Rémi Bachand, Professor of Law, Department of Legal Sciences, University of Quebec in Montreal

It is fashionable, in research, to label oneself "critical", whether one disagrees with a Supreme Court jurisprudential tendency, wishes to underline the shortcomings of new legislative provisions adopted by the government in power, or denounces the lack of a legislative framework for current issues. Whilst many claim to be critical, few really fall within the scope of critical legal theories. On the opposite, critical legal theories are frequently associated with Critical Legal Studies, which developed in the 70s in the United States. However, what critical legal theories include is much vaster and diversified than this American approach. This seminar thus allows for a better understanding of what critical legal theories constitute in law, by exposing certain ontological, methodological and epistemological bases. It also offers a unique opportunity to question oneself on the possibilities and limits that such approaches offer to researchers who wish to understand, deconstruct and contest the power relations within law.

Where: University of Sherbrooke, room A9-162

Suggested reading:

Rémi Bachand, "Pour une théorie critique en droit international" in Théories critiques et droit international, Brussels, Bruylant, 2013, pp. 115-132.