Former Supreme Court of Canada
The Honorable Justice Rosalie Silberman Abella
Tuesday May 6, 2025 - from 4:00 - 6:00pm
Join us for this timely discussion with Justice Rosalie Abella and Professor Galit Sarfaty
on life at Harvard University today, the judiciary in a democracy, law and literature.
Registation for HCT members here
Speakers
Justice Abella's bio:
Judge of the Supreme Court of Canada from August 30, 2004 until June 30, 2021. Justice Abella is the first Jewish woman appointed to the Court. In 2024-25 she has taught at Harvard - as the Samuel and Judith Pisar Visiting Professor of Law at Harvard Law School. Her courses are The Role of the Judiciary in a Democracy, Fall 2024 and Law and Literature: The Application of Law to Life, spring 2025. Justice Abella attended the University of Toronto, where she earned a B.A. in 1967 and an LL.B. in 1970. In 1964 she graduated from the Royal Conservatory of Music in classical piano. She was called to the Ontario Bar in 1972 and practised civil and criminal litigation until 1976 when she was appointed to the Ontario Family Court at the age of 29, the first pregnant person appointed to the judiciary in Canada. She was appointed to the Ontario Court of Appeal in 1992.
Justice Abella has written over 90 articles and written or co-edited four books. She has 39 honourary degrees and numerous awards. She was elected to the Royal Society of Canada in 1997, to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2007, and to the American Philosophical Society in 2018. In 2020, she was awarded the Knight Commander‘s Cross of the Order of Merit by the President of Germany.
Professor Sarfaty's bio:
Prof Galit Sarfaty is an Associate Professor of Law with tenure at the University of Toronto. She holds a JD from Yale Law School, an MA and PhD in Anthropology from the University of Chicago and an AB summa cum laude from Harvard University. Previously an Associate Professor at the Allard School of Law at the University of British Columbia, she held the Canada Research Chair in Global Economic Governance. She has also taught at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Prof Sarfaty is the author of Values in Translation: Human Rights and the Culture of the World Bank (Stanford University Press) and numerous journal articles.