Research Assistant - Canada - McGill University

McGill University

Verified Company

Canada

2 weeks ago

Posted by:

Sophia Lee

beBee Recruiter

Description

Please refer to the

job aid for instructions on how to apply.

The report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission is a vibrant wake-up call to address the root causes of the injustice experienced by Indigenous peoples in this country.

One promising avenue is greater self-governance by Indigenous communities, consonant with the recent Canadian embrace of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).

A central thrust of self-governance is control over the administration of justice in Indigenous communities, a phenomenon that is slowly starting to emerge in Canada.

The

research project proposes the _rst transversal survey of the emerging practice of Indigenous administration of justice in Canada and an analysis of its implications under constitutional, international, and Indigenous law.

Several Indigenous communities today, from Teslin Tlingit in Yukon

to Akwesasne Mohawks on the Québec-Ontario-New York border, are

creating their own justice practices, including the adoption of legal

standards and the creation of judicial institutions rooted in elements

of Indigenous traditions. Approaches differ widely, and because of

the local rootedness of these initiatives, the limited resources

available, linguistic barriers, and great distances, there has been no

opportunity for communities to compare experiences. We will survey

the approaches and practices of eight Indigenous communities that

have developed justice practices and institutions, to guide the

analysis of the legal implications of the Indigenous administration of

justice in Canada.

In addition to a survey of existing practices, the project has four

objectives: 1/. Develop a theoretical framework for the pluralization

of the idea of the rule of law and democratic legitimacy, to argue that

the state cannot validly claim to have a monopoly on the adoption

complex issues of Canadian constitutionalism, including the extent

to which the protection of Aboriginal and treaty rights in section 35 of

the 1982 Constitution Act mandates that Aboriginal Peoples be

permitted to establish their own administration of justice. 3/. Map

out the implications of the need for Indigenous Peoples to exercise

stewardship of Indigenous legal orders, as proclaimed in the UN

Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, recently endorsed

by the Canadian Government. 4/. Explore precepts of Indigenous

procedural justice, as it cannot be assumed that the forms of law

developed in the common and civil law necessarily correspond to

appropriate institutions of Indigenous law. Grounded in specific

elements of the practices of Indigenous communities, the project will

offer the first multi-layered analysis that can inform the evolution of

Indigenous administration of justice in Canada.

Qualifications Required :
BCL-JD, LLM or DCL students. Training in international human rights, constitutional law, and criminal law are a plus. Spanish language ability is a plus.

Additional required information/documents :
Please submit a cover letter, c.v., unofficial Law transcripts, and a 10-page writing sample.

Contract Start Date: 10 May 2023 (flexible)

Contract End Date: 30 August 2023 (flexible)

Hourly Rate:
To be discussed at the time of hire

BCL/JD:
$20/hour

LLM:
$22/hour

DCL:
$24/hour

Description d'emploi: Le rapport de la Commission Vérité et Réconciliation est un vibrant appel à s'attaquer aux causes profondes de l'injustice dont sont victimes les peuples autochtones dans ce pays. Une voie prometteuse est celle d'une plus grande autonomie des communautés autochtones, en accord avec la récente adhésion du Canada à la Déclaration des Nations Unies sur les droits des peuples autochtones (UNDRIP). Le contrôle de l'administration de la justice dans les communautés autochtones est un élément central de l'autonomie gouvernementale, un phénomène qui commence lentement à se manifester au Canada. Le projet de recherche propose la première étude transversale de la pratique émergente de l'administration de la justice autochtone au Canada et une analyse de ses implications en vertu du droit constitutionnel, international et autochtone.

Aujourd'hui, plusieurs communautés autochtones, des Tlingits de Teslin au Yukon aux Mohawks d'Akwesasne à la frontière entre le Québec, l'Ontario et l'État de New York, sont en train de créer leurs propres pratiques de justice, notamment en adoptant des normes juridiques et en créant des institutions judiciaires ancrées dans des éléments des traditions autochtones.

Les approches sont très différentes et, en raison de l'enracinement local de ces initiatives, des ressources limitées disponibles, des barrières linguistiques et des grandes distances, les communautés n'ont pas eu l'occasion de comparer leurs expériences.

Nous examinerons les approches et les pratiques de huit communautés autochtones qui ont développé des pratiques et des institutions de justice, afin de guider l'anal