“Children’s Rights”, a Lecture by Judge Jacques Nadeau

On April 4th 2016, the Research Chair in Legal Pluralism and Comparative Law had the pleasure of welcoming the honorable judge Jacques Nadeau of the Court of Québec (Youth Division, Montreal), in the context of a discussion on children’s rights and the particularities of practicing in this area. Mr. Justice Nadeau discussed the notion of the child’s best interest and the procedures specific to youth protection and adolescent penal justice. Through personal anecdotes, he also sparked a discussion on the judge’s role in today’s society, underscoring both the importance of judicial impartiality and of judges’ need to remain mindful of social realities and of Québec’s demographic evolution.

Mr. Justice Nadeau holds a Bachelor of Civil Law and a Bachelor of Business Administration from McGill University. He was called to the Bar of Québec in 1983 and practiced law in three major Montreal firms, working primarily in labour law, employment law, and human rights. At the time of his nomination in 2008, Mr. Justice Nadeau was partner at Heenan Blaikie.