About

The McGill Law Journal contributes to legal research and scholarship on topics of significant importance through the publication of outstanding peer-reviewed articles, essays, case comments, and book reviews. The Journal publishes the work of professors, judges, researchers, and practitioners. As a student-run organization, the Journal provides a meeting point for lively exchange between students and members of the legal community by way of annual events, such as symposia and conferences, and through its podcast channel.

History

In the spring of 1952, Gerald Éric Le Dain and Jacques-Yvan Morin founded the McGill Law Journal, hoping that it would become a permanent meeting place for Quebec’s flourishing legal minds. It was only the third student-run law review established in Canada when faculty-run publications were the norm. With the support of the Faculty of Law at McGill University, the Journal published its first issue in 1955. Over the next decades, the Journal galvanized its reputation within the Canadian legal community. In 1986, it published the Canadian Guide to Uniform Legal Citation, forming the basis for a nationally accepted citation standard.

Today, the McGill Law Journal stands as a leading student-administered legal journal in Canada and is frequently cited by all levels of courts in Canada and scholars around the world. Through the publication of special issues and innovative articles, the Journal has provided an invaluable vehicle for debates on critical issues throughout Canadian history. Beyond serving as a platform for the publication of innovative and foundational legal scholarship, it provides an outlet for its members to develop quintessential skills for their academic and professional careers.

Notable former members include Supreme Court Justices Morris Fish and Nicholas Kasirer; former Minister of Justice David Lametti; renowned lawyer and athlete Dick Pound; geneticist Bartha Knoppers; and Quebec Court of Appeal Justices Patrick Healy and Jean-Louis Baudouin. Notable individuals published in the Journal’s pages include former Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau; Supreme Court Justices Rosalie Abella and Gérald Fauteux; former Governor General David Johnston; and United Nations Diplomat Yves Fortier.

As the first law journal in the country to be cited by the Supreme Court of Canada, the Journal’s publication history demonstrates continued excellence. The Journal has since been cited by the Supreme Court in over 150 cases.