The Honourable Thomas Cromwell was appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada on December 22, 2008. He had previously been appointed to the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal in 1997.
He obtained a B. Mus. in 1973 and an LL.B. in 1976 from Queen’s University. He also obtained an A.R.C.T. diploma from the Royal Conservatory of Music in 1974 and attended Oxford University, where he earned a B.C.L. in 1977. He holds honorary doctorates in law from Dalhousie University, Queen’s University, and the Law Society of Upper Canada.
Prior to his appointment to the bench, Justice Cromwell practised law in Kingston and Toronto and taught in the Faculty of Law of Dalhousie University. He also served as Executive Legal Officer to Chief Justice Antonio Lamer from 1992 to 1995. He has held many other offices including Secretary, Board of Governors, National Judicial Institute, 1992-95; Vice-chair, Nova Scotia Labour Relations Board and Construction Industry Panel, 1991-92; President, Continuing Legal Education Society of Nova Scotia; President, Canadian Association of Law Teachers, 1988-89; President, Canadian Institute for the Administration of Justice, 1999-2001; Chair, Canadian Forum on Civil Justice, 2007-8; Research Director, C.B.A. Court Reform Task Force, 1989-91; Chair, C.B.A. Interim Organizational Committee for the National Organization on Civil Justice Reform, 1996-97; and Commissioner, Law Reform Commission of Nova Scotia, 2002-7.
Justice Cromwell is the author of numerous articles and has contributed to six books. He has served on the editorial boards for CRIMJI and the Canadian Journal of Administrative Law and Practice. He is Chair of the Editorial Board of the Canadian Bar Review. He has received many awards including the C.B.A.’s Louis J. St. Laurent Award of Excellence, 1992; Her Majesty’s Jubilee Medal, 2002; the Dalhousie Law Students Society and Dalhousie Law Alumni Association Award of Teaching Excellence, 1992; He is an Honorary Director of the Canadian Institute for the Administration of Justice, an Honorary member of the Golden Key International Honour Society, and an Honorary Fellow of Exeter College Oxford and of the American College of Trial Lawyers.
