Areas of Interest
- Administrative law (public inquiries, bias, standards of review)
- Constitutional law (crown prerogative and conventions)
- Post-secondary education policy
About
Robert Hawkins is a professor of law at the Johnson-Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy and past president and vice-chancellor of the University of Regina. He regularly offers courses in constitutional, administrative and international trade law, governance and negotiation, and is a recipient of numerous teaching awards. Hawkins is an active researcher concentrating in the areas of constitutional law, administrative procedure and judicial review. He has recently published several articles in the Canadian Bar Review including one on various quasi-constitutional methods for “working around” formal constitutional amending procedures to achieve Senate and other reforms. He frequently presents executive training seminars to public servants on negotiation skills.
Professor Hawkins has recently been elected as a Councillor with the Regina City Council.
Download Robert E. Hawkins CV.
Designations
- Doctor of Canon Law (Honoris Causa), St. John's College, University of Manitoba
- Diplôme d'Etudes Approfondies, Université de Paris I (Panthéon ‑ Sorbonne)
- Barrister-at-Law and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Ontario, Osgoode Hall, (Law Society of Upper Canada), (Toronto)
- Master of Law, Yale University (New Haven)
- Bachelor of Law, University of Toronto
- Master of Arts and Bachelor of Arts, Corpus Christi College, Oxford (England)
- Bachelor of Arts (Honours), St. John's College, University of Manitoba
Supervisory Capacity
Robert Hawkins is currently not accepting applications from new PhD and/or MPP students for September 2022.
Recent Grants/Awards
General Awards
- Builder, University of Regina Founders’ Dinner 2011Saskatchewan Centennial Medal, 2006
- Honourary Lifetime Director, Children's Hospital Foundation of Western Ontario, London, 2004
Select Publications
Articles in Refereed Journals
- Hawkins, R.E. 2013. “The Monarch is Dead; Long Live the Monarch”: Canada’s Assent to Amending the Rules of Succession. J Parl & Pol L 7(3) (Forthcoming September 2013)
- Hawkins, R.E. 2013. “Inefficient Efficiency”: The Use of Vice-Regal Reserve Powers, in The Crown in Canada: A Diamond Jubilee Assessment, ed. D. Michael Jackson and P. Lagassé. Kingston: Institute of Intergovernmental Relations, School of Policy Studies, Queen’s University, Chapter 7 (Forthcoming Fall 2013)
- Hawkins, R.E. 2012. A Duty to Discuss: The Supreme Court’s Role as Facilitator of Last Resort. (Accepted for publication in the Supreme Court Law Review)
- Hawkins, R.E. 2012. Absentee and Write-In Ballots: Constitutional and Policy Considerations. Canadian Parliamentary Review 35(3): 7-15 (9 pages).
- Hawkins, R.E. 2011. Constitutional Workarounds: Senate Reform and Other Examples. Canadian Bar Review89(3): 513-543 (31 pages).
- Hawkins, R.E. 2010. The Fixed-Date Election Law: Constitutional Convention or Conventional Politics?Constitutional Forum constitutionnel 19(1), 129-135 (7 pages).
- Hawkins, R.E. and The Honourable E.D. Bayda, Q.C. 2010. The Conduct of Public Inquiries: Law, Policy, and Practice (Ratushny), in Canadian Bar Review 88(3): 695-705 (11 pages).
- Hawkins, R.E. 2009. Wither Judicial Review? Canadian Bar Review 88(3): 603-633 (31 pages).
- "Reputational Review III: Delay, Disrepute and Human Rights Commissions" (2000) 25 Queen's L.J. 599-658 (60 pages)
Chapters in Books
- Hawkins, R.E. 2011. Written Reasons and Codified Conventions in Matters of Prorogation and Dissolution [Chapter 7], in The Evolving Canadian Crown, ed. J. Smith and D. Michael Jackson. Kingston: Institute of Intergovernmental Relations, School of Policy Studies, Queen’s University, 2012, 99-116 (17 pages).