Originally from Northern Ontario, I completed my Honours Bachelor of Arts in Political Science (and a minor in World Religions) at McGill University in 2013, where I wrote my undergraduate thesis on the incorporation of ECHR decisions in Charter decision making at the Supreme Court of Canada. I subsequently completed my BCL/LLB in 2017 at McGill's Faculty of Law (with a minor in English Literature), where I developed a keen interest in criminal law, and more generally the interaction between the individual and the state.
My independent research paper examined bail court practices in Montreal.
I was first exposed to extradition as an articling student working on extradition defense files. The difficulty in developing legally accepted claims of human rights violations under Canadian extradition law drove me to study it exclusively at the graduate level, and I completed my LLM at Osgoode Hall Law School in 2021.
Now in my 5th year in the PhD program, my contemporary research concerns are driven by existing research, contemporary events, and legal history. My time in the graduate program at Osgoode Hall, particularly in conversation with my colleagues, have additionally underscored the moral and ethical imperative to address colonial and imperialist legacies of law as a settler of Turtle Island and a member of the legal profession.
Research
This dissertation assesses Canadian extradition from a legal perspective. In presenting this assessment, this dissertation ultimately presents a thorough critique of Canadian extradition: first, it exposes the colonial roots of Canada’s extradition laws. To do so, it situates Canadian extradition law and practices in the country’s historical and contemporary context as a settler colony and the use of extradition and the criminal law system to consolidate colonial power over the territory comprising the modern Canadian state. Second, this dissertation critically examines Canadian extradition law and practices on three fronts: as an aspect of criminal law, as an aspect of administrative law, and as a part of international relations. This critique draws on theoretical frameworks arising from abolitionist and anti-/de-colonial theories, third world approaches to international law (TWAIL), other critical legal approaches, and on comparative work on similarly-situated common law states. Although this will not be a “legal history dissertation” per se, these theoretical frameworks necessitate exploring the history of Canadian extradition law and practice as part of explaining its present. This dissertation concludes with a final exploration of the future of extradition in Canada: whether (and how) extradition fits in with the imperative of decolonization.
Education
2021: Masters of Law - Osgoode Hall Law School
2017: Bachelor of Laws/Bachelor of Civil Law - McGill University Faculty of Law
2013, Bachelor of Arts (Hons) - McGill University Faculty of Arts
Teaching Experience
Teaching Assistant, SOSC 3652 Ethnographies of Crime and Policing - York University (F 2022)
Teaching Assistant, HREQ 1010 Human Rights and Equity Studies - York University (F/W 2022-2023)
Teaching Assistant, HREQ 2030 Theoretical Foundations of Human Rights and Equity Studies
Professional Experience
Junior Associate Lawyer - criminal defence (2019-2020)
Articling Student - criminal, extradition, immigration defence (2018-2019)
Research Assistant - McGill University Faculty of Law (2016-2021)
Awards
- 2022-2023 OGS Doctoral Scholarship, Government of Ontario
- 2022 Hon. Willard Z Estey Teaching Fellowship, Osgoode Hall Law School
- 2021 Harley D Hallet Graduate Scholarship, Osgoode Hall Law School
- 2021-ongoing, York Graduate Fellowship, York University
- 2020 Harley D Hallet Graduate Scholarship
- 2020 Nathanson Graduate Fellowship
- 2020-2021, York Graduate Fellowship, York University
Publications
- (PEER REVIEWED) Jess De Santi and Marie Manikis, “Punishment and Retribution Within the Bail Process: An Analysis of the Public Confidence in the Administration of Justice Ground for Pre-Trial Detention,” (2020) 35:3 Canadian Journal of Law and Society 413-435.
- (PEER REVIEWED) Jess De Santi and Marie Manikis, “Punishing while Presuming Innocence: A Study on Bail Conditions and Administration of Justice Offences” (September 2019) 60:3 Les Cahiers de Droit 873. • Recipient of the 2018 Fondation du Barreau du Québec prize (article manuscript) • Cited in R v Zora, 2020 SCC 14
- Jess De Santi, “’Dancing is for Everybody’: Street Dance and Cultural Rights in Montreal,” (September 2016) 4:4 International Human Rights Internship Working Paper Series 1-29.
- (PEER REVIEWED) Jessica De Santi, “Pluralisms in law: India’s place in the international refugee protection regime,” (2015) 46 Refugee Watch 73-93.
Presentation
- Extradition Law” forthcoming September 2023, for the Rights and Justice: Theory and Practice conference at the University of Worcester.
- Jay De Santi and Marie Manikis, “COVID-19, Bail, and the Jail” forthcoming May 2023, for the Fourth Biennial Conference on Criminal Law at the Université Sherbrooke.
- Jay De Santi, “‘No Basis to Interfere’: Constitutional Rights, the Minister of Justice, and Appellate Jurisprudence in Canadian Extradition” 17 May 2022, at the ATLAS Mini-Agora held at Osgoode Hall Law School.
- Jay De Santi, "'Nothing About Us Without Us': Queer and Trans Rights and Justice in Canada," 10 March 2022, course guest lecture in HREQ 2030 Theoretical Foundations of Human Rights and Equity Studies at York University.
- Jay De Santi, “‘No Basis to Interfere’: Constitutional Rights, the Minister of Justice, and Appellate Jurisprudence in Canadian Extradition” 9 March 2022, for the Constitutions, Rights and Justice Research Group at University of Worcester.
- Jess De Santi and Marie Manikis, “Retribution and Public Confidence in the Administration of Justice in the Context of Bail” 10 June 2019, for the Governors of the Fondation du Barreau du Québec at the Maison du Barreau.
- Jess De Santi and Marie Manikis, “Retribution and Public Confidence in the Administration of Justice in the Context of Bail” 8 May 2019, for the Third Biennial Conference on Criminal Law at the Université de Montréal.
- Jess De Santi and Marie Manikis, “Le rôle de la détention provisoire” 9 May 2017, for the 85e Congrès de l’Association canadienne-française pour l’avancement des sciences, at McGill University.
