science, the subject is so vast that some limit must be imposed on it.