John E. Read Medal
The John E. Read Medal is awarded by the CCIL to commemorate the life and work of John Erskine Read, Q.C., a distinguished Canadian lawyer and the only Canadian judge elected to the International Court of Justice.
The Read Medal is awarded to Canadians (including permanent residents of Canada), who have made a distinguished contribution in fostering the development, better understanding, or application of international law. The Read Medal is also awarded to other individuals who have made an outstanding contribution in fostering the development, better understanding, or application of international law in fields of special interest to Canada.
About John E. Read, Q.C.
John E. Read was the first recipient of the Medal. He was a Rhodes Scholar and a Professor and Dean of Law at Dalhousie University in the 1920s. He served as the first Legal Advisor of the Department of External Affairs and rose to be Deputy UnderSecretary of State (1928-46). Professor Read was a major contributor to the doctrine of the divisibility of the Crown and seized on opportunities to extend Canada’s legal independence.
Professor Read was an expert in constitutional and international law and wrote “The Origins and Nature of the Law” (1955) and “The Rule of Law on the International Plane” (1961). He served as a Judge of the International Court of Justice at The Hague (1946-58).
Call for Nominations for the 2024 Read Medal
Nomination Process
Nominations must include:
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A letter from the nominator which sets out the distinguished contribution of the nominee in fostering the development, better understanding, or application of international law (for a Canadian nominee), or outstanding contribution in fostering the development, better understanding, or application of international law in fields of special interest to Canada (for a non-Canadian nominee), and why the nominee should receive the Read Medal. This letter should be 2-3 pages in length.
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Letter of Support. Either: (a) one letter of support for the nomination signed jointly by three or more individuals. This jointly-signed letter should be no longer than 3 pages in length; or (b) up to three individually-signed letters of support for the nomination. Each of these letters should be no more than 3 pages in length.
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An up-to-date CV of the nominee.
Nominations submitted in previous years may be reconsidered.
Members of the CCIL Board of Directors are permitted to submit nominations, and may also be nominated.
All nominations will be considered by the Awards Committee, which will present its recommendation to the CCIL Board of Directors.
Deadline to submit: March 31, 2024
All materials must be addressed to: CCIL Read Medal Awards Committee c/o CCIL Secretariat, 275 Bay Street, Ottawa, Ontario, K1R 5Z5 and submitted by email (in PDF format) to ccil-ccdi@intertaskconferences.com by 5:00 pm EDT March 15, 2024.