The Honourable Robert J. Sharpe served as an Ontario trial and appellate judge from 1995 to 2020. He heard and decided cases in all areas of law including a long list of commercial disputes. Since joining Arbitration Place in 2020, he has successfully and efficiently handled a wide range of commercial arbitrations involving contract interpretation, shareholder, franchise and mining disputes as well as indigenous issues. He also regularly conducts mock hearings, both pre-trial and pre-appeal, and provides guidance to help craft arguments that will have maximum effect upon the decision-maker and assist clients to understand the strengths and weaknesses of their cases.
If you have inquires for Mr. Sharpe, please contact his Arbitral Secretary:
Heather D'Armour
Robert Sharpe served as an Ontario trial and appellate judge for twenty-five years from 1995 to 2020. In that capacity, he heard and decided cases in all areas of law including a long list of commercial disputes. He has a working facility in French and regularly heard bilingual appeals.
Robert Sharpe is a graduate of Western University (B.A.), the University of Toronto (LL.B.) and Oxford University (D.Phil. in Law). Prior to his appointment to the bench, he practiced in the area of civil litigation and taught at the Faculty of Law, University of Toronto. He has appeared as counsel in courts at all levels including the Supreme Court of Canada. He served from 1988 to 1990 as Chief Justice Brian Dickson’s Executive Legal Officer at the Supreme Court Canada and, from 1990 to 1995, as Dean of the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Law.
Robert Sharpe is the author of several books including a leading text on judicial remedies, Injunctions and Specific Performance, a recent book on judicial decision-making, Good Judgment: Making Judicial Decisions and several books on Canadian legal history. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and taught at Oxford University as a Visiting Professor from 2011 to 2021. He is currently Distinguished Jurist in Residence at the Faculty of Law, University of Toronto.
Robert Sharpe is President of the Osgoode Society for Legal History and, from 2014 to 2020, was President of the Canadian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies which sponsors the Cambridge Lectures and Les Journées Strasbourgeoises. He is a frequent lecturer at professional development seminars. He was a member of the Advisory Panel to assist the Constitution of Kenya Review Commission regarding the judiciary (2002) and a member of the International Bar Association’s Rapid Response Missions to investigate threats to judicial independence in Russia (2005) and Pakistan (2007).
