Legal education with a socio-linguistic mission: teaching the Canadian common law in French at Université de Moncton

Adrien Habermacher

Chapter 1 in Research Handbook on Global Legal Education, 2026, pp 11-25 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: Legal education is often studied as a uniform phenomenon within a given jurisdiction. This approach has rightly prioritized systemic patterns over anecdotal differences between individual law schools, especially when such variations lack demonstrable significance, thus yielding valuable insights. However, dismissing case studies altogether risks overlooking meaningful exceptions. When approached through thick description, localized studies can illuminate consequential disparities that challenge prevailing assumptions and enrich our understanding of legal education more broadly. This chapter examines a unique case: the law school at the Université de Moncton, the only one in Canada that teaches common law entirely in French. Situated in New Brunswick—Canada's only officially bilingual province, where the French-language community forms a minority—this institution represents a radical linguistic and socio-political undertaking. While its curriculum may appear conventional, the choice of French as the only language of instruction for the common law is a transformative act. This case study explores the law school's deep entwinement with a broader project of minority empowerment through education, access to justice, and reform of the local legal profession. Drawing on diverse sources, including the author's ethnographic comparative research, the chapter offers a socio-historical analysis that underscores the importance of context in shaping legal education and understanding its challenges and its achievements. The chapter argues that attending to the cultural and political dimensions of law schools, even when they represent a marginal phenomenon in the larger landscape of legal education, can yield insights that transcend local boundaries and invite a rethinking of widely held premises.

Keywords: French-language Common Law Education; Minority Language Rights; Bilingual Legal Education; Access To Justice (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
ISBN: 9781788117005
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