OTTAWA, May 10, 2005 – The Honourable Irwin Cotler, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, today announced the appointment of Yves Le Bouthillier as President of the Law Commission of Canada. This appointment was reviewed by the Standing Committee on Justice, Human Rights, Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness.

As part of the government's policy of providing a greater role for parliamentarians in reviewing appointments, Professor Le Bouthillier appeared before the Committee on May 5, 2005 .

Professor Le Bouthillier currently serves as Vice-Dean of the French Common Law Program at the University of Ottawa 's Faculty of Law, and is an expert in international law. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Moncton , a Bachelor of Law degree from the University of Ottawa and diplomas from the University of Paris II  and the International Institute of Human Rights in Strasbourg .  He is also a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada.

Professor Le Bouthillier teaches various aspects of international law, as well as immigration and refugee law. His studies pertain not only to these areas but also to language rights issues. From August 2000 to June 2002, he held the position of Scholar in Residence at the former Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade. In 2001, he was a member of the negotiating team that earned the Head of the Public Service Award for its contribution to the development and the adoption of the Stockholm Global Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants. From 1999 to 2000, he was responsible for human rights law projects at the Agence universitaire de la Francophonie in Paris. For many years, he was vice-president of the Canadian Council on International Law, for which he co-directed the development of two reports. He is also a member of the board of Human Rights Internet.

Established on July 1, 1997 under an Act of the Parliament of Canada, the Law Commission of Canada offers Canadians a forum to present their concerns on issues of law and justice. The mission of the Law Commission of Canada is to engage Canadians in the renewal of the law to ensure that it is relevant, responsive, effective, equally accessible to all, and just.

For more information on the Law Commission of Canada, please visit:http://www.lcc.gc.ca/.

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Ref.:

Denise Rudnicki
Director of Communications
Office of the Minister of Justice
(613) 992-4621

Rae Raymond
Director of Communications
Law Commission of Canada
(613) 954-6932