A UWindsor political science professor has been named to a federal panel that will assess applications for funding of language rights court cases of national significance.

The Canadian government named Emmanuelle Richez, an assistant professor in the Department of Political Science, one of seven experts that will allocate resources of the Court Challenges Program. Read the Nov. 20 announcement on the website of the Ministry of Canadian Heritage and Multiculturalism.

Dr. Richez’s research examines law and politics in Canada and other advanced liberal democracies, with a particular focus on ethno-cultural minority rights.

Among her current projects are a comparative analysis of the effects of bills of rights on Indigenous peoples in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States; and examinations of judicial decision-making at the Supreme Court of Canada, Canada’s compliance with international law, and the bilingualism of Canadian legislators online.

The Court Challenges Program provides funding support to people and groups accessing the justice system to assert their language rights and human rights.

Mélanie Joly, Minister of Tourism, Official Languages and La Francophonie, said the program demonstrates a national commitment to better protect Canadians Charter rights.

“Respect for and full exercise of language rights — including education rights in official-language minority communities — are incredibly important to our government,” she said. “When the rights of the individual are respected, the rights of all are protected.”