At the June 22, 2022, Call to the Bar ceremony in Toronto, the Law Society will present a degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa (LLD) to Supreme Court Justice Andromache Karakatsanis, a long-time public servant, author of leading decisions in all areas of law, and champion of constitutional rights and access to justice.
The Law Society awards honorary doctorates each year to distinguished individuals in recognition of outstanding achievements in the legal profession, the rule of law or the cause of justice.
Justice Karakatsanis was appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada in October 2011. She had been appointed a judge of the Court of Appeal for Ontario in March 2010 and a judge of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in December 2002.
Justice Karakatsanis is a graduate of the University of Toronto and Osgoode Hall Law School.
Following her call to the Bar in 1982, Ms. Karakatsanis served as a law clerk to the Ontario Court of Appeal. In private practice, she practised criminal, civil and family litigation in Toronto for several years. She then served in the Ontario Public Service for 15 years in a number of senior positions.
During her career in public service, Ms. Karakatsanis served as Chair and Chief Executive Officer of the Liquor Licence Board of Ontario (1988-95); as Assistant Deputy Attorney General and Secretary for Native Affairs (1995-97); and as Deputy Attorney General (1997-2000).
She served as Ontario's Secretary of the Cabinet and Clerk of the Executive Council from July 2000 to November 2002. As the Province's senior public servant, she provided leadership to the Ontario Public Service and to the deputy ministers.
While in the public service, Justice Karakatsanis was actively involved in issues related to education and reform in the field of administrative justice. She was a recipient of the Society of Ontario Adjudicators and Regulators (SOAR) Medal in 1996 for outstanding service to Ontario's administrative justice system.
She has volunteered extensively throughout her career. She was Chair of the Board of Directors of the YMCA of Greater Toronto, and a member of a number of boards, including the Public Policy Forum, the Canadian Policy and Research Network, and the Superior Court Judges Association. Justice Karakatsanis was Vice-President of the National Judicial Institute responsible for judicial education from 2018 to 2022. She now serves as Chair of the National Action Committee on Access to Justice in Civil and Family Matters.
Justice Karakatsanis was born in Toronto to Greek immigrants and speaks English, French and Greek. She is married to Tom Karvanis and they have two children, Paul and Rhea, and four grandsons.