H. Scott Fairley

Partner

H. Scott Fairley is a partner at Cambridge LLP. He holds his B.A. (1974), and LL.B in (1977) degrees from Queens University a LL.M in International Legal Studies from New York University (1979), and a doctorate (S.J.D.) in international and constitutional law from Harvard University (1987). He has been a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCI Arb.) since 1999.

Scott is a member of the Bar of Ontario. Within the profession, he has been a leader in various organizational capacities: National Section Chair for both constitutional law (1991-93) and international law (l 998-2000) in the Canadian Bar Association, past-president of the Canadian Council on International Law (7992-94), and CoChair (2006-08) and Senior Advisor (2010- ) to the Canada Committee of the American Bar Association, International Law Section.

Scott has represented numerous government and private entities at all levels of Canadian federal and provincial courts, with extensive experience in the Supreme Court of Canada. He has acted as counsel and given expert evidence in the U.S. Federal Courts; and has served as counsel and as an arbitrator, respectively, in international and domestic arbitrations.

Dr. Fairley holds the highest rating by Martindale-Hubbell, an “AV” rating, which categorizes him a lawyer with, “very high to preeminent legal ability.”

Dr. Fairley has extensive litigation experience at all levels of court, including the Supreme Court of Canada, particularly in international disputes. He serves as an arbitrator and as counsel in arbitral proceedings, extending to the recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards. Dr. Fairley was a founding director of the Canadian Branch of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, 2018.

Organizations & Activities

A previous appointee of the Government of Ontario to the standing Panel and Appellate Body rosters under the AIT, Dr. Fairley was re-appointed to the equivalent rosters under the Canadian Free Trade Agreement, effective l July 2017.

Scott has spoken and written within Canada and abroad on public and private law subjects, with over 75 publications, primarily in the fields of public and private international law and constitutional law. More recent presentations and publications include:

Publications:

“International Law Matures Within the Canadian Legal System: Araya et al v. Nevsun Resources Ltd., 99 Can. B. Rev. 193 (2021)
“Multijurisdictional Litigation Between the U.S. and Canada” (with R. Hosseini), Vermont Bar Association, Burlington, Vermont, 23 March 2018
“Multi-Jurisdictional Litigation – Essential Consideration for U.S. Lawyers” (with R. Hosseini), Hennepin County Bar Association, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 20 February 2018
“Some Sesquicentennial Thoughts on Judicial Review and Parliamentary Democracy,” in Canada and the Rule of Law 150 Years after Confederation (R. Devlin et al eds., 2017)
“Litigation and Disclosure Risks for Canadian Mining Companies for Alleged Violators of International Human Rights Abroad: Canadian and U.S. Perspectives” (with Owen Pell), Osgoode Professional Development Certificate Program in Mining Law, Toronto, 19 April 2016
“Emerging Liability at Home for Alleged Wrongs Abroad: The Evolving Phenomenon of Transnational Torts”, (with Anastasija Sumakova), International Mining and Oil & Gas Law, Development, and Investment, Paper No. 10, Page 10-1 (Rocky Mt. Min L. Fdn. 2015)

Papers/Presentations:

Panelist “Whither the Jus Cogens in the 21st Century: The Law and Politics of Genocide in International and Domestic Forces”; Canadian Council of International Law Annual Conference, Ottawa, 28 October. 2022
Chair, “New Developments Regarding Corporate Responsibility for Human Rights Violations: From Judge-Made Expansions of Common Law to Statutory Codification”, Canadian Council on International Law Annual Conference, Ottawa/Virtual, 22 October 2021
Chair/Presenter, “Domestic Civil Justice and Corporate Liability for Human Rights Violations Abroad: the Landscape in the U.S. and Canada”, American Bar Association Section of International Law Webinar, Chicago, 13 October 2021
Chair/Commentator, “70 Years On: Is Humanity Ready for a World Court on Human Rights?” (Reprise of HRRC program, of October 2018 with different speakers), American Bar Association Section of International Law, Spring Meeting, Washington D.C., 12 April 2019
Moderator, “70 Years On: Is Humanity Ready for a World Court on Human Rights?”, Human Rights Research and Education Centre, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, 31 October 2018
“Canadian Considerations in International Commercial Arbitration,” Union International des Avocats, 61st Congress, Toronto, 30 October, 2017
“Canadian Courts Exploring International Causes of Action, Formerly the Dominion of the U.S. Federal Courts,” New York State Bar Association, Antigua, Guatemala, 13 September 2017
“Fireside Chat on Transnational Torts in Canadian Courts (with W. Ian Binnie), University of Toronto Human Rights Program/Munk School of Global Affairs, Toronto, 19 January 2016
Moderator and Chair, “A Brave New World for Doing Business in Cuba: Plus Ca Change?” American Bar Association, International Law Section, Fall Meeting, Montreal, 21 October 2015

Other Experience

Selected Cases

Ross et al v The King (Final October Appointing Settlement) Fed. St., T-370-17, January 2023);
Sri Lanka Canadian Action Coalition et al v the King, 2022 ONSC 1675;
Ross et al v. the Queen (Crown Motion to Strike) Fed. Ct., T-370-17, 4 January 2022;
Jacubovich v. Israel (State), 2021 ONSC 3558 (3 May 2021);
Canadian Snowbirds Ass. v. A.G. Ontario, 2020 ONSC 562, 152 O.R. (3d) 738 (Div. Ct.);
Ross, et al v. The Queen (LGBT Purge Class Action Certification and Settlement Approval) Fed Ct., T-370-17, 22 June 2018;
Hudspeth and Smitherman v. Whatcott et al, 2017 ONSC 1708;
Rain Coast Water Corp. v. The Queen in Right of the Province of British Columbia et al, 2016 BCSC 845;
Lantheus Medical Imaging Inc. v. Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd 115 O.R. (3d) 161, 2013 ONCA 264, (2013), 305 O.A.C. 226 (CA), [2013] ONCA 264 rev’g, [2012] ONSC 3582;
Shaw Media Inc. v. No Boundaries Media LLC (Ont S.C.J., CV-11-426624, 22 February 2012);
Khadr v. Prime Minister of Canada et al, [2010] 1 S.C.R. 44;