Windsor Law is pleased to welcome Sukanya Pillay and Patrícia Galvão Ferreira to the Faculty as Law Foundation of Ontario Scholars for 2017-2018.
Pillay, a graduate of Windsor Law (‘90) and former faculty member (2002-2007), is an international human rights lawyer with expertise in Canadian constitutional law, civil liberties, trade and development.
She will teach in the areas of national security and civil liberties and brings a breadth of experience to the classroom.
“I am so happy to be back at Windsor Law, my alma mater and the original social justice law school in Canada,” said Pillay. “I am excited to work with the dynamic faculty and students here, and to help promote a centre of excellence in civil liberties and human rights.”
Pillay holds an LL.M. from New York University School of Law in international legal studies, and was a graduate editor of the NYU Journal of International Law and Politics. She most recently served as the General Counsel and Executive Director of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association and served as the director of its National Security Program. She has appeared before international adjudicative bodies, treaty bodies, and the Supreme Court of Canada.
Galvão Ferreira will teach Environmental Law and International Environmental Law and supervise students at the Transnational Environmental Law Clinic, a joint program of Wayne State University and Windsor Law.
“I am thrilled to begin my term as a Law Foundation of Ontario Scholar this year,” said Galvão Ferreira. “This position will allow me to strengthen my research agenda on transnational environmental law, as Windsor Law is recognized as a center of excellence in transnational legal studies. I am also excited by the opportunity to teach and to mentor students interested in the theory and practice of environmental law.”
Galvão Ferreira specializes in transnational environmental law, international law, climate change law, natural resources governance, human rights and law and development. She recently completed a Post-Doctoratal Fellowship at the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI). She holds an S.J.D. in law and development from the University of Toronto, which she earned concurrently with an interdisciplinary doctorate in the dynamics of global change from the Munk School of Global Affair, an LL.M. in international human rights law from the University of Notre Dame, in the United States, and a LLB from the University of Bahia, in Brazil.
In addition to teaching both will continue scholarly and research activities in their expert areas.
Pillay’s research is focused on human rights law, specifically the absolute prohibition against torture, democratic governance and accountability, the rights of vulnerable populations internationally including the rights to due process, and to economic and social rights. In addition to her research agenda, she is exploring the possibility of developing a human rights research hub or centre at Windsor Law.
Galvão Ferreira’s current research agenda examines how evolving international law principles and transnational regulatory initiatives contribute to state compliance with multilateral environmental agreements, particularly the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. She is also researching the role of emerging economies and high-income developing countries in reshaping global environmental governance, with particular attention to the impact in transnational climate justice.
These appointments could not have been made without funding from the Law Foundation of Ontario, whose continued financial support is gratefully acknowledged.
