Irwin Cotler
Encyclopedia
Irwin Cotler, PC
, OC
, MP
(born May 8, 1940) was Canada
's Minister of Justice
and Attorney General of Canada from 2003 until the Liberal
government of Paul Martin
lost power following the 2006 federal election
. He was first elected to the Canadian House of Commons
for the constituency of Mount Royal
in a by-election
in November 1999, winning over 91% of votes cast. He was sworn into Cabinet on December 12, 2003.
, Quebec
, studied at McGill University
there (receiving a BA in 1961 and a law degree three years later) and then continued his education at Yale University
. For a short period, he worked with federal Minister of Justice John Turner
.
Cotler was a professor of law at McGill University and the director of its Human Rights Program from 1973 until his election as a Member of Parliament
in 1999 for the Liberal Party of Canada
. He has also been a visiting professor at Harvard Law School, a Woodrow Wilson Fellow at Yale Law School and is the recipient of ten honorary doctorates. He was appointed in 1992 as an Officer of the Order of Canada
. He is a past president of the Canadian Jewish Congress
.
He is considered an expert on international law
and human rights
law
. As an international human rights lawyer, Cotler served as counsel to former prisoners of conscience Nelson Mandela
in South Africa, Jacobo Timmerman in Latin America, Muchtar Pakpahan in Asia, as well as other well known political prisoner
s and dissidents. Cotler represented Natan Sharansky
, who was imprisoned in the Soviet gulag for Jewish activism. After his release, Sharansky went on to become Israeli Deputy Prime Minister.
Saad Eddin Ibrahim, an Egypt
ian democracy activist imprisoned by the Egyptian government, was represented by Cotler and acquitted in 2003. He acted as counsel to Maher Arar
during part of Arar's imprisonment and supported demands for a public inquiry. He has also defended both Palestinians and Israelis against their own governments, and participated in a minor role in the Camp David
peace agreement between Israel and Egypt.
In 1986 he was chief counsel to the Canadian Jewish Congress at the Deschênes Commission
of Inquiry on War Criminals.
Cotler is on the Board of Advancing Human Rights (NGO).
Cotler presided over other legislative changes concerning national security. This included proposed changes to privacy legislation known as “Lawful Access” to give police and intelligence officers the tools to conduct surveillance of electronic communications for law enforcement and national security purposes.
Due to his position as Justice Minister, Cotler has received many appeals from various groups asking that so-called "secret" trials and detentions in Canada be abolished. But these "appeals" and protests are often based on false or inaccurate information. For example, the security certificates are subject to judicial review and constitutional scrutiny by the Federal Court of Canada
and the proceeding is not "secret". Rather, only evidence deemed to relate to national security is protected from disclosure. Additionally, the Canadian federal court of appeal ruled, in December 2004, that security certificates were fully consistent with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. This decision was appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada
. The Supreme Court heard the (related) appeals in June 2006, has reserved its decision.
Paul Martin
called upon him to enter Cabinet as Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada.
He recommended the appointment of numerous women and aboriginal judges, including of two women to the Supreme Court of Canada
in August 2004: Louise Charron
and Rosalie Abella
, making the Supreme Court the most gender-equity high court in the world.
Cotler attempted to introduce several bills to decriminalize marijuana.
On February 22, 2006, the Liberal Party
appointed Cotler Critic for Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
in the opposition shadow cabinet
for the 39th Canadian Parliament
. On 18 January 2007, Cotler was appointed Critic for Human Rights by newly elected leader Stéphane Dion
.
In January, 2009, Irwin Cotler was named Special Counsel on Human Rights and International Justice for the Liberal party, under Michael Ignatieff, and subsequently Critic for Human Rights.
In May 2011 under interim Liberal leader Bob Rae, Irwin Cotler was named Justice and Human Rights Critic.
Cotler has also fought against genocide
and impunity
. His attempts to bring Nazi
war criminals to justice have won praise as has been his founding of all-party Parliamentary groups to bring attention and action to end the genocide in Darfur. Cotler has worked with a group of international jurists to indict Iranian President Ahmadinejad for incitement to genocide under the UN Charter and the Genocide Convention. Cotler released a petition in 2008 entitled “The Danger of a Genocidal and Nuclear Iran: A Responsibility to Prevent Petition.”
Cotler separated six categories of anti-Semitism and found thirteen indices of discrimination against Jews that characterizes the "new anti-Jewishness
".
Irwin Cotler is a member of MEMRI's Board of Advisors (http://www.memri.org/content/en/about.htm)
Irwin Cotler is an Honorary Member of The International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation.
Cotler was re-elected to Parliament in 2008 to represent the Mount Royal riding in Quebec with 55% of the vote, and re-elected again in May 2011.
members of the Israel
i Knesset
from 1967 to 1979.
Queen's Privy Council for Canada
The Queen's Privy Council for Canada ), sometimes called Her Majesty's Privy Council for Canada or simply the Privy Council, is the full group of personal consultants to the monarch of Canada on state and constitutional affairs, though responsible government requires the sovereign or her viceroy,...
, OC
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
, MP
40th Canadian Parliament
The 40th Canadian Parliament was in session from November 18, 2008 to March 26, 2011, and was the last Parliament of the longest-running minority government in Canadian history that began with the previous Parliament. The membership of its House of Commons was determined by the results of the 2008...
(born May 8, 1940) was Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
's Minister of Justice
Minister of Justice (Canada)
The Minister of Justice is the Minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible for the Department of Justice and is also Attorney General of Canada .This cabinet position is usually reserved for someone with formal legal training...
and Attorney General of Canada from 2003 until the Liberal
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
government of Paul Martin
Paul Martin
Paul Edgar Philippe Martin, PC , also known as Paul Martin, Jr. is a Canadian politician who was the 21st Prime Minister of Canada, as well as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada....
lost power following the 2006 federal election
Canadian federal election, 2006
The 2006 Canadian federal election was held on January 23, 2006, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 39th Parliament of Canada. The Conservative Party of Canada won the greatest number of seats: 40.3% of seats, or 124 out of 308, up from 99 seats in 2004, and 36.3% of votes:...
. He was first elected to the Canadian House of Commons
Canadian House of Commons
The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...
for the constituency of Mount Royal
Mount Royal (electoral district)
Mount Royal is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1925. Its population in 2006 was 98,888....
in a by-election
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
in November 1999, winning over 91% of votes cast. He was sworn into Cabinet on December 12, 2003.
Early life
The son of a lawyer, he was born in MontrealMontreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, studied at McGill University
McGill University
Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
there (receiving a BA in 1961 and a law degree three years later) and then continued his education at Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
. For a short period, he worked with federal Minister of Justice John Turner
John Turner
John Napier Wyndham Turner, PC, CC, QC is an English Canadian lawyer and retired politician, who served as the 17th Prime Minister of Canada from June 30 to September 17, 1984....
.
Cotler was a professor of law at McGill University and the director of its Human Rights Program from 1973 until his election as a Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
in 1999 for the Liberal Party of Canada
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
. He has also been a visiting professor at Harvard Law School, a Woodrow Wilson Fellow at Yale Law School and is the recipient of ten honorary doctorates. He was appointed in 1992 as an Officer of the Order of Canada
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
. He is a past president of the Canadian Jewish Congress
Canadian Jewish Congress
The Canadian Jewish Congress was one of the main lobby groups for the Jewish community in the country, although it often competed with the more conservative B'nai Brith Canada in that regard. At its dissolution, the president of the CJC was Mark Freiman. Its past co-presidents were Sylvain Abitbol...
.
Human rights activity
Cotler has served on the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and its sub-Committee on Human Rights and International Development, as well as on the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights. In 2000, he was appointed special advisor to the Minister of Foreign Affairs on the International Criminal Court.He is considered an expert on international law
International law
Public international law concerns the structure and conduct of sovereign states; analogous entities, such as the Holy See; and intergovernmental organizations. To a lesser degree, international law also may affect multinational corporations and individuals, an impact increasingly evolving beyond...
and human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
. As an international human rights lawyer, Cotler served as counsel to former prisoners of conscience Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...
in South Africa, Jacobo Timmerman in Latin America, Muchtar Pakpahan in Asia, as well as other well known political prisoner
Political prisoner
According to the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, a political prisoner is ‘someone who is in prison because they have opposed or criticized the government of their own country’....
s and dissidents. Cotler represented Natan Sharansky
Natan Sharansky
Natan Sharansky was born in Stalino, Soviet Union on 20 January 1948 to a Jewish family. He graduated with a degree in applied mathematics from Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology. As a child, he was a chess prodigy. He performed in simultaneous and blindfold displays, usually against...
, who was imprisoned in the Soviet gulag for Jewish activism. After his release, Sharansky went on to become Israeli Deputy Prime Minister.
Saad Eddin Ibrahim, an Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
ian democracy activist imprisoned by the Egyptian government, was represented by Cotler and acquitted in 2003. He acted as counsel to Maher Arar
Maher Arar
Maher Arar is a telecommunications engineer with dual Syrian and Canadian citizenship who resides in Canada. Arar's story is frequently referred to as "extraordinary rendition" but the U.S. government insisted it was a case of deportation.Arar was detained during a layover at John F...
during part of Arar's imprisonment and supported demands for a public inquiry. He has also defended both Palestinians and Israelis against their own governments, and participated in a minor role in the Camp David
Camp David Accords
The Camp David Accords were signed by Egyptian President Anwar El Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin on September 17, 1978, following thirteen days of secret negotiations at Camp David. The two framework agreements were signed at the White House, and were witnessed by United States...
peace agreement between Israel and Egypt.
In 1986 he was chief counsel to the Canadian Jewish Congress at the Deschênes Commission
Deschênes Commission
The Commission of Inquiry on War Criminals in Canada, often referred to as the Deschênes Commission, was established by the government of Canada in February 1985 to investigate claims that Canada had become a haven for Nazi war criminals...
of Inquiry on War Criminals.
Cotler is on the Board of Advancing Human Rights (NGO).
National Security and the Law
One of the central challenges for Cotler during his time as Justice Minister was to address concerns about terrorism while guarding against arbitrary and unnecessary limits on rights. Part of his work in this regard, has included a review of Bill C-36, Canada's relatively recent Anti-Terrorism Act. The Anti-Terrorism Act has been criticized by some human rights groups and defense lawyers, as an unreasonable trade-off between security and freedom. Cotler believed that the legislation did, in fact, strike a balance between rights and national security concerns, but understood that further consultation was necessary in reviewing the legislation. On February 21, 2005, Cotler spoke of the important work that Bill C-36 involved, and invited experts and other groups to continue dialogue to improve the legislation in the review process.Cotler presided over other legislative changes concerning national security. This included proposed changes to privacy legislation known as “Lawful Access” to give police and intelligence officers the tools to conduct surveillance of electronic communications for law enforcement and national security purposes.
Due to his position as Justice Minister, Cotler has received many appeals from various groups asking that so-called "secret" trials and detentions in Canada be abolished. But these "appeals" and protests are often based on false or inaccurate information. For example, the security certificates are subject to judicial review and constitutional scrutiny by the Federal Court of Canada
Federal Court of Canada
The Federal Court of Canada was a national court of Canada that heard some types of disputes arising under the central government's legislative jurisdiction...
and the proceeding is not "secret". Rather, only evidence deemed to relate to national security is protected from disclosure. Additionally, the Canadian federal court of appeal ruled, in December 2004, that security certificates were fully consistent with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. This decision was appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada
Supreme Court of Canada
The Supreme Court of Canada is the highest court of Canada and is the final court of appeals in the Canadian justice system. The court grants permission to between 40 and 75 litigants each year to appeal decisions rendered by provincial, territorial and federal appellate courts, and its decisions...
. The Supreme Court heard the (related) appeals in June 2006, has reserved its decision.
Politics
Though he intended his foray into politics to be a brief departure from his academic career, this changed on December 12, 2003 when Prime MinisterPrime Minister of Canada
The Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...
Paul Martin
Paul Martin
Paul Edgar Philippe Martin, PC , also known as Paul Martin, Jr. is a Canadian politician who was the 21st Prime Minister of Canada, as well as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada....
called upon him to enter Cabinet as Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada.
He recommended the appointment of numerous women and aboriginal judges, including of two women to the Supreme Court of Canada
Supreme Court of Canada
The Supreme Court of Canada is the highest court of Canada and is the final court of appeals in the Canadian justice system. The court grants permission to between 40 and 75 litigants each year to appeal decisions rendered by provincial, territorial and federal appellate courts, and its decisions...
in August 2004: Louise Charron
Louise Charron
Louise Charron is a Canadian jurist. She was appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada in October, 2004, and is the first native-born Franco-Ontarian Supreme Court judge...
and Rosalie Abella
Rosalie Abella
Rosalie Silberman Abella, is a Canadian jurist. She was appointed in 2004 to the Supreme Court of Canada, becoming the first Jewish woman to sit on the Canadian Supreme Court bench.- Early life :...
, making the Supreme Court the most gender-equity high court in the world.
Cotler attempted to introduce several bills to decriminalize marijuana.
On February 22, 2006, the Liberal Party
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
appointed Cotler Critic for Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness (Canada)
The Minister of Public Safety is the Minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible for overseeing the federal government's domestic security department, Public Safety Canada...
in the opposition shadow cabinet
Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet (Canada)
The Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet of the 39th Canadian parliament is listed below. Members are drawn from the Liberal Party of Canada, and most are members of their parliamentary caucus...
for the 39th Canadian Parliament
39th Canadian Parliament
The 39th Canadian Parliament was in session from April 3, 2006 until September 7, 2008. The membership was set by the 2006 federal election on January 23, 2006, and it has changed only somewhat due to resignations and by-elections...
. On 18 January 2007, Cotler was appointed Critic for Human Rights by newly elected leader Stéphane Dion
Stéphane Dion
Stéphane Maurice Dion, PC, MP is a Canadian politician who has been the Member of Parliament for the riding of Saint-Laurent–Cartierville in Montreal since 1996. He was the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and the Leader of the Opposition in the Canadian House of Commons from 2006 to 2008...
.
In January, 2009, Irwin Cotler was named Special Counsel on Human Rights and International Justice for the Liberal party, under Michael Ignatieff, and subsequently Critic for Human Rights.
In May 2011 under interim Liberal leader Bob Rae, Irwin Cotler was named Justice and Human Rights Critic.
Views on anti-racism, genocide and anti-Semitism
As Minister of Justice, Cotler tabled Canada's first-ever National Justice Initiative Against Racism, in parallel with the government's National Action Plan Against Racism.Cotler has also fought against genocide
Genocide
Genocide is defined as "the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group", though what constitutes enough of a "part" to qualify as genocide has been subject to much debate by legal scholars...
and impunity
Impunity
Impunity means "exemption from punishment or loss or escape from fines". In the international law of human rights, it refers to the failure to bring perpetrators of human rights violations to justice and, as such, itself constitutes a denial of the victims' right to justice and redress...
. His attempts to bring Nazi
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
war criminals to justice have won praise as has been his founding of all-party Parliamentary groups to bring attention and action to end the genocide in Darfur. Cotler has worked with a group of international jurists to indict Iranian President Ahmadinejad for incitement to genocide under the UN Charter and the Genocide Convention. Cotler released a petition in 2008 entitled “The Danger of a Genocidal and Nuclear Iran: A Responsibility to Prevent Petition.”
Cotler separated six categories of anti-Semitism and found thirteen indices of discrimination against Jews that characterizes the "new anti-Jewishness
New anti-Semitism
New antisemitism is the concept that a new form of antisemitism has developed in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, emanating simultaneously from the far-left, radical Islam, and the far-right, and tending to manifest itself as opposition to Zionism and the State of Israel.The concept...
".
Irwin Cotler is a member of MEMRI's Board of Advisors (http://www.memri.org/content/en/about.htm)
Irwin Cotler is an Honorary Member of The International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation.
Cotler was re-elected to Parliament in 2008 to represent the Mount Royal riding in Quebec with 55% of the vote, and re-elected again in May 2011.
Family
Cotler's wife, Ariela, is a native of Jerusalem and worked as a legislative assistant to the LikudLikud
Likud is the major center-right political party in Israel. It was founded in 1973 by Menachem Begin in an alliance with several right-wing and liberal parties. Likud's victory in the 1977 elections was a major turning point in the country's political history, marking the first time the left had...
members of the Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i Knesset
Knesset
The Knesset is the unicameral legislature of Israel, located in Givat Ram, Jerusalem.-Role in Israeli Government :The legislative branch of the Israeli government, the Knesset passes all laws, elects the President and Prime Minister , approves the cabinet, and supervises the work of the government...
from 1967 to 1979.
External links
- Official site
- Voices on Antisemitism Interview with Irwin Cotler from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
- Irwin Cotler McGill University Biography
- "Irwin Cotler: A Canadian Anti-Apartheid Activist" - Interview form 1997
- "Is the war on Iraq illegal?" - Article by Cotler in "The Globe and Mail" 21 March 2003
- Minister of Justice Irwin Cotler comments about same sex marriage
- Human Rights and the New Anti-Jewishness in "FrontPageMagazine.com" 16 February 2004
- How'd They Vote?: Irwin Cotler's voting history and quotes
- Parliament Webpage