CURRICULUM VITAE FOR MARK ERIK HECHT, BA, DIA, LL.B.

Click Here for Media Biography

ACADEMIC BACKGROUND


University of New South Wales / Sydney, Australia
Doctor of Philosophy in Law (Ph.D.)
Thesis: Raping the Benefits: Big Business and the Sexual Exploitation of Children
In Rerum progressus / In progress
University of Windsor / Windsor, Canada
Bachelor of Common Law (LL.B.)
Focus: Human Rights and Social Justice
Awarded the Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt Prize
Concordia University / Montréal, Canada
Graduate Diploma in Institutional Administration
Concentration: Not-for-profit Management
McGill University / Montréal, Canada
Bachelor of Arts
Major: Industrial Relations
Minor: History and philosophy of science
Vanier College / Montréal, Canada
Honours Social Sciences


EMPLOYMENT EXPERIENCE

University of Ottawa, Faculty of Law / Ottawa, Canada
July 2006-present
Position: Visiting Professor
Duties:

  • Lecturing in English and French in Property Law, Commercial Law and Tort Law (Délits civil)
  • Coordinating guest lecturers
  • Advising CLAIHR chapter and other student clubs
  • Assisting the Human Rights Research and Education Centre on various initiatives
  • Conducting research on corporate social responsibility and human rights
  • Other professorial duties, i.e. setting and grading exams, preparing lessons, consulting with students, etc.

University of Windsor, Faculty of Law / Windsor, Canada
July 2004-June 2006
Position: Visiting Assistant Professor and Access to Justice Chair
Duties:

  • Lecturing on Access to Justice and Child and the Law
  • Developing and organizing an Access to Justice colloquia
  • Coordinating Access to Justice speakers and guest lecturers
  • Advising CLAIHR chapter and other student clubs
  • Conducting research on corporate social responsibility and human rights
  • Other professorial duties, i.e. setting and grading exams, preparing lessons, consulting with students, etc.


Human Rights International Documentation Network (HRI)

Ottawa, Canada
July 2000-June 2004
Position: Executive Director and In-house Legal Counsel
Duties:

  • Liaised with international Board of Directors
  • Conducted strategic planning for the future of the organization
  • Fundraised, managed and reported on human rights projects
  • Marketed the institution domestically and abroad
  • Drafted and administered project proposals, timelines, critical paths and budgets
  • Recruited, supervised and evaluated office staff, field interns, and volunteers
  • Provided legal advice on humanitarian concerns Edited a quarterly magazine and alumni newsletter
  • Networked with worldwide program offices and national partners/members

HRI
Ottawa, Canada
June 1998-July 2000
Position: Deputy Director
Duties:

  • Assisted Executive Director with fundraising, managing and reporting
  • Selected and trained Project Officers, interns and volunteers
  • Coordinated meetings, conferences and symposiums on human rights topics
  • Researched, developed and maintained content for databases and doc centre

HRI
Ottawa, Canada
June 1996-May 1998
Position: Coordinator, International Child and Health Programmes
Duties:

  • Directed programmes and projects on juvenile justice and HIV/AIDS
  • Responded to federal and provincial government inquires on youth welfare
  • Participated on international tribunals, panels and missions
  • Executed socio-legal research on behalf of the agency

Beyond Borders: Ensuring Global Justice for Children
Winnipeg, Canada
January 1996-present
Position: Co-founder and Senior Legal Counsel
Duties:

  • Consulting privately on international advocacy mechanisms
  • Lobbying governments for improvements in child protection legislation
  • Intervening in "high profile" children's rights cases
  • Developing and facilitating training seminars on child protection policies
  • Acting as managing partner; responsible for general finance and administration

Children's Aid Society of Ottawa-Carleton
Ottawa, Canada
September 1996-May 1997
Position: Articling Student
Duties:

  • Conducted interviews and negotiations with clients and staff
  • Assisted in trials and a Coroners' Inquest
  • Pleaded uncontested matters
  • Organized in-house training on international child law topics

Orenstein & Associates
Montréal, Canada
September 1992-August 1993
Position: Legal Intern
Duties:

  • Researched jurisprudence
  • Responded to client concerns
  • Drafted memorandum of law and affidavits
TEACHING ENDEAVOURS


2006-present: University of Ottawa, Faculty of Law / Ottawa, Canada
Property Law, Commercial Law, Tort Law (Délits civil)
2006-present:
Civil Procedures
2004-2006: University of Windsor, Faculty of Law / Windsor, Canada
Access to Justice, Child and the Law
2001-2003: University of Windsor, Faculty of Law / Windsor, Canada
Public International Law, International Human Rights Law, Child and the Law
2001-present: University of New South Wales, Faculty of Law / Sydney, Australia
International Child Law
2000: OTI Collegiate, Grade 13 / Ottawa, Canada
OAC Law


MEMBERSHIPS AND ASSOCIATIONS
  • Member, Law Society of Upper Canada / Toronto, Canada
  • Member, International Bar Association and Human Rights Institute / London, UK
  • Member, Federal Committee against Sexual Exploitation of Children / Ottawa, Canada
  • Member, Patron Board of the Alliance for the Rights of Children / Vancouver, Canada
  • Member, International Advisory Committee, Harvard University's JFK School of Government, "International Child Law Protection Project" / Washington, DC, USA
  • Senior Adviser, United Nations Violence against Children Study, Violence against Children in Cyberspace Chapter / Geneva, Switzerland.
  • Treasurer and North American Representative, ECPAT-International: A campaign to end child prostitution, child pornography and the trafficking of children for sexual purposes / Bangkok, Thailand
  • National Coordinator, CINCYR: Canadian Information Network on Child and Youth Rights / Ottawa, Canada
    North American Liaison, European Network for Street Children Worldwide / Brussels, Belgium
CANADIAN DELEGATE REPRESENTATION
  • Expert Roundtable on Violence against Children in Virtual Spaces / Bangkok, 2005
  • Wilton Park Expert Consultation on Protecting Children On-Line / London, 2003
  • First International Conference about Child Pornography on the Internet / Salvador, 2002
  • INTERPOL'S 20th Meeting of Specialist Group on Crimes against Children / Thun, 2002
  • Second World Congress against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children / Yokohama, 2001
  • UNHCHR International Consultative Conference on School Education in Relation with Freedom of Religion and Belief, Tolerance and Non Discrimination / Madrid, 2001
  • Forum of the Americas: Hemispheric Consultation for the World Conference Against Racism, Xenophobia and other forms of Religious Intolerance / Quito, 2000
  • The Hague Appeal for Peace / The Hague, 1999
  • UNESCO Meeting of International Experts to Combat Sexual Abuse of Children, Child Pornography and Paedophilia on the Internet / Paris, 1999
  • Webnet '98: World Conference on the Internet, Intranet and Web / Orlando, 1998
  • Human Rights on the Internet / Montréal, 1998
  • Vienna+5: International NGO Review of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action / Ottawa, 1998
  • EU Consultation on the Development of a European Network for Street Children / Brussels, 1997
  • World Congress against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children / Stockholm, 1996
PUBLICATIONS

Books edited:

Papers authored:

MARK HECHT'S MEDIA BIOGRPAHY


Mark Erik Hecht is an academic, a lawyer and a human rights advocate.  He is currently Visiting Professor at the University of Ottawa's Faculty of Common Law, prior to which he was Assistant Professor and Access to Justice Fellow at the University of Windsor.  Professor Hecht's primary research interest is international child law, specifically the role and involvement of the private sector in the commercial sexual exploitation of children.
 
Professor Hecht sits on the Executive Committee of the ECPAT-International campaign to end child prostitution, child pornography and the trafficking of children for sexual purposes, the Canadian government's Committee against the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Youth, and the Patron Board of the Alliance for the Rights of Children .  He is the national coordinator for CINCYR: The Canadian Information Network on Child and Youth Rights, based in Ottawa and Senior Legal Counsel to Beyond Borders: Ensuring Global Justice for Children based in Winnipeg.
 
Previous to his recent academic appointments, Professor Hecht was Executive Director of HRI, an international non-governmental organization that specializes in human rights networking, research and documentation.  In that capacity he was a member of the Canadian delegation to the First and Second World Congresses against the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in Stockholm and Yokohama respectively, and addressed the subject of child protection on the Internet at the 1999 UNESCO Meeting of Experts in Paris.  He recently acted as keynote speaker at the Human Rights and the Internet colloquium in Canada and the First Conference of the Americas on Child Pornography on the Internet in Brazil.
 
Professor Hecht teaches Property Law and Commercial Law in the English Common Law section and Délits civils, in the French Common Law section.  He also teaches international child law at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia where he is completing his Ph.D. in law.  For further information and for an overview of his thesis please visit www.raping-the-benefits.info.
-----------
Mark Erik Hecht est un universitaire,avocat et activiste des droits humains.  A présent, il est professeur invité à la faculté de droit, Common law, à l'Université d'Ottawa.  Avant l'université d'Ottawa, Professeur Hecht a travaillé comme professeur adjoint et titulaire du programme « Access to Justice » à l'Université de Windsor.  Son intérêt principal est le droit international des enfants, en particulier le rôle et l'engagement du secteur privé dans l'exploitation sexuelle des enfants à des fins commerciales.
 
Professeur Hecht est un membre du conseil d'administration d'ECPAT-International, la campagne contre la prostitution infantile, la pornographie infantile, et le trafic des enfants à des fins sexuelles.  Il fait partie du comite gouvernemental contre l'exploitation sexuelle des enfants et des jeunes à des fins commerciales et il est membre d'honneur de l'alliance pour les droits des enfants.  Professeur Hecht est aussi coordinateur national de «CINCYR», le réseau canadien pour l'information sur les droits des enfants et des jeunes, situé à Ottawa.  Depuis 1996, Professeur Hecht exerce comme avocat général principal d'Au delà des frontières un organisme de protection des droits des enfants, basé à Winnipeg.
 
Comme activiste des droits humains, Professeur Hecht était le directeur générale d'IDH, une organisation internationale et non-gouvernementale spécialisée en réseautage, recherche et documentation sur les droits humains.  En cette qualité, il était membre de la délégation canadienne à la première et à la deuxième conférence mondiale contre l'exploitation sexuelle des enfants à des fins commerciales à Stockholm et à Yokohama.  Professeur Hecht a pris une part active à la réunion d'éxperts de l'UNESCO à Paris, particulièrement en présentant un exposé sur la problematique de la protection des enfants sur l'Internet.  Plus récemment, il a été l'orateur principal au séminaire sur l'internet et les droits humains au Canada et à la première conférence des Amériques sur la pornographie infantile sur l'Internet au Brésil.
 
Professeur Hecht enseigne la loi des biens et le loi commercial (en anglais) et délits civils (en français) au Département de Common law.  Il enseigne aussi la loi international d'enfants a l'Université de New South Wales à Sydney, Australie où il est entrain de compléter son doctorat en droit.  Pour plus d'informations et pour un résumé de sa thèse, s'il vous plait visiter www.raping-the-benefits.info.