16 March 2006
Constitutional law expert honoured
A New Zealand lawyer who went on to become a leading constitutional law scholar in Canada will be awarded an honorary
doctorate from Victoria University of Wellington during May’s graduation ceremonies.
Professor Peter Hogg, who graduated with a Bachelor of Laws from Victoria University in 1962, will be awarded an
honorary Doctor of Laws degree for his outstanding contributions to law and legal scholarship in Canada and
internationally.
Vice-Chancellor, Professor Pat Walsh, says Professor Hogg’s work is extremely highly regarded and he is recognised as
one of Canada’s top ranking authority on constitutional law.
“For a Victoria alumnus to be achieving at this level in such a challenging field deserves the acknowledgement of an
honorary degree.
“Throughout his career, Professor Hogg has combined his work as an academic with counsel work, opinion work, and expert
testimony before the Supreme Court of Canada and at the appellate court level. His articles have become indispensable to
lawyers and scholars and have been cited in courts around the world.”
After graduating from Victoria, Professor Hogg went on to Harvard Law School, where he gained a Master of Laws degree.
On his return from Harvard, he practised for a time in Wellington and then joined the Faculty of Law at Victoria, where
he taught Contracts and Legal System. He also taught at Monash University in Melbourne, where he earned a PhD degree.
In 1970, he was appointed Professor of Law at the Osgoode Hall Law School of York University in Toronto. He served as
Dean of the Law School from 1998 to 2003. He is now an Emeritus Professor, having retired from the Law School in 2003,
and also the Scholar in Residence at the law firm of Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP in Toronto. He continues to teach and write, as well as to practise law.
Professor Hogg is a leading constitutional law scholar in Canada. He is the author of the only comprehensive treatise,
Constitutional Law of Canada (Carswell, 4th ed., 1997). He is also the author of Liability of the Crown (Carswell, 3rd
ed. 2000) and has written four other books and many law journal articles on constitutional law, governmental liability
and the law of trusts. His writings have been frequently cited by courts in Canada, New Zealand, South Africa,
Australia, England and Israel. In the Supreme Court of Canada alone, his writings have been cited 166 times, more than
twice as often as any other source.
Professor Hogg has provided advice to the Government of Canada, to provincial governments, legislative committees,
various public bodies and private law firms. He often appears as counsel in constitutional cases, and recently
represented the Government of Canada in the Same-Sex Marriage Reference, a high-profile case that had the effect of
legalising same-sex marriage in Canada.
He is a Companion of the Order of Canada, a member of the Royal Society of Canada, a Queen's Counsel, and he has been
the recipient of other major honours.
Although Professor Hogg has made his career in Canada, he returns regularly to New Zealand to celebrate Christmas with
relatives and friends, and occasionally to give seminars and lectures.
ENDS