Biography

Benjamin Perrin is a Professor of Law at the University of British Columbia. His research and teaching interests include criminal law, constitutional law, international law, and artificial intelligence. 

Ben served in the Prime Minister’s Office as in-house legal counsel and lead criminal justice and public safety policy advisor. He was a law clerk at the Supreme Court of Canada, and advised judges at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and Special Court for Sierra Leone on international humanitarian law and international criminal law.

An Associate of the Law Commission of Canada, Ben is also a member of the advisory councils of the Office of the Federal Ombudsperson for Victims of Crime, and the Law Commission of Ontario's  advisory committee on AI and criminal justice. 

Ben leads the UBC AI & Criminal Justice Initiative and is a member of the UBC Centre for Artificial Intelligence Decision-Making and Action (CAIDA). 

A member of the Law Society of British Columbia (non-practising), Ben is the author of policy papers, journal articles, and several books, including: 

• Artificial Intelligence & Criminal Justice: Cases and Commentary (CanLII, 2025)
• Indictment: The Criminal Justice System on Trial (UTP, 2023) 
• Criminal Law: Canadian Law, Indigenous Laws & Critical Perspectives (CanLII, 2023)
• Overdose: Heartbreak and Hope in Canada’s Opioid Crisis (Penguin Random House, 2020) 
• Victim Law: The Law of Victims of Crime in Canada (Thomson Carswell, 2017)

Ben enjoys running, swimming and obstacle course racing. He is a follower of Jesus Christ.