Queen’s Law professor Nicholas Bala has received one of Ontario’s top legal honours. The provincial government has named him the 2025 recipient of the David Walter Mundell Medal for excellence in legal writing, recognizing his impact on how the law treats children, youth, and families.

For close to five decades, Bala’s work has helped transform how the justice system treats child witnesses, shaped national approaches in family law, and informed youth justice policy. Across these areas, his work has guided courts and lawmakers toward practices that better reflect the needs and realities of young people.

“Nicholas Bala brings legendary energy to his research, focusing on issues that matter for children's and families’ experience of the justice system and working to translate research insight into legal change,” says Colleen Flood, Queen's Faculty of Law dean. “We are delighted to see him honoured as this year’s Mundell Medal winner.”    

His early research challenged long-held views about the reliability of child witnesses. Working with experts in psychology, he showed that children can provide reliable evidence and that court processes can be adapted to reduce harm. This work helped inform changes to Canadian law and courtroom practice.

In family law, his research has helped courts better include children’s views when making decisions about their care and future, and has shaped youth justice reforms that reflect how young people think, develop, and respond to rehabilitation. He has also contributed significantly to understanding issues of high-conflict family disputes and intimate partner violence.

“I have learned so much from doing multidisciplinary research about the impact of the justice system on children and families,” Bala says. “It has been a privilege to be able to share this knowledge and help change the legal process. Winning this award is a huge honour, and reflects the value of collaborative multidisciplinary work.”

Bala’s work is widely cited by courts across Canada, including the Supreme Court. It has also been referenced in decisions in other countries.

Much of his research is interdisciplinary and involves collaboration across fields to better understand how the justice system affects children, youth, and families. He regularly involves his JD and graduate students in this work, which has been supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. At Queen’s, he is known for his teaching and mentorship, with a long record of supporting law students in the classroom.

Read the full story on the Queen’s Law website.