This month, second-year law student Roxana Jahani Aval is applying her Human Dignity course learnings to the world of podcasts.

Chair of the Council of Canadians with Disabilities and past chair for the National Educational Association of Disabled Students, Jahani Aval has worked closely with professor Reem Bahdi and the Canadian Institute for the Administration of Justice (CIAJ) to host a three-part podcast series on human dignity: In All Fairness. The CIAJ channel features representatives from the legal community and explores ways we can contribute to improving the administration of justice in Canada.

Part one of the podcast, released Feb. 11, features Jahani Aval as the host as she discusses the constitution, definition, and context of human dignity in an interview with associate dean (research and graduate studies) Laverne Jacobs.

In parts two and three, released Feb. 18 and 25 respectively, the podcast series looks at the current landscape of dignity in the judiciary, the impact of systemic discrimination and oppression on dying with dignity, as well as the current legislation and shortcomings of end-of-life ethics.

“Roxana’s produced an excellent resource that will benefit the legal community and advance our thinking about dignity and the law,” says Prof. Bahdi, who instructs Jahani Aval’s human dignity class and developed criteria to guide the podcast content. “She worked exceptionally hard and drew on her own experiences to illuminate our conversations in class.”

She adds that dignity is not just a legal doctrine: “It must also inform legal methods and assumptions about our relationships with each other. Roxana’s excellent work shows how and why that’s the case.”

In addition to her volunteer work and education, Jahani Aval is an artist, photographer, and active member of the Iranian community in Toronto. Upon graduation, she plans to pursue her legal career at the Crown attorney's office.

Listen to parts 1, 2, and 3 of the CIAJ In All Fairness: Dignity podcast on the CIAJ website.

—Rachelle Prince