2018 Tarnopolsky Award Winner, Penelope Simons

On October 31st, 2018, ICJ Canada recognized Professor Penelope Simons as the 2018 recipient of the Walter S. Tarnopolsky award, which is given annually to an individual who has made a significant contribution to human rights in Canada or abroad. The award ceremony took place in at the University of Ottawa, Faculty of Law's atria at the reception following the event "70 Years On... is Humanity Ready for a World Court of Human Rights?", hosted by the Human Rights Research and Education Center and chaired by ICJ Canada board member John Packer. 

Prior to taking up her position at the Faculty of Law at the University of Ottawa, Penelope was a Senior Lecturer in Law at Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, UK.  She was called to the British Columbia Bar in 1996 and practiced corporate/commercial law with McCarthy Tétrault LLP.  She has also worked in the nongovernmental sector on peace and disarmament issues.

Penelope has been engaged in research on corporate human rights accountability for over a decade. In December 1999 she participated in the Canadian Assessment Mission to Sudan (the Harker Mission), appointed by Canada's Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, to investigate allegations of slavery as well as links between oil development in Sudan and violations of human rights. Her current research is focused on the human rights implications of domestic and extraterritorial corporate activity, state responsibility for corporate complicity in human rights violations, as well as the intersections between transnational corporate activity, human rights and international economic law.
Penelope teaches international human rights law, business organizations, public international law and a course on transnational corporations, human rights and international trade and investment law.  Her most recent work involved research with UN High Commissioner for Human Right’s Accountability and Remedy Project.

Congratulations Professor Simons!