People
Paul-André Crépeau
Paul-André Crépeau was born in Gravelbourg, Saskatchewan. He completed both Bachelor of Arts and licentiate degrees in philosophy at the University of Ottawa, and a licentiate in law at the University of Montreal. After he was called to the Barreau du Québec, Prof. Crépeau (as he was to become) was awarded a Rhodes scholarship and undertook graduate studies in law at Oxford University, which he completed in 1952. He then earned a doctorate in law at the University of Paris (with the grade "Très Bien" and the Prix Robert-Dennery), and also a diplôme supérieur in comparative law from the Faculté internationale de droit comparé de Strasbourg. Thereafter, Paul-André Crépeau came back to teach law in Montreal, first at the Université de Montréal, then at McGill University. From 1965 to 1977, he presided over the titanic task of Quebec's Civil Code Revision Office, skilfully guiding and energizing the work of more than two hundred researchers, students, lawyers, notaries and judges, in a process of careful study and consultation, blazing the trail for the new Civil Code of Québec, which came into effect in 1994. With his colleague Frank R. Scott, Prof. Crépeau prepared the Report on a Draft Bill concerning Human Rights and Freedoms, which inspired the National Assembly in formulating the Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms of 1975. Prof. Crépeau founded, and led for more than twenty years, the Quebec Research Centre of Private and Comparative Law, at McGill University, which is to this day a gathering place for dialogue between and among the greatest experts in civil law, both from Quebec and overseas. From 1976, Prof. Crépeau held the Arnold Wainwright Chair in Civil Law. He was also Director of the Institute of Comparative Law for a decade. Professor Crépeau passed away on Wednesday, July 6, 2011, at the age of 85.
André Nadeau
André Nadeau was born in 1915 Saint-Césaire, Quebec. He studied at Université de Montréal, Université de Paris (France) and University of Ottawa, where he received his doctorate in law in 1959. He was a professor at the Faculty of Law of Université de Montréal from 1951 to 1959. In 1964, he was appointed to the Quebec Superior Court, where he would preside until 1981. André Nadeau passed away in 1993.
[Source: http://www.memoireduquebec.com/wiki/index.php?title=Nadeau_(André)]
The Right Honourable Thibaudeau Rinfret, P.C.
Thibaudeau Rinfret was born in Montreal, Quebec, on June 22, 1879. He was the son of François-Olivier Rinfret and Albina Pominville. He completed a B.A. at Collège Sainte-Marie in Montreal in 1897, then studied law at Laval University in Montreal and McGill University, from which he graduated with a B.C.L. in 1900. Called to the bar of Quebec in 1901, he practised in the province for 21 years, in Saint-Jérome until 1910 and then in Montreal with Perron, Taschereau, Rinfret, Vallée & Genest. He also taught part-time at McGill University for over 10 years, specializing in commercial law. He was appointed to the Superior Court of Quebec in 1922 and elevated to the Supreme Court of Canada on October 1, 1924. On January 8, 1944, he became Chief Justice of Canada. He served on the Supreme Court for 29 years and retired on June 22, 1954. Chief Justice Rinfret died on July 25, 1962, at the age of 83.
[Source: http://www.scc-csc.gc.ca/court-cour/ju/rinfret/index-eng.asp]
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Other contributors to the Civil Code Revision Office are acknowledged in the Final Report of the Civil Code Revision Office.