Donat Pharand

The Canadian Council on International Law regrets to inform members of the death of Donat Pharand, O.C., Q.C./C.R.., LL.B.(Dal.), LL.M. (Dal.), LL.D. (Paris), LL.M. (Mich.), S.J.D. (Mich.), LL.D.h.c. (Dal.), F.R.S.C./ M.S.R.C. Professor Pharand, who died on April 18, 2018, was one of Canada's foremost experts on the law of the sea and the Arctic, and author of The Law of the Sea of the Arctic, The Northwest Passage: Arctic Straits, and Canada's Arctic Waters in International Law.

He was a long-standing supporter of the CCIL and its work, being a founding Member, and serving as its President from 1976 to 1978. He was an Honorary Life Member of the Council.

An internationally renowned scholar, he devoted his long and illustrious career to researching and understanding the legal issues pertaining to Canada’s claim over the waters of the Arctic archipelago. An article in the Canadian Yearbook of International Law, Vol. 44 (2007), by Suzanne Lalonde and Ronald St. J. Macdonald, entitled Donat Pharand: The Arctic Scholar, chronicles his life and his profound contributions to the law of the sea of the Arctic. Professor Lalonde will be writing an appreciation of his life and work in a forthcoming edition of the CCIL Bulletin.

The family will receive condolences at the Racine, Robert & Gauthier funeral home, at 180 Montreal Rd., Ottawa, on Saturday April 28, from 11:00 a.m. A short Christian mass will be held at 12:00 p.m.