Private Law
The law relating to legal actions available to private actors, including those available in the common law as well as from legislation creating private rights of action. Our researchers are involved in a variety of areas of private law, including family law, health law, property law, and contract law.
Our Researchers
Health Law

Lorian Hardcastle
- Regulation and governance of the health care system
- Hospital and governmental liability and accountability
- Patient safety
- Health system organization and finance
- Comparative health policy
- Self-regulation of health professionals
Property Law

Nigel Bankes
- Aboriginal Law
- Circumpolar Law (Arctic)
- Energy Law
- International Environmental Law
- International Water Law (especially the Columbia River Treaty)
- Law of the Sea (especially dispute resolution)
- Oil & Gas Law (regulation and private law)


Jonnette Watson Hamilton
- Discourse Analysis
- Equality Rights
- Property Law & Theory
- Access to Justice
Contracts, Torts and Restitution

Jassmine Girgis
- Criminal, regulatory and private law liability for director malfeasance in Canada
- Director and officer liability
- Corporate law
- Commercial law
- Contract law
- Bankruptcy and restructuring law
(Webinar) Ready or not: The legal landscape for cannabis.
Professor Lorian Hardcastle reviews Canada's evolving legal landscape for cannabis, including consumption and possession restrictions, retail models and licensing, implications for landlord and tenant and food safety laws as they relate to edibles, and the fate of the existing medical cannabis regime.
How much will legalized pot cost? Cannabis legalization and how it will affect our governments, our laws, and our way of life.
UCalgary researchers explore the social side of cannabis legislation, including policy, law, and on-campus life.
Related Moots
- Bennett Jones Health Law Moot
- Walsh Family Law Negotiation Competition