international law constitutional law foreign relations law international human rights law international legal cooperation international criminal law transnational criminal law international organizations public policy global affairs
Joanna Harrington is a Professor of Law and the holder of the Eldon Foote Chair in International Business and Law at the University of Alberta. She is also a part-time member of the Canadian Human Rights Commission.
A law professor for 20 years, her teaching and research activities focus on matters at the intersection of national and international law. Her work aims to improve our understanding of foreign relations law, the law and practice of international organizations, the interplay between international human rights law and national bills of rights, and inter-state efforts to address the commission of serious cross-border crime, including foreign corruption. Her publications can be found in leading law journals and highly-valued edited collections. She is also the author, co-author, or co-editor of six books, and has delivered over 80 presentations at international conferences, continuing legal education workshops, and community events.
A recipient of both teaching and research awards, including the Canadian Association of Law Teachers Prize for Academic Excellence, the Hon. Tevie H. Miller Teaching Excellence Award, and the inaugural Canadian Council on International Law Scholarly Paper Award, as well as the University of Alberta's Martha Cook Piper Research Prize and a Killam Annual Professorship, her work has also led to visiting fellowships at the University of New South Wales in Australia, the University of Oxford, and the University of Texas at Austin, the latter as the Fulbright Visiting Research Chair in Public Policy. She has also served on secondment through Interchange Canada with Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (now Global Affairs Canada), providing advice to government on matters of international law and representing Canada at the United Nations, the Organization of American States, and the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
In addition, she has served as a consultant with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), testified as an expert witness before parliamentary committees, and assisted counsel in private practice on matters of diplomatic law, extradition, human rights, national security, and foreign corruption. Her university experience includes a five-year term as an associate dean with university-wide responsibilities concerning the post-graduate student experience, and she has taught law as an invited professor in Australia, Canada, China, Japan, Puerto Rico and Suriname.
Before becoming an academic, she served as a legal adviser on matters of constitutional reform for a member of Britain's House of Lords during the passage of the Human Rights Act, the creation of a Scottish Parliament, and the implementation of the Belfast (Good Friday) Peace Agreement. She articled with one of Canada’s largest law firms and qualified as a lawyer in British Columbia in 1995 and Ontario in 2002. She earned her PhD in law at the University of Cambridge as a Tapp scholar at Gonville and Caius College and a Pegasus scholar with the Inns of Court in London.
See further: https://www.joannaharrington.com
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A survey of the foundational principles, structure and institutions of public international law, including the nature of the international legal system, the sources of international law, and the relevance of international law to the Canadian legal system. The role of international organizations, such as the United Nations, will also be discussed.
Fall Term 2020This seminar course focuses on the international legal protection of human rights (political, civil, economic, social and cultural rights). It may also consider the rights of women, children's rights, regional human rights systems, Canadian implementation of international human rights obligations, national human rights institutions, transitional justice issues, and the interface with international humanitarian law.
Fall Term 2020An introduction to the international legal framework for the prosecution of international crimes and crimes of international concern, and the examination of the international community's response to these crimes through the creation of international and internationalized criminal tribunals, including the International Criminal Court. Topics for further examination include immunities, amnesties, and sentencing, as well as the domestic prosecution of international crimes in Canada and other forms of Canadian cooperation.
Winter Term 2021These seminars will cover specialized topics of emerging importance in the law at a senior level. The particular topic covered would vary dependent on the availability of Faculty with necessary teaching competence, student interest, and the needs of the legal profession. Sections may be offered in a Cost Recovery format at an increased rate of fee assessment; refer to the Fees Payment Guide in the University Regulations and Information for Students.
Winter Term 2021