Student editors planning future edition in memory of Bernie Adell

“Crimmigration, Surveillance and ‘Security Threats’: A Multidisciplinary Dialogue” is the theme of the first issue in Volume 40 of the Queen’s Law Journal. It was published at the end of December and is currently being studied, reviewed and debated by legal scholars around the world.

“It’s exciting to publish a special issue on a topic that’s receiving so much attention in the media and the academic community,” says Journal co-Editor-in-Chief Ian Thompson, Law’15. “’Crimmigration’ is a perfect portmanteau for the academic discussion that occurs in the new issue of the Journal – the convergence of criminal and immigration law in a climate where security and surveillance seem to dominate many conversations.”

Four papers on the subject – which were presented as part of the November 2013 “Crime, Immigration and Surveillance Workshop” – occupy the first half of the Queen’s Law Journal. The rest of the newest issue of the 44-year-old journal covers a wide array of topics, reflecting the Journal’s long-standing commitment to academic diversity. “As always, we’re proud to feature some of the best Canadian legal writing of the last year,” says co-Editor-in-Chief Stephanie Lalonde, Law’15.

This particular edition, however, is bittersweet: It is the first QLJ to be published in 20 years without the guiding pen of Professor Emeritus Bernie Adell, who passed away in the summer of 2014. “His presence is sorely missed,” Lalonde says. “His guidance and memory will continue to shape the Journal for many years to come.”

One immediate impact is the planning of a special tribute issue of the QLJ: a commemorative issue focusing on the life and work of Professor Adell, planned for the Spring 2016 edition. “We have already begun planning and soliciting material for it,” Thompson says, “and the response has been overwhelming.”