The Right Honourable Beverley McLachlin, P.C., C.C., CStJ, served as Chief Justice of Canada from 2000 to mid-December 2017. In June 2018 she was appointed to the Order of Canada as a recipient of its highest accolade, Companion of the Order of Canada. She works in ADR as a bilingual Member Arbitrator and Mediator in Canada and internationally, using her experience and skill in leading and consensus-building for many years as the head of a diverse nine-member court.
The Right Honourable Beverley McLachlin, P.C., C.C., CStJ, served as Chief Justice of Canada from 2000 to mid-December 2017. In June 2018, she was made a Companion of the Order of Canada, the country’s highest accolade. She works in ADR as a bilingual arbitrator and mediator in Canada and internationally.
She was first appointed to the bench in 1981. By 1989, Canada’s Prime Minister elevated her to be a Puisne Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada. During her 28 years on the Supreme Court of Canada, she helped decide a wide variety of common law and civil law disputes in both French
and English. Her tenure as Chief Justice was the longest in Canadian history; the Office of Chief Justice of Canada also involves a seat on Canada’s Privy Council. In addition to English and French, she also has basic proficiency in German.
Her international appointments include ad hoc and institutional arbitrations in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, East Asia, the United States and Australia. The cases have been a mix of common and civil law disputes.
The 2,094 Supreme Court of Canada judgments in which she participated—of which she wrote 442—and her legal writings and speaking include a wide range of subjects in corporate, construction, financial services, taxation, contract, tort, IT, patent, copyright, other areas of business law, as well as arbitration and mediation. Her legal texts include co-authorship of the first, second and third editions (1987, 1994 and 2020) of The Canadian Law of Architecture and Engineering. It is generally recognized that the judgments of the Supreme Court of Canada during her tenure have affirmed Canada as a jurisdiction that is very supportive of arbitration.
She has received over 35 honorary degrees from universities in Canada and abroad, and numerous other honours and awards.
Ms. McLachlin also sits as a Justice of Singapore’s International Commercial Court and the Hong Kong Final Court of Appeal.
