Mr. Fortier is a senior partner with
the law firm of Ogilvy Renault, in Montréal, and has been its Chairman
since January 1992. On January 1, 1998, Mr. Fortier was appointed President of
the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA).
Mr. Fortier is a graduate of
Université de Montréal, where he received a Bachelor of Arts
summa cum laude in 1955; McGill University, where he received a Bachelor
of Civil Law in 1958 and Oxford University, where he received a Bachelor of
Letters in 1960 as a Rhodes scholar. Mr. Fortier was called to the Bar of the
Province of Québec in January 1961. He then joined the predecessor firm
of Ogilvy Renault with which he is still associated today. He was appointed
Queen’s Counsel in 1976 and an Officer of the Order of Canada in December
1984. In July 1991, he was elevated to the level of Companion, the highest in
the Order. In June 1992, he was awarded the Médaille d’Or du
Barreau du Québec, the highest distinction of the Québec Bar. In
August 1993, he was awarded the President’s Award, the highest distinction
of the Canadian Bar Association. In March 1989, Mr. Fortier received the degree
of Doctor of Laws honoris causa from the Law Society of Upper Canada, in
May 1992, from Acadia University and in May 1993, from the University of
British Columbia.
Mr. Fortier is a trial lawyer who
has pleaded important cases before all court jurisdictions in Canada and before
domestic as well as international arbitral tribunals. He has also served as an
arbitrator on many international arbitration tribunals constituted by different
arbitration centres, including the International Arbitration Court of the
International Chamber of Commerce (Paris), the London Court of International
Arbitration and the American Arbitration Association.
In 1984, Mr. Fortier represented
Canada before the International Court of Justice in The Hague in the
Canada-U.S. Gulf of Maine case. Since being called to the Bar, he has served as
Counsel to many Royal Commissions and Commissions of Inquiry in Canada. He
served from 1987 to 1989 as Canada’s Chief Negotiator in the Canada-France
fishing dispute.
In 1991, Mr. Fortier was Counsel for
Canada before the ad hoc International Panel of Arbitrators which was
constituted to determine the maritime boundary between Canada and France in the
North Atlantic. He served from 1993 to 1998 as Canada’s Chief Negotiator
for the Canada-U.S. Pacific Salmon Treaty negotiations. On January 20, 1993,
Mr. Fortier was appointed Special Negotiator of the Government of Québec
to the Cree Nation. In April 1993, Mr. Fortier was appointed by the Security
Council of the United Nations as Chairman of a Panel of the United Nations
Compensation Commission in Geneva (Iraq-Kuwait).
In September 1995, Mr. Fortier was
appointed Counsel for Canada in the mediation of the Canada-U.S. Pacific Salmon
dispute. In August 1997, Mr. Fortier was appointed by the Secretary General of
the United Nations as his Special Envoy to Malaysia. In November 1997, Mr.
Fortier was appointed judge ad hoc of the International Court of Justice
in the land and maritime boundary dispute between Bahrain and Qatar. In January
1998, he was appointed a member of the Claims Resolution Tribunal for dormant
accounts in Switzerland.
In July 1988, Mr. Fortier was
appointed Canada’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United
Nations in New York. On leave from his law firm, Mr. Fortier served as
Canada’s Ambassador until January 1992. During his term at the United
Nations, Mr. Fortier was Canada’s Chief Delegate to the 43rd, 44th, 45th
and 46th Sessions of the U.N. General Assembly. In September 1990, he was
elected Vice-President of the 45th General Assembly.
From January 1989 to December 1990,
Mr. Fortier served as Canada’s Representative to the Security Council of
the United Nations. In 1989, he served as President of the Council. While in
New York, Mr. Fortier was a Director of the International Peace Academy and the
United Nations International School. He is a member of the Executive Board of
the International Association of Permanent Representatives to the United
Nations.
Mr. Fortier is Governor and director
of Hudson’s Bay Company and a director of the Royal Bank of Canada,
Northern Telecom Limited, Nova Corporation, DuPont Canada Inc., Southam Inc.
and other Canadian companies. Mr. Fortier also serves as director or governor
of several non-profit organizations, including the C.D. Howe Institute, The
Montréal General Hospital Foundation, the Canadian Foundation for AIDS
Research (CANFAR) and the Clinical Research Institute of Montréal.
Mr. Fortier is a director of the Canadian Institute
for Advanced Legal Studies, one of the Founding Directors of the Canadian Bar
Association Law for the Future Fund and patron of the International Centre for
Human Rights and Democratic Development.
Mr. Fortier is a member of numerous
professional organizations, including the Canadian Bar Association, which he
headed as National President in 1982-83, the London Court of International
Arbitration (LCIA) (President since January 1, 1998), the American Bar
Association (honorary), the International Commission of Jurists (Canadian
Section), the International Bar Association, the Union Internationale des
Avocats, the ICC Institute of International Business Law and Practice, the
International Law Association (Canadian Branch), the American College of Trial
Lawyers (member of the Board of Regents 1992-96), the CPR International Panel
of Distinguished Neutrals, the Québec National and International
Commercial Arbitration Centre (Chairman, Committee of Experts), the British
Columbia International Commercial Arbitration Centre (member — Panel of
Arbitrators), the ADR Chambers, The American Society of International Law, the
International Council for Commercial Arbitration (ICCA), the Court of
Arbitration for Sport (CAS), the Legal Service and Research Centre (LSRC) and
the International Arbitration Club (London).
From 1984 to 1989, Mr. Fortier was a
member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague. From 1992 to 1995,
Mr. Fortier was Legal Advisor to the Commission on Global Governance in Geneva.
Mr. Fortier is a Member of the Trilateral Commission (member of the North
American Executive Committee since 1993).
