David Bullock

David Bullock
SJD Candidate
Thesis title:
Tort law as a response to collective action problems
Office in Falconer Hall
84 Queen's Park
Toronto, M5S 2C5

David is a Doctor of Juridical Science (S.J.D.) candidate at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law and a Vanier Scholar.  His research interests include the intersection of public and private law (in particular property and tort) as they relate to the environment, international law, and constitutional law.

David is a graduate of Victoria University of Wellington and Yale Law School. He began his career as  judicial clerk to the former Chief Justice of New Zealand, the Rt Hon Dame Sian Elias GNZM, before commencing professional practice at a specialist litigation firm in Auckland, New Zealand.  As a lawyer, David has acted for a range of environmental NGOs and has appeared at all levels of New Zealand courts, including in leading cases on climate change, the exportation of indigenous timber, seabed mining, off-shore oil exploration, election advertising, and police interrogation.  David has also regularly acted in sports disputes, regulatory proceedings, and complex commercial litigation.

Education
LLM, Yale Law School (2017)
LLB(Hons), Victoria University of Wellington (2011)
BCA (Economics), Victoria University of Wellington (2011)
Awards and Distinctions
Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship (2021)
Connaught International Scholarship (2020)
Fulbright General Graduate Scholarship (2016)
William Georgetti Scholarship (2016)
Victoria University Medal of Academic Excellence (2011)
Chapman Tripp Prize (2011)
Dean’s List for Academic Excellence (2011)
Chris Highfield Memorial Prize (2011)
Quentin-Baxter Prize in International Law (2011)
IPANZ Prize in Public Administration (2011)
Robert Orr McGechan Prize (2010)
Archibald Francis McCallum Scholarship (2010)
Val Gormley Memorial Prize (2010)
Lord Cooke of Thorndon Prize (2009)
A H Johnstone Scholarship in Law (2009)
New Zealand Recent Law Review Prize (2009)
Alumni Association Prize (2008)
Mario Patrono Prize (2007)
Faculty of Law Prize (2007)
Professional Affiliations
Barrister and Solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand
Selected Publications

"Public Nuisance and Climate Change: The Common Law's Solutions to the Plaintiff, Defendant and Causation Problems" (2022) Modern Law Review [forthcoming, available at https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-2230.12732]

The Law of Costs in New Zealand (LexisNexis, Wellington, 2022) (with Tim Mullins)

"New Zealand" (2020) 31 Yearbook of International Environmental Law 261

“Three Strikes and the Interpretative Obligation: Parliamentary Intention and the Ascription of Meaning under the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act” (2020) 29 New Zealand Universities Law Review 225

“Combating Climate Recalcitrance: Carbon-related Border Tax Adjustments in a New Era of Global Climate Governance” (2018) 27 Washington International Law Journal 609

“Political Costs and the Challenge of Tradable Environmental Markets” (2017) 29 Georgetown Environmental Law Review 609

"A Defence of Statutory Property” (2017) 48 Victoria University of Wellington Law Review 529

“The Wane of s 5 of the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990” [2017] New Zealand Law Journal 164

“Costs of Costs Applications” [2014] New Zealand Law Journal 348 (with Julian Long)

“Emissions Trading in New Zealand: Development, Challenges and Design” (2012) 21 Environmental Politics 657

“Multi-party Governance: Managing the Unity-Distinctiveness Dilemma in Executive Coalitions” (2012) 18 Party Politics 349 (with Jonathan Boston)

"Electoral Expression with Institutional Bounds: Reframing the Judicial Treatment of Elections in New Zealand" (2011) 42 Victoria University of Wellington Law Review 459

“Home Detention as a Stand-alone Sentence” (2011) 2 New Zealand Law Students’ Journal 603

"Experiments in Executive Government under MMP in New Zealand: Contrasting Approaches to Multi-party Governance” (2009) 7 New Zealand Journal of Public and International Law 39 (with Jonathan Boston)

Research Interests
Environmental Law
International Law
Legal Process
Political Philosophy and Theory
Property Law
Tort Law and Tort Theory
Supervisor
Committee Members

Watch the video of the Grand Moot

Friday, October 11, 2019

Grand Moot 2019 group photo
Photo by Vivian Cheng, courtesy of Ultra Vires

Prof. Gillian Hadfield co-authors "Momentum is building to fix our legal system. Let’s seize it" in the Salt Lake Tribune

Wednesday, October 2, 2019

In a commentary in the Salt Lake Tribune, Prof. Gillian Hadfield and her co-authors, Deno Himonas and John Lund, describe the value of the reforms they propose for legal regulation in the American state of Utah. All three were members of a joint Supreme Court/Utah Bar task force to address the access-to-justice gap in Utah ("Momentum is building to fix our legal system. Let’s seize it," September 20, 2019).

Prof. Gillian Hadfield named among Fastcase 50 for global legal innovation

Thursday, July 11, 2019
Professor Gillian Hadfield

Professor Gillian Hadfield has been named among the Fastcase 50, a global recognition recognizing “law’s smartest, most courageous innovators, techies, visionaries, & leaders.”  Fastcase is a US-based legal research company, and launched this honour in 2011.

Cara Locke*

Cara Locke (*née Mouland)
SJD Candidate
Thesis title:
Remedial Justice: The Legitimacy of Constitutional Remedies for Criminal Laws
Office in Falconer Hall
84 Queen's Park
Toronto, M5S 2C5

Cara is interested in how judges act like legislators, and how legislators act like judges.

Her doctoral project focuses on constitutional remedies for criminal laws. Cara's previous work has been cited by the Supreme Court of Canada in support of a disciplined approach to suspended declarations of invalidity.

Outside of academia, Cara has front-line experience in the courtroom and in the legislature. In addition to previously litigating for both the prosecution and the defence, Cara served as a Law Clerk at the Federal Court of Canada. Cara now practices constitutional law in her role as Assistant Clerk to the Nova Scotia House of Assembly.

Education
LLM - Criminal Law
JD (Distinction)
BA (Hons) - Psychology and English
Awards and Distinctions
C. David Naylor Fellow
Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Scholar
Nathan Strauss Q.C. Graduate Fellow in Canadian Constitutional Law
Raoul Wallenberg Scholarship
Doctoral Fellow, University of Toronto Faculty of Law
LLM Fellow, University of Toronto Faculty of Law
Professional Affiliations
Nova Scotia Barristers' Society
Commonwealth Parliamentary Association
Association of Clerks-at-the-Table in Canada
Selected Publications

"Debating the Rule of Law: The Curious Re-Enactment of the Solicitation Offence" (2021) 58: 3 Alta L Rev 687.

“Remedying the Remedy: Bedford’s Suspended Declaration of Invalidity” (2018) 41:3 Man LJ 281. (Cited in G v Ontario, 2020 SCC 38)
 *née Mouland

Research Interests
Administrative Law
Canadian Constitutional Law
Charter of Rights
Comparative Law
Criminal Law 
Criminal Procedure and Evidence
Judicial Decision-Making
Legal Process
Legal Theory
National Security Law and Anti-Terrorism Law
Political Philosophy and Theory
Supervisor
Committee Members

The SNC Lavalin Controversy: The Shawcross Principle and Prosecutorial Independence

 

Please note that a revised and expanded version of this blog is available at https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3367097

 

 

The SNC Lavalin controversy over whether improper pressure was placed on former Attorney General Jody Wilson-Raybould continues to rage. Both the ambiguities of the facts and the complexity of the policy issues seem to warrant an independent public inquiry. 

 

Such an inquiry could explore controversies over prosecutorial independence under Justin Trudeau’s government just as the McDonald Commission explored controversies over police independence under Pierre Trudeau’s government. In both cases, the issues had became emmeshed in partisan politics. Clear and independent thinking and reform plans were necessary for moving forward.

 

The Shawcross Principle

 

The Shawcross Principle articulated in 1951 is a constitutional convention that while the Attorney General (AG) is entitled to consult Cabinet colleagues about the policy implications of prosecutorial decisions, he or she is not to be directed or pressured on such decisions by the Cabinet and that the decision should be made by the AG alone.

 

Asper Centre Immigration Detention Symposium

On Friday March 15th 2019 the Asper Centre will convene a one-day Immigration Detention Symposium focused on advancing litigation and advocacy strategies to address the challenges within Canada’s immigration detention system. This Symposium will also highlight immigration practitioners’ and civil society’s current advocacy efforts, recommendations and resources for achieving meaningful solutions to the challenges.

See the bottom of the page for the video.

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