Christopher Campbell-Duruflé (SJD 2021)
From Treaty Norms to Practices: A State Accountability Analysis of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change (Thesis)
Graduate supervisor: University Professor Jutta Brunnée, Faculty of Law Dean Jutta Brunnée and James Marshall Tory Dean's Chair
Awards: Ontario Graduate Scholarship, Government of Ontario (2020); Pierre Elliot Trudeau Foundation Doctoral Scholarship (2016); Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship (2016); Intl. Law Research Scholarship, Centre for Intl. Governance Innovation (2015); Nathan Strauss Q.C. Graduate Fellowship in International Law and Intellectual Property (2014)
Postdoctoral fellowship: Banting Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Cambridge
While working as a lawyer for the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in Washington, D.C., Christopher Campbell-Duruflé wanted to dig more deeply into international environmental law and decided that earning his SJD would allow him the opportunity to focus more of his attention on climate change.
Campbell-Duruflé, now an assistant professor at the Lincoln Alexander School of Law at Toronto Metropolitan University, chose to turn his attention to climate treaties, exploring how international law can ensure state accountability for climate policies and prevent harm to human rights. He is currently researching how Canadian judges use international law, with a particular focus on cases applying environmental law and human rights law. He also has an article forthcoming in the UBC Law Review that assesses Canada’s new Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act in response to the Paris Agreement.
While studying at U of T, Campbell-Duruflé had the opportunity to participate in five rounds of United Nations climate change negotiations, volunteering for the delegation of Burkina-Faso.
“I was able to learn how climate law was made in practice at the same time that I was studying it,” he says.
He looks back at his SJD experience at the U of T Faculty of Law with appreciation.
“The best part was the mentorship from my supervisor,” Campbell-Duruflé says. “The level of detail in her comments on my dissertation and her care for a well-constructed research project were where I learned the most.”
“U of T trained me in legal research and research project design and gave me the opportunity to discover the literature about state accountability and international relations. It taught me about new fields and research methods that are relevant to what I’m doing now.”
Campbell-Duruflé is currently teaching at a law school that is only three years old and enjoys the opportunity to propose courses that are new to the school.
“I am excited to have the opportunity to shape the curriculum and the program. It takes a lot of work, but it is well worth it.”