“Sujit Choudhry is a truly outstanding barrister. He has exceptional experience, a brilliant mind and delivers in the courtroom.”
—Chambers Canada Guide 2027
Overview
Sujit is one of Canada’s leading public law litigators. He has a broad public law practice on questions of administrative law and constitutional law, including in appeals, arbitrations, judicial reviews, and public inquiries. He is increasingly engaged in Charter class actions against Canadian governments.
He is ranked by Chambers and Partners (Canada Guide) in Band 1 for both Constitutional Law and Litigation: Administrative and Public Law.
Sujit has litigated and advised on public law issues in a wide variety of contexts, including:
cabinet decision-making; emergency powers; national security; foreign affairs; prerogative powers
citizenship; immigration and refugees
conflict of interest; political party governance; democratic reform
child welfare; education; public health; social assistance; social services
securities regulation; gaming; social media; telecommunications
agriculture; aviation
labour relations; property rights
Sujit frequently represents interveners in high profile public law appeals.
Sujit also has an extensive counsel practice, providing advice on complex constitutional issues to NGOs, politicians, corporations, entrepreneurs, private individuals, legal clinics, Canadian and foreign governments, industry trade associations, and public sector agencies.
Before founding Circle Barristers, Sujit was a full-time constitutional law scholar at the University of Toronto, New York University, and Berkeley. He has edited nine books on constitutional law and published over 100 articles, reports, book chapters, and working papers (see sujitchoudhry.com for a complete list of his publications). He served as Law Clerk to Chief Justice Antonio Lamer of the Supreme Court of Canada, and was a Rhodes Scholar.
Sujit has lectured or spoken in three dozen countries. For over 20 years, he has advised constitutional and peace processes across the world, including in Cyprus, Egypt, Ethiopia, Jordan, Libya, Myanmar, Nepal, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Tunisia, Ukraine, Yemen, and Zimbabwe.
Sujit’s work has been cited with approval by the Supreme Court of Canada, the Supreme Court of New Zealand, and provincial courts across Canada.
SELECTED Experience
Democracy Watch v. AGC: Successful challenge to the constitutionality of a partial private clause that shields decisions of the federal Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner from judicial review, affirming the constitutional status of judicial review of executive action.
Ferris v. AG Canada: A class action challenging the Canadian Student Loan Program, for discriminating against disabled students in breach of section 15 of the Charter.
Cool World v. Twitter: Contract claim against Twitter (now X) for refusing to run an advertisement, raising the question of whether Twitter’s ad policies are void under the doctrine of public policy, which incorporates the Charter value of freedom of expression.
Bjorkquist et al. v. AG Canada: A successful Charter challenge to the “second generation cut off” in the Citizenship Act, based on section 15 discrimination (sex and national origin) and section 6 mobility rights.
Canadian Constitution Foundation v. AG Canada: A successful challenge to the legality and constitutionality of the public order emergency declared under the Emergencies Act.
Public Inquiry into Foreign Interference in Federal Electoral Processes and Democratic Institutions (Hogue Commission): Represented Jenny Kwan MP, a target of foreign interference, at the public inquiry into allegations that China, Russia, and other foreign actors may have interfered in with the 2019 and 2021 Canadian federal elections. Sujit cross-examined Prime Minister Trudeau, cabinet ministers, the Director of CSIS, and other senior federal civil servants.
Public Order Emergency Commission (Rouleau Commission): A public inquiry into the public order emergency declared under the Emergencies Act. Sujit cross-examined Prime Minister Trudeau, cabinet ministers, the Director of CSIS, and other senior federal civil servants.
Loshaj v. AG Canada: A constitutional challenge to section 39 of the Canada Evidence Act’s class privilege for cabinet confidences, shielding them from disclosure in court proceedings.
Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers and South Asian Legal Clinic of Ontario v. Minister of Citizenship and Immigration: A constitutional challenge to Cabinet's decision to designate the United States as a safe third country for refugee determination decisions.
Francis v. Air Canada; Antwi v. Air Canada: Complaints under the Canadian Human Rights Act for discrimination based on race and sex in international aviation, raising the impact of the Montreal Convention and the International Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination on the power of the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal to award damages and the constitutionality of the Carriage by Air Act.
Heegsma v. City of Hamilton: Charter challenge to municipal by-laws prohibiting encampments on the basis of sections 7 and 15 (sex, race, disability, indigeneity, and marital status).
Canadian Immigration Lawyers v. Minister of Immigration, Citizenship and Refugees et al.: Charter challenge to s. 167(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act to establish right to counsel in all immigration examinations/interviews and applications.
Bar Admissions
& Education
Master of Law, Harvard Law School
Juris Doctor, University of Toronto
Bachelor of Arts (Law) (Rhodes Scholar), Oxford University
Member, Law Society of Ontario
Rankings &
Recognition
Chambers and Partners (Canada Canada 2026) – Litigation: Administrative and Public Law
Chambers and Partners (Canada Canada 2025) – Litigation: Administrative and Public Law
Chambers and Partners (Canada Canada 2024) – Litigation: Administrative and Public Law
Trailblazer Award, South Asian Bar Associations of Northern and Southern California
Practitioner of Year, South Asian Bar Association of Toronto
Trudeau Fellowship