Law students Adela Maciejewski Scheer and Rachel Gotthilf awarded Justice Canada research contracts

Law students Adela Maciejewski Scheer and Rachel Gotthilf have each been awarded a research contract by the Department of Justice as part of its program on Canadian bijuralism.

Adela's research project will examine the nature of oil and gas interests across Canada, focusing on how specific federal statutes may be interpreted and adjusted to better reflect different approaches. In turn, Rachel plans to explore what drafters and interpreters of federal law relating to the concept of the "security interest" (garantie) can learn from the 2009 Supreme Court of Canada decision Caisse populaire Desjardins de l'Est de Drummond v. Canada.

The purpose of the Department of Justice Canada's Program of Research Contracts on Canadian Bijuralism is to promote, among law students, the development of expertise pertaining to federal legislative interpretation regarding questions that arise when federal law and provincial private law interact in a context of coexisting civil law, common law and Aboriginal legal rules. The Program also contributes to the dissemination of knowledge on the subject. Each research contract is for $5,000.

Adela and Rachel's awards, along with the earlier successes of other McGill students, testifies to the Department of Justice's recognition of the value of McGill legal education program, where students study civil law and common law simultaneously and bilingually.