By Lucianna Ciccocioppo
(Sept. 28, 2010) Professor Sujit Choudhry of the University of Toronto Faculty of Law has been awarded a coveted $225,000 Trudeau Foundation Fellowship prize today in recognition of his outstanding scholarly contributions and wide-ranging involvement in Canadian and international public policy.
A world-renowned scholar in comparative constitutional law, Choudhry has provided advice to post-conflict constitutional processes in Nepal, Sri Lanka and South Africa and is part of the United Nations mediation roster, a prestigious global panel of advisers who can be called upon for rapid deployment to assist during ceasefire, peace and constitutional negotiations.
Trudeau Fellowships are awarded annually to prominent researchers, artists and community leaders who make meaningful contributions to the world’s social issues. Choudhry says he will use his award to transform Canada into an innovative and leading international centre for the study and practice of post-conflict constitution-making.
“In many situations, the central issue in peace negotiations is the adoption of a new constitution,” says Choudhry. “But while constitutions matter centrally to the peaceful resolution of civil wars, we do not always know whether the pre-existing constitution was itself the cause of the civil war, or merely a consequence of broader forces that led to civil war. Canadian expertise is increasingly in demand to address these issues.”
Choudhry wants to develop a new program on drafting constitutions in post-conflict contexts with research, policy advocacy, and educational programs for law and graduate students, to bridge the worlds of public policy and the academy by bringing together leading practitioners and academic experts from Canada and around the world.
“Professor Choudhry’s work is very exciting, and we are proud to see him advancing the Faculty’s public mission in this way,” says Professor Mayo Moran, dean of the Faculty of Law.
Choudhry holds the Scholl Chair and is associate dean of the first-year program at the Faculty of Law. He is cross-appointed to the Department of Political Science and the School of Public Policy and Governance. He is a senior fellow of Massey College and a member of the University of Toronto Centre for Ethics.
Here's the Q & A with Prof. Choudhry by Globe and Mail reporter Sonia Verma:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/trudeaus-legacy-pays-the-way-for-peace/article1729361/
