Profile

Fabien Gélinas AdE is Sir William C. Macdonald Professor of Law at McGill University, where he teaches common law and civil law contractual obligations and resolution of international disputes. He is a graduate of the University of Montreal and the Paris School of Diplomatic and Strategic Studies, and holds a doctorate in law from the University of Oxford. He was Associate Dean of Law and Director of the Institute of Comparative Law at McGill and now heads the Private Justice and the Rule of Law Research Group. Professor Gélinas is immediate past Chair of the Canadian Arbitration Committee.

Professor Gélinas was formerly General Counsel of the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in Paris and a member of the drafting committee for the 2012 ICC Rules of Arbitration. He has acted as adviser and delegate to the United Nations Commission for International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), and the European Commission. He has acted as expert on dispute resolution to Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) projects, the Copyright Committee of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO); and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). He was designated Appointing Authority by the Secretary General of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) on several occasions. Professor Gélinas has been expert witness in court proceedings in matters relating to comparative law and arbitration law. Professor Gélinas has authored and edited multiple books and articles in English and French. His recent books include: Foundations of Civil Justice (Springer, 2015, with Clement Camion et al.), and Trade Usages and Implied Terms in the Age of Arbitration (OUP, 2016). He also recently co-edited the TDM CETA Special.

A barrister of 25 years' standing, Professor Gélinas consults widely on matters of dispute resolution and constitutional law and regularly acts as arbitrator in large international matters