The Canadian Council on International Law (CCIL) is pleased to announce that Alan Kessel has been selected as the 2024 John E. Read Medal Recipient. The Read Medal is awarded to Canadians who have made a distinguished contribution to international law and organizations. The John E. Read Medal is awarded by the CCIL to commemorate the life and work of John Erskine Read, Q.C.
The CCIL was honoured to present the Award at its 53rd Annual Conference which was held in Ottawa on November 7-8, 2024.
The CCIL Awards Committee noted that their decision was not simply based on Mr. Kessel's status as the second-longest-serving Legal Advisor in Canadian history—after John Read himself— but emphasized what he personally accomplished in that role, including his deep integrity and willingness to speak unwanted truth to unwilling power in the interest of Canadians in the advancement and enforcement of international law.
As a recipient of the Read Medal, Mr. Kessel will join the esteemed ranks of other notable Canadian international law practitioners and scholars including, in recent years, Judge Kimberly Prost, Prof. Hugh Kindred, Prof. Armand de Mestral and Valerie Hughes.
About Alan Kessel
Alan Kessel was the Assistant Deputy Minister Legal Affairs and the Legal Adviser to Global Affairs Canada and the Government of Canada from 2017-2024. Between September 2013 and August 2017, he was the Deputy High Commissioner of Canada to the United Kingdom at the Canadian High Commission in London. Prior to this appointment Mr. Kessel served as the Legal Adviser at the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development from 2005-2013 following a year as the Deputy Legal Adviser and Director General of the Bureau of Legal Affairs from September 2004 to November 2005.
Mr. Kessel has held numerous positions in the Legal Branch of the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development including that of the United Nations, Criminal and Treaty Law Division. He has spent a large part of his career negotiating bilateral and multilateral instruments ranging from extradition treaties to the establishment of international criminal justice systems to prosecute perpetrators of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. As Head of Delegation, Mr. Kessel has promoted Canadian interests before United Nations bodies and has represented government views at Parliamentary and Senate Committees.
His postings abroad have included the Canadian Embassy in Sweden (1985-1987), the Canadian Mission to the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland (1990-1994) and the Canadian High Commission in London (2000-2004) and (2013-2017).
Mr. Kessel received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Waterloo in 1976 and his law degree in 1979 from Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto. He was called to the Bar of Ontario in 1981. After several years in private practice in corporate and commercial law in Toronto, he joined the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade in 1983.