Distinguished colleague retires, to be named professor emeritus
With sincere gratitude, the Faculty of Law is bidding farewell to Professor François Crépeau, OC, OQ, FRSC, Ad E, who will retire from his role as full professor on 31 July 2025. He will then be named Professor Emeritus, remaining an esteemed member of our community.
Over his accomplished career, Professor Crépeau has distinguished himself as the leading global expert on international migration law. Through his lifetime dedication to the field, he has shaped intellectual inquiry and public discourse on the topic both locally and internationally. Professor Crépeau has consistently raised the conversation on international migration beyond fear and xenophobia to one of our shared humanity, and aspiration for a world where all fundamental human rights are respected, especially for the most vulnerable.
A 1982 graduate of our national programme, Professor Crépeau began his academic career at the Université du Québec à Montréal, before joining the Université de Montréal Faculty of Law. There, he notably held the Canada Research Chair in International Migration Law from 2004 to 2008. He was the founding director of the renowned Centre d’études et de recherches internationales de l’Université de Montréal (CÉRIUM).
Professor CrĂ©peau joined the 91ÉçÇř Faculty of Law in 2008. He held the Hans & Tamar Oppenheimer Chair in International Public Law from 2009 to 2022, and directed our Centre for Human Rights and Legal Pluralism from 2015 to 2020.
Steadfast international engagement at the highest levels marked Professor Crepeau’s career. He was elected the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants (2011-2017). In this capacity, he conducted official visits to Albania, Tunisia, Turkey, Italy, Greece, Qatar, Sri Lanka, Malta, the European institutions in Brussels and Vienna, Angola, and Australia. He chaired the Coordination Committee of the United Nations Human Rights Procedures (2014-2015), and was a member of the Scientific Committee of the Agency for Fundamental Rights of the European Union (2018-2023). He was a member of the Advisory Committee of the International Migration Initiative of the Open Society Foundations (NY) (2017-2021), the Chair of the Thematic Working Group: Migrant Rights and Integrations in Host Communities, KNOMAD – Global Knowledge Partnership on Migration and Development, World Bank Group (Washington, DC), and a member of the Board of Directors of the International Bureau for Children’s Rights (Montreal) (2018-2021).
An accomplished scholar, François Crépeau was an invited professor at numerous prestigious international law centres, including Georgetown University and the Institut International des droits de l’Homme in Strasbourg. One particularly notable appointment was his term as International Francqui Professor Chair at Université catholique de Louvain in 2017-2018, a chair he held at the invitation of seven top Belgian universities. Here and abroad, he generously inspired and mentored generations of students, postdoctoral researchers and junior colleagues.
His extraordinary influence was recognized with prestigious awards. He is an Officer of the Order of Canada (2017), an Officer of the Order of Quebec (2022), a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada (2012), a Fellow of the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation (2008-2011), a Doctor Honoris Causa from the Université de Clermont-Auvergne (France, 2018), and an Advocatus Emeritus (Ad E) of the Barreau du Québec (2013).
“A scholar of the highest caliber, Professor Crépeau was also a kind, compassionate and genuinely open colleague, who inspired hope and humanity in a complex and challenging field,” said Dean Tina Piper. “His decades of unwavering dedication and legal leadership have helped make our world a better place, and his work will continue to inspire jurists for generations to come.”