Roderick Alexander Macdonald (1948–2014) was a Canadian legal scholar. He was the 111th president of the

Royal Society of Canada The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; french: Société royale du Canada, SRC), also known as the Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada (French: ''Académies des arts, des lettres et des sciences du Canada''), is the senior national, bil ...

between 2009 and 2011.

Biography

Macdonald was born in Ontario on 6 August 1948. He was educated at

York University York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,0 ...

(BA),

Osgoode Hall Law School Osgoode Hall Law School, commonly shortened to Osgoode, is the law school of York University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The law school is home to the Law Commission of Ontario, the Journal of Law and Social Policy, and the ''Osgoode Hall La ...

(LLB), the

University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (french: Université d'Ottawa), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ottawa ...

(LLL), and the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

(LLM). He taught at the

University of Windsor Faculty of Law The Faculty of Law is a faculty of the University of Windsor in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. The first class of students matriculated in 1968, and the current building was opened in 1970. The Faculty has grown immensely over the past 50 years, incr ...

between 1975 and 1979 and at the

McGill University Faculty of Law The Faculty of Law is one of the professional graduate schools of McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the oldest law school in Canada, and continually ranks among the best law schools in the world. The faculty is known for it ...

from 1979 to his death on 13 June 2014, serving as its dean between 1984 and 1989. Prolific in his research, Macdonald's academic work often embodied unusual formats. His commitment to the bijural and bilingual environment at McGill University's Faculty of Law helped pave the way for the "transsystemic" legal education later adopted by the institution. Between 1997 and 2000, he served as the first president of the

Law Commission of Canada The Law Commission of Canada was an independent law commission that gave advice to the Canadian government on matters of law. The body was created in 1971 as the Law Reform Commission of Canada and was disbanded in 1992. The body was reestablished ...

. As a legal theorist, Macdonald had a strong interest in

legal pluralism Legal pluralism is the existence of multiple legal systems within one society and/or geographical area. Plural legal systems are particularly prevalent in former colonies, where the law of a former colonial authority may exist alongside more tradi ...

. He advocated a version of legal pluralism he described as "critical", "radical", or "kaleidoscopic". The volume ''The Unbounded Level of the Mind'' gathers together essays in honour of Macdonald.

References

External links

* Lost Years: A People's Struggle for Justice 1948 births 2014 deaths Canadian legal scholars Officers of the Order of Canada Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada York University alumni Osgoode Hall Law School alumni University of Ottawa Faculty of Law alumni University of Toronto Faculty of Law alumni Academic staff of University of Windsor Academic staff of the McGill University Faculty of Law Lawyers in Ontario Date of death missing Place of death missing {{Canada-law-bio-stub