Faculty Bio
James Allan
Visiting Professor of Law
- PhD, 1994, Hong Kong University
- LLM, 1986, London School of Economics
- LLB, 1985, Queen’s University, Canada
- BA, 1982, Queen’s University, Canada
Areas of Expertise
Professor Allan teaches and writes in the areas of legal philosophy, the Bill of Rights, comparative constitutional law, and constitutional law of Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States.
Professional Experience
Allan was an articled clerk for Weir & Foulds' Toronto office, where he also practiced law. As a Fox Scholar for Middle Temple in London, he was one of two Canadians chosen to spend a year at the Bar in London on a reciprocal scholarship.
Honors and Affiliations
Allan was elected to the Mont Pelerin Society. He was the Canadian Bertha Wilson Visiting Professor of Human Rights, a Parsons Fellow at the University of Sydney, and an Australian National University Visiting Fellow in Law.
Key Works
Allan's publications include The Vantage of Law: Its Role in Thinking about Law, Judging and Bills of Rights (Ashgate, 2011); Sympathy and Antipathy: Essays Legal and Philosophical (Ashgate, 2002); "Statutory Bills of Rights: You Read Words In, You Read Words Out, You Take Parliament's Clear Intention and You Shake It All About – Doin' the Sankey Hanky Panky" in The Legal Protection of Human Rights: Sceptical Essays (eds., Campbell, Ewing and Tomkins) (Oxford University Press, 2011); "Reasonable Disagreement and the Diminution of Democracy: Joseph's Morally Laden Understanding of 'The Rule of Law'" in Modern Challenges to the Rule of Law (ed., Ekins) (LexisNexis, 2011); "The Travails of Justice Waldron" in Expounding the Constitution: Essays in Constitutional Theory (ed., Huscroft) (Cambridge University Press,2008); and "Appointing Judges in New Zealand: If It Were Done When 'tis Done, then 'twere Well It Were Done Openly and Directly" in Appointing Judges in an Age of Judicial Power (eds., Russell and Malleson) (University of Toronto Press, 2006).
