Kasirer, Nicholas (1960-…), became a puisne << PYOO nee >> (associate) judge of the Supreme Court of Canada on Sept. 16, 2019. Prior to his appointment, Kasirer served on the Quebec Court of Appeal—Quebec’s highest court of law—and had an academic career. He is a specialist in private law, including the Civil Code of Quebec. Private law deals with the rights and obligations people have in their relations with one another. Quebec’s legal system is unique among the provinces, because it is based on set rules in the Civil Code rather than on previous rulings (see Quebec (Courts) ).
Nicholas Kasirer was born on Feb. 2, 1960, in Montreal , Quebec . He studied economics and political science at the University of Toronto , receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1981. In 1985, Kasirer completed Bachelor of Civil Law and Bachelor of Laws degrees from McGill University in Montreal. The following year, he received a postgraduate degree in international law from the University of Paris . In 1987, Kasirer was admitted to the Bar of Quebec, the body of lawyers licensed to practice law in that province. He worked as a law clerk for Jean Beetz, a puisne judge of the Supreme Court of Canada, from 1987 to 1988.
Kasirer was a professor of law at McGill University from 1989 to 2009. During that time, he also taught as a visiting professor at Dalhousie University, in Halifax, Nova Scotia; the University of Sherbrooke, in Quebec; and the University of Paris. His teaching fields included family law; the law of obligations, which deals with contracts; property law; and wills and estates law. From 1996 to 2003, Kasirer directed the Quebec Research Center for Private and Comparative Law (later renamed Paul-André Crépeau Centre for Private and Comparative Law) at McGill. He was the dean of the Faculty of Law at McGill from 2003 to 2009.
Kasirer was appointed to the Quebec Court of Appeal in 2009, on the recommendation of Prime Minister Stephen Harper . He served on that court until 2019, when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau nominated him to fill a vacancy on Canada’s top court. Kasirer was the first judge appointed under a new system for selecting Quebec Supreme Court judges. By law, the court must have at least three members from Quebec. Under the new system, the Quebec provincial government was asked to recommend a suitable candidate. Previously, the federal government had acted alone.
Kasirer is fluent in English and French. He has written and contributed to many books and articles about law and legal topics. These include a critical edition of Quebec’s civil law code and a number of private law dictionaries. He also has served on the editorial committees of a number of law journals.
Kasirer has received many honors and awards throughout his career. In 2008, he was elected as a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada , an organization that promotes learning and research in the arts and sciences. In 2012, he received an honorary doctorate of law from the University of Sherbrooke. Kasirer was awarded a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee medal in 2013 for important contributions to Canadian society.
