OBA Award of Excellence in Constitutional, Civil Liberties and Human Rights Law

This award is open to all OBA members who are practising lawyers of Constitutional or Human Rights Law, excluding current members of the Executive Committee of the Constitutional, Civil Liberties and Human Rights Law Section or members of the OBA Board of Directors.

This Award was created to recognize exceptional contributions and achievements by a lawyer practising in the Constitutional Civil Liberties Human Rights Law, including:

• excellence in the practice of human rights law or constitutional law
• mentorship of other lawyers and law students in the area of human rights and constitutional law
• contributions to the development of human rights and constitutional law, including through academic scholarship, teaching and continuing legal education at the OBA, Canadian Bar Association, Law Society of Ontario or other organizations on human rights and equality law

The nomination should identify the person or persons making the nomination. It should be accompanied by a written explanation of the reasons for the nomination, including how the nominee meets the Award Criteria. A CV/Resume of the nominee and maximum two other supporting documents can be attached in a nomination.

No consent of the person being nominated is required to make a nomination.

Notice will be given by OBA email to all members of the OBA Constitutional Civil Liberties & Human Rights Law Section, and can be supplemented with such further notices on the OBA website as the Award Selection Committee deems appropriate. 

The Award Selection Committee will select the recipient of the Award. 

The selected recipient will be presented to the OBA Constitutional, Civil Liberties & Human Rights Law Executive Committee for approval.

The Selection Committee shall consider OBA policies, rules and guidelines on Diversity and Inclusion when selecting the winner of the Award.

The committee consists of the Section Chair and Vice Chair, and one other member of the section executive committee, who is appointed by the Section Chair.

The Award will be presented at a program or other function of the Section as determined by the Executive. This year, the award will be presented at the 24th Annual Charter Conference on October 8, 2025 at the OBA Conference Centre in Toronto.