James Yap

James Yap | International Human Rights Lawyer | Toronto

Canadian lawyer and academic specializing in:

Business and Human Rights • Transnational Corporate Accountability • Modern Slavery and Forced Labour • International Human Rights

James is Assistant Professor at the University of Windsor Faculty of Law and Counsel with the Toronto law firm Jackman & Associates. He is President of Canadian Lawyers for International Human Rights (CLAIHR) and a member of the Board of Directors of the Canadian Council on International Law (CCIL). He has also taught at Osgoode Hall Law School at York University in Toronto, as well as the University of Toronto Faculty of Law.

James completed his JD at Osgoode Hall Law School (where he graduated as Silver Medallist) and his LLM at Yale Law School. After his JD he clerked at the Supreme Court of Canada for Justice Ian Binnie. James also has a BSc in Computer Science and Cognitive Science from McGill University in Montreal. He speaks English, French, and Spanish.

Hear James speak about his work on multinational corporations and modern slavery litigating the Nevsun case (landmark legal claim against a Canadian mining company using forced labour in Eritrea), as featured on CBC Radio’s Ideas:

James Yap on CBC Radio Ideas

CBC Radio · Ideas

Extracting Justice: The human rights impact of Canadian mining

Click to listen · 54 min

In his legal advocacy, James represents complainants in all kinds of human rights and social justice claims, specializing in cases concerning the human rights responsibility of multinational business, and other novel and/or complex issues of transnational justice. In the course of his work he has:

  • Represented plaintiffs in some of the key Canadian legal precedents in his field, such as Nevsun Resources Ltd. v. Araya and Toussaint v. Canada.
  • Represented parties at all levels of court in Canada, including the Supreme Court of Canada and multiple provincial Courts of Appeal.
  • Engaged in human rights advocacy at international bodies, including in the UN and Inter-American systems.
  • Advised numerous NGOs, international organizations, governments, and other institutions.
  • Published several scholarly articles and other pieces on topics relating to international human rights and transnational corporate accountability.
  • Spoken at venues in Canada and around the world.

In the Media


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