Waterloo, ON – April 2, 2012 – The Centre for International Governance Innovation remains committed to pursuing a program of research into international law.
Under an agreement signed by CIGI and York University last year, a $60 million, 10-year program would have created 10 research chairs and 20 scholarships jointly. York advised CIGI today that the faculty council at
Osgoode Hall Law School, which would have been a major implementing faculty, decided not to proceed with that plan.
CIGI remains committed to pursuing the objectives which were behind this initiative, including supporting excellence in research.
CIGI will invest in research on a project basis with practitioners, academics and other experts in key areas of international law, including trade and finance, the environment and intellectual property rights.
“These areas of law matter greatly to Canada and Ontario,” said Fred Kuntz, Vice President of Public Affairs at CIGI. “Canada is a trading nation, Ontario needs to close its productivity gap in value-added manufacturing, and
intellectual property rights and laws are at the epicentre of that.
“This is why we need expertise and sophistication in international law. We're part of a global trade system where agreements and dispute settlement mechanisms matter. In a world where countries use intellectual property or environmental law to protect and promote their interests, if we don’t understand the crossover between economics and sustainability, we could get clobbered.
“It’s all law – that’s where we codify our agreements. We need to be on top of our game, if we hope to have prosperity in the future.”
MEDIA CONTACT:
Fred Kuntz, Vice President of Public Affairs, CIGI
Tel: 519.497.5262, Email: [email protected]
The Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) is an independent, nonpartisan think tank on international governance. Led by experienced practitioners and distinguished academics, CIGI supports research,
forms networks, advances policy debate and generates ideas for multilateral governance improvements. Conducting an active agenda of research, events and publications, CIGI’s interdisciplinary work includes collaboration with policy, business and academic communities around the world. CIGI was founded in 2001 by
philanthropist Jim Balsillie, then co-CEO of Research In Motion, and collaborates with and gratefully acknowledges support from a number of strategic partners, in particular the Government of Canada and the Government of Ontario. For more information, please visit www.cigionline.org.