Prof. Joanna Harrington receives CBA/LSA Distinguished Service Award for Legal Scholarship

Professor Joanna Harrington of the University of Alberta Faculty of Law has been named the 2022 recipient of the Canadian Bar Association - Alberta Branch/Law Society of Alberta Distinguished Service Award for Legal Scholarship.

The Distinguished Service Awards are a prestigious recognition of the outstanding contributions made by lawyers in Alberta. Harrington was selected for “her dedication, creativity, initiative, achievement and contribution to legal scholarship.”

Each year, five recipients are named for the impact they make through service to the profession, the community, legal scholarship, pro bono legal service, and in promoting equity, diversity and inclusion in the legal profession.

“The Faculty of Law is very proud to see Professor Harrington receive this recognition of her significant contributions to legal scholarship locally, nationally and internationally,” said Dean Barbara Billingsley. “As a renowned and prolific scholar in the areas of public international law, international organizations, international human rights law, and transnational criminal law, Professor Harrington is a most worthy recipient of this award.”

Harrington expressed heartfelt thanks for the award, and for the Alberta legal profession’s long-standing recognition of the value of legal scholarship. 

“I am fortunate to have specialized in a field that has taken me around the world, to so many countries, which has led to insights that enrich both my teaching and writing,” said Harrington. “As one who writes about the practical utility of international law — from protecting rights to securing accountability for the commission of cross-border crimes — I am so appreciative of this award’s recognition of public international law as an integral part of Canadian legal life and practice. I also wish to thank my international law colleagues from across the country who so kindly supported my nomination.”

The award, which was celebrated at a ceremony hosted by the CBA/LSA on February 22, is the latest accolade in Harrington’s impressive career.  

Harrington, who holds a PhD in law from the University of Cambridge, has been a law professor for over 20 years. Her work has been widely published in law journals and edited collections in Canada and internationally. She is also a co-author of International Law: Doctrine, Practice, and Theory, a leading textbook used by students throughout Canada, and serves as the assistant editor for The Canadian Yearbook of International Law. She was associate dean with the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research from 2010-2015.

Her research and teaching have earned her a long list of accolades over the years — most recently, the Canadian Association of Law Teachers Prize for Academic Excellence (2018), the Faculty of Law’s Honourable Tevie H. Miller Teaching Excellence Award (2019) and the Canadian Council on International Law Scholarly Paper Award (2019). In 2020, she was awarded the Faculty’s Eldon Foote Chair in International Business and Law.

Harrington has shared her expertise extensively outside of the academy as well, both nationally and internationally. She has served as a federal human rights commissioner with the Canadian Human Rights Commission (2018-2021) and as the scholar-in-residence at Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (now Global Affairs Canada). In this role, she provided advice to the federal government on matters of international law and represented Canada in the negotiation of treaties and resolutions at the United Nations and the Organization of American States.

In addition, Harrington has twice served as a member of Canada’s official delegation to the UN General Assembly and has represented Canada at the International Criminal Court’s Assembly of States Parties. 

 As the recipient of a CBA/LSA Distinguished Service Award, Harrington continues the Faculty’s tradition of being honoured for the quality and impact of its legal scholarship. 

“I’m proud to say that Professor Harrington joins a long list of legal scholars from our Faculty who have received this award, going as far back as 1994 to former Dean of Law Wilbur Bowker, QC,” said Dean Billingsley.