The Honourable Justice Hugh L. Fraser (Ret.), O.C., FCIArb, FCollArb joined JAMS after an accomplished career as a justice of the Ontario Court of Justice (Ottawa). He was appointed as a judge of the Ontario Court in 1993 and became regional senior justice for the East Region of Ontario in 2013, a position in which he managed and advised more than 70 judges and justices of the peace. During his 25-year tenure on the bench, Justice Fraser conducted thousands of trials and directly mediated countless settlements in cases involving complex business/commercial, professional liability, torts, family, criminal and personal injury matters.

Justice Fraser is an Olympian and a recognized international authority in sports law. As an arbitrator for the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), he was appointed to CAS’s first ad hoc court and has served as either sole or panel arbitrator in dozens of sports-related disputes. He is a member of several ADR panels in North America and Europe, and has conducted arbitrations throughout the United States and Canada, as well as in Australia, Brazil, Grenada, Malaysia and Switzerland.

Prior to his appointment to the bench, Justice Fraser worked as a barrister in private practice, as counsel to the Canadian Department of Justice and as corporate counsel for a multinational technology firm. He has also served on the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal.

ADR Experience and Qualifications

• First Acting Commissioner, Athletics Canada – Track and Field Federation
• Arbitrator, National Hockey League (NHL) Players Association World Cup
• Appointed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, Lausanne, Switzerland
• Member, Disciplinary Tribunal, Inaugural International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF)
• Arbitrator, Olympic Games and Commonwealth Games
• Arbitrator, Anti-Doping Panel, Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA)
• Arbitrator, International Centre for Dispute Resolution
• Arbitrator, Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada
• Arbitrator, Swiss Arbitration Association
• Member, Dubin Commission of Inquiry Into the Use of Drugs and Banned Practices Intended to Increase Athletic Performance
• Former Chair, Committee on Alternative Dispute Resolution in Sport (which resulted in the creation of the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada)

Representative Matters

• Mediated environmental case involving Ontario Ministry of the Environment, a large construction company and a power company
• Chaired numerous human rights tribunals examining allegations of discrimination against the federal government (Canada)
• Rendered several precedent-setting decisions, including a gender discrimination case that resulted in significant changes to the Unemployment Insurance Act (Canada)
• Rendered decisions in cases involving age discrimination, mandatory retirement and religious accommodation in the Canadian Armed Forces
• Advised the personnel department of a technology company and established policies with regard to employment-related issues such as dismissals, layoffs and disability entitlements
• Advised corporate management in areas of corporate compliance, workplace health and safety requirements and government relations 
• As counsel at the Department of Justice, negotiated contracts for the Canadian Armed Forces as part of the multi-billion-dollar fighter aircraft program
• Negotiated contracts with many large aircraft suppliers on behalf of the Canadian government 
• Investigated accidental death of a Canadian Armed Forces pilot
• As counsel for the Alzheimer’s Society, dealt with issues of elder abuse and made recommendations to the public trustee and attorney general that resulted in a new Powers of Attorney Act for Ontario 
• Presided over workplace wrongful death and serious injury trials
• Presided over many sexual harassment and sexual misconduct trials
• Served as case management and pre-trial judge for trials involving allegations of expense fraud against several members of Canada’s Senate 
• Arbitrated a contract dispute between an NHL coach and an NHL team

Sports

• Served as chair, sole and wing arbitrator for dozens of cases involving allegations of doping, breach of employment contracts and governance issues
• Mediated multiple athlete/coach disputes
• Arbitrated dozens of complaints by athletes against their sport governing body regarding their non-selection to a national team or international games team
• Arbitrated disputes between national sport governing bodies over licensing matters and governance issues 
• Arbitrated a dispute between a sports marketing agent over breach of his marketing contract with an international sport governing body 
• Arbitrated a dispute between two national soccer associations
• Served as party-appointed arbitrator in a dispute between two international sport federations
• Investigated code of conduct and conflict of interest complaints as well as complaints of sexual misconduct by a female athlete against her coach
• Assisted a national sports organization with the revision of its harassment policy

Honors, Memberships, and Professional Activities

Completed Virtual ADR training conducted by the JAMS Institute, the training arm of JAMS.

Memberships

• Administrative Officer, Independent Resolution Panel, National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), 2020-present
• Member, Independent Resolution Panel, NCAA, 2019-present
• Adjudicator; Court of Arbitration for Sport; Lausanne, Switzerland; 1996–present
• Arbitrator, Summer Olympics and Commonwealth Games, 1996, 1998, 2006, 2016
• Arbitrator, Anti-Doping Panel, Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA), 2008–present
• Arbitrator, International Centre for Dispute Resolution, 2001–present
• Arbitrator, Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada, 2011–2016
• Arbitrator, Swiss Arbitration Association, 2014–2018
• Arbitrator, National Hockey League/NHLPA World Cup Doping Control, 2016
• Vice-President, Commonwealth Games Association of Canada, 1990–1994
• President, Canadian Commonwealth Games Foundation, 1990–1994
• Member, Canadian Human Rights Tribunal, 1985–1993
• Member, Judicial Appointments Advisory Committee, 2013–2016
• Board of Directors, Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport, 2014–2015
• Member, Board of Directors, Canoe Kayak Canada, 2015–2016
• Member, Justice of the Peace Appointments Advisory Committee, 2013–2016
• Member, Equity and Diversity Committee, Canadian Association of Provincial Court Judges, 2004–2005

Honors

• Officer of the Order of Canada, 2022
• Honors, 2020 Canadian Bar Association President's Award, 2020
• Fellow, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators
• Fellow, College of Commercial Arbitrators
• “Who’s Who in Black Canada,” 2002
• “Who’s Who in Sport in Canada,” 2000
• Member, World Olympians Association, 2016–present
• Recipient, 125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada Medal, 1992
• Recipient, Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal, 2002
• Queen’s University Track and Field Hall of Fame, 1994
• Member, Canadian National Track and Field Team, 1971–1980
• Winner of 13 Canadian National Championship events in track and field
• Competed in 1975 Pan-American Games (bronze medal, relay), 1976 Olympic Games, 1978 Commonwealth Games and 1979 World Student Games
• Province of Ontario Achievement Award, 1977
• Ontario Athletics Hall of Fame, 2019

Lectures

• Speaker, Court of Arbitration for Sport and Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada, Policing the Gender Divide, 2019
• Speaker, Arbitration and Mediation Court of the Caribbean, Contemporary Issues in International Sports Law, 2019
• Speaker, Columbia University Law School, Fighting Corruption in Sports, 2019
• Panel Member, Robert Sutherland, Queen’s University Faculty of Law, 2016
• Speaker, University of Ottawa Black Law Students Association, 2016
• Speaker, Black History Month, Children’s Aid Society, 2016
• Panelist, Justice of the Peace, Education Seminar, 2015
• Speaker, Criminal Justice Forum, Algonquin College, 2014
• Lanark County Law Dinner, Ethics, Professionalism and Civility in Court, 2014
• Guest Speaker, Queen’s University Alumni Week, 2014
• Speaker, Christian Legal Fellowship Christmas Banquet, 2013
• Young Lawyers Trial Advocacy Program, 2013
• University of Ottawa Faculty of Law Criminal Law Career Panel, 2013
• CBC/Ottawa Public Library Human Book, 2013
• Black Law Students Association of Canada, National Moot Court Competition, 2013
• Guns and Gangs Symposium, Ottawa, 2012
• Judge and Speaker, Capital Cup Moot Court Competition, 2012
• Speaker, Jamaica’s 50th Anniversary Gala Dinner, 2011
• Panel Member, Black History Month, Osgoode Hall Law School, 2011
• Speaker, Black History Month, University of Ottawa Faculty of Law,  2010
• Panel Member, Professional Responsibility and Ethics in the Criminal Justice System, University of Ottawa Faculty of Law, 2010

Background and Education

• Justice, Ontario Court of Justice, 1993–2018
• Barrister and Solicitor, Private Practice, 1983–1993
• In-House Counsel, Digital Equipment Corporation, 1987–1990
• Chair, Sports Experts Panel, Dubin Commission of Inquiry Into the Use of Drugs and Banned Practices Intended to Increase Athletic Performance, 1988–1990
• Counsel, Department of Justice, 1981–1983
• Barrister and Solicitor, Private Practice, 1979–1981
• Bar Admission Course, Law Society of Upper Canada, 1979
• J.D., University of Ottawa Faculty of Law, 1977
• B.A., Political Studies and History, Queen’s University, 1974