Written by distinguished scholars from Canada and abroad, the essays cover topics in four different fields that reflect some of Cohen's principal academic interests and concerns: international law, public law, legal history, and legal education. From discussion of the development of United Nations law in the recent Gulf Conflict, the International Court of Justice, and the Cohen Committee on Hate Propaganda, to habeas corpus and legal education, the essays break new ground and demonstrably add, as Maxwell Cohen has done, to knowledge in their respective fields.

The collection contains a preface by former Chief Justice Brian Dickson and essays by Anne Bayefsky, William Black, Irwin Cotler, Dale Gibson, Annemieke Holthuis, Julius Grey, William Kaplan, Louis Knafla, David McDonald, Roderick Macdonald, J.P.S. McLaren, Donald McRae, Edward McWhinney, Donat Pharand, Shabtai Rosenne, Oscar Schachter, Robert Sharpe, and William Stevenson.

Maxwell Cohen was a former Dean of Law at McGill University. He is currently Scholar-in-Residence at the University of Ottawa.

William Kaplan is a lawyer, arbitrator, mediator, and author. His books include Presumed Guilty: Brian Mulroney, the Airbus Affair and the Government of Canada, One More Border: The True Story of One Family's Escape from War-Torn Europe, and Bad Judgment:

William Kaplan's profile page

Law, Ottawa

Donald McRae's profile page

"The essays are generally of high quality and will make a very useful addition to the literature on human rights in Canada ... They effectively use Max Cohen's interests and activities as the basis for a framework that gives a unity and continuity to the whole collection. I found it a useful and interesting way to examine some current legal developments of great importance ... I expect the collection will find a wide readership throughout the legal community, especially among those concerned with human rights." Noel Lyon, Faculty of Law, Queen's University.