Former directors include Professors Paul-André Crépeau and H. Patrick Glenn.
Given McGill's location in the Canadian province of Québec – a mixed jurisdiction featuring both civil law and common law legal traditions – and the comparative leanings of the Faculty's early leadership, the study of Law at McGill has had an implicit comparative focus dating back to its first degree program in 1848.
[1] The formal study of Comparative Law gained prominence at McGill in the early and mid-20th century.
In acknowledgment of this development, and with McGill located in a mixed jurisdiction, the Ford Foundation recognized McGill as uniquely suited for the study of comparative law, and supported the foundation of the Institute of Comparative Law – originally under the name of the Institute of Foreign and Comparative Law – through a major grant in 1965.
The Institute of Comparative Law's Director, Helge Dedek, currently serves as its Co-Editor-in-Chief alongside James Feinerman and Franz Werro of Georgetown.