Yan Campagnolo
Counsel
Yan is a full professor in the Faculty of Law at the University of Ottawa, where he has served as vice-dean of the French common law program. He is also a faculty advisor to the Ottawa Law Review, editor of the University of Ottawa Press’s Law and Justice series, editor of Thomson Reuters’ Common law en bref collection, and President of the Association des juristes d’expression française de l’Ontario (AJEFO).
Before joining the University of Ottawa, Yan clerked for Justice Morris Fish at the Supreme Court of Canada and served as counsel at the Privy Council Office. As a lawyer, he has provided legal and public policy advice to the prime minister, the clerk of the Privy Council, and Cabinet committees on commissions of inquiry, constitutional litigation of national importance, Senate appointments, democratic reform, Cabinet secrecy, and access to information law.
Yan is a member of the Ontario Bar. He holds degrees in civil law and common law from the University of Ottawa, which awarded him the Gold Medal; a master’s degree in public international law from the University of Cambridge; and a doctorate in constitutional law from the University of Toronto. He is the author of 10 books and over 30 academic publications. His work has been recognized by the Canadian Foundation for Legal Research as well as the Quebec Bar Foundation.
The Law of Trusts, 4th edition, University of Toronto Press, Toronto, 2027 (forthcoming) (with Eileen Gillese).
Elements of Quebec Civil Law: A Comparison with the Common Law of Canada, 2nd edition, Thomson Reuters, Montreal, 2025 (with Aline Grenon and Louise Bélanger-Hardy).
Éléments de common law canadienne : comparaison avec le droit civil québécois, 2nd edition, Thomson Reuters, Montreal, 2024 (with Louise Bélanger-Hardy and Aline Grenon).
Behind Closed Doors: The Law and Politics of Cabinet Secrecy, Vancouver, UBC Press, 2021.
Le secret ministériel : théorie et pratique, Quebec, Presses de l’Université Laval, 2020.
Quebec Contract Law, 3rd edition, Wilson & Lafleur, Montreal, 2020 (with Sébastien Grammond and Anne-Françoise Debruche).
La Constitution canadienne, Toronto, Dundurn, 2019 (with Adam Dodek).
Secret, Not Sacred: Constitutional Limitations on the Protection of Cabinet Confidences under the Access to Information Act (2026) 71:3 McGill Law Journal (forthcoming) (with Vincent Kazmierski).
L’abolition unilatérale du serment au roi par le Québec est-elle constitutionnelle ? (2026) 71:2 Revue de droit de McGill 549 (with Camille Bontems).
Strengthening Language Rights in Canada (2005) 56:3 Ottawa Law Review 342 (with François Larocque).
Debates About Cabinet Secrecy Are Far From Over (2024) 56:1 Ottawa Law Review 7 (with Mel Cappe).
Les règles d’interprétation bijuridique favorisent-elles l’émergence d’un dialogue transsystémique entre le droit civil et la common law? (2022) 52 Revue générale de droit 113 (special edition) (with Catherine Valcke).
Les articles de revues de droit les plus cités de tous les temps par la Cour suprême du Canada (2023) 54:1 Revue de droit d’Ottawa 1 (with Camille Andrzejewski).
The Most-Cited Law Review Articles of All Time by the Supreme Court of Canada (2022) 60:1 Alberta Law Review 129 (with Camille Andrzejewski).
Rethinking Cabinet Secrecy (2020) 13:3 Journal of Parliamentary and Political Law 497.
Repenser le secret ministériel (2020) 50:1 Revue générale de droit 5.
Assessing the Influence of the Ottawa Law Review at the Supreme Court of Canada: 1966-2017 (2019) 50:3 Ottawa Law Review 89 (with Kyle Kirkup).
Étude de l’influence de la Revue de droit d’Ottawa auprès de la Cour suprême du Canada (de 1966 à 2017) (2019) 50:3 Revue de droit d’Ottawa 55 (with Kyle Kirkup).
Cabinet Secrecy in Canada (2019) 12:3 Journal of Parliamentary and Political Law 583.
Le secret ministériel au Canada (2018) 12:1 Revue de droit parlementaire et politique 33.
Cabinet Immunity in Canada: The Legal Black Hole (2017) 63:2 McGill Law Journal 315.
The History, Law and Practice of Cabinet Immunity in Canada (2017) 47:2 Revue générale de droit 239.
A Rational Approach to Cabinet Immunity Under the Common Law (2017) 55:1 Alberta Law Review 43.
The Political Legitimacy of Cabinet Secrecy (2017) 51:1 Revue juridique Thémis de l’Université de Montréal 51.
Bilingualism and merit go hand in hand at the Supreme Court of Canada, The Conversation, 19 February 2025 (with François Larocque and Stéphanie Chouinard).
The Supreme Court of Canada is wrong to refuse to translate its pre-1970 decisions, The Conversation, 1 October 2024 (with François Larocque and Lawrence David).
There’s no official French version of the 1867 Constitution Act. So, is taking the oath to the King in French valid? The Conversation, 1 December 2022 (with François Larocque).
Why Québec politicians must swear an oath to the King—even if they don’t want to, The Conversation, 19 October 2022.
Cabinet secrecy is essential, but should not be absolute, Policy Options, 24 May 2022 (with Mel Cappe).
Mandate letters should be kept confidential, Policy Options, 7 April 2022 (with Mel Cappe).
Cabinet secrecy reform is crucial, but Scheer’s plan needs work, The Conversation, 8 October 2019.
SNC-Lavalin : les règles obscures du secret ministériel, La conversation, 18 September 2019.
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