Peter Benson named Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada

Peter Benson, Professor of Law and Donald Crawshaw Professor of Private Law at the Henry N.R. Jackman Faculty of Law, has been named a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. 

RSC Fellowships are awarded to Canadians who have made remarkable contributions in the arts, the humanities, and the sciences, as well as to Canadian public life.

Benson is an internationally recognized scholar in the fields of contracts and legal theory.

His teaching and writing center on contract law, contract theory, the theory of private law, and theories of justice. His book Justice in Transactions: A Theory of Contract Law (The Belknap Press, Harvard University Press) was published in 2019. 

In its publication introducing the 2025 Class of Fellows, the RSC notes that Justice in Transactions “is internationally recognized as among the most important books on contract law and theory and has been cited in groundbreaking Supreme Court of Canada decisions.”

Benson has been published in many academic journals and book collections and was the editor and a contributor to The Theory of Contract Law: New Essays (Cambridge University Press, 2001). He has taught private law for 40 years. 

This July, he was named the inaugural Donald R. Crawshaw Chair in Private Law at Jackman Law. “As the inaugural chairholder, Peter will continue shaping the field of contract law and contract theory. This chair is a platform to drive forward groundbreaking work,” said University Professor and Dean Jutta Brunnée, James Marshall Tory Dean’s Chair, at the time.

"I am delighted that Peter has been recognized as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada,” said Brunnée of his new honour. “It is a well-deserved honour. He has made and continues to make profound contributions to private law.”

RSC will induct the 2025 Fellows at a ceremony on November 14, 2025 as part of the Celebration of Excellence and Engagement in Montréal, Québec.