BarTalk June 2000
Volume 12, Number 3

by Diana J Lowe

There is no other organization in Canada with the mandate to collect and exchange information and to conduct research, for the purpose of promoting reform of the civil justice system.

In 1995, the CBA formed the Task Force on Systems of Civil Justice “to inquire into the state of the civil justice system on a national basis and to develop strategies and mechanisms to facilitate modernization of the justice system so that it is better able to meet the current and future needs of Canadians” (from the Foreword to the Task Force Report). The Task Force concluded that the central issues affecting access to the civil justice system are delay, costs associated with proceeding in the civil courts, and lack of understanding of the civil justice system.

The Canadian Forum on Civil Justice was established to help meet these challenges. Those involved in the CBA Task Force found that there were gaps in gathering and sharing information on civil justice issues in Canada because we did not have an organization focussed on improving the civil justice system. The Task Force recommended the creation of an independent organization to encourage participation from all groups involved in civil justice reform and to facilitate the exchange of information and experience in civil justice reform. The Forum was established pursuant to that recommendation through a joint initiative of the CBA and the University of Alberta, Faculty of Law.

The goal of the Forum is to bring together the public, the courts, the legal profession and government to strive to ensure that civil justice is accessible, effective, fair and efficient. We intend to serve as a catalyst to bring these groups together to work on improving the civil justice system. The Forum is dedicated to the promotion of civil justice reform through research, information sharing, and public legal education. There is no other organization in Canada with the mandate to collect and exchange information and to conduct research, for the purpose of promoting reform of the civil justice system.

One of our priorities is to fill the gaps in gathering and sharing information on civil justice issues by creating a Civil Justice Clearinghouse. The Clearinghouse is an electronic collection housed on our Web site to ensure access to the growing body of work on civil justice reform (www.cfcj-fcjc.org). The site includes links to other relevant Web sites, a searchable bibliographic database of published civil justice materials, and will soon house a collection of unpublished materials in full-text form.

The Forum has organized a Continuing Legal Education panel on “Effective Negotiations” for the CBA National Meeting in Halifax this August. This panel will be of interest to all CBA members, and particularly those who have a special interest in dispute resolution.

The Canadian Forum on Civil Justice is a national organization, incorporated under the Canada Corporations Act in May 1998. Funding is provided by government, legal professional and corporate donors, and our Board members include leading members of the Bar, the public, government, court administrations, the judiciary and legal academia from across the country. The Forum provides services in both official languages and includes on its Board and Advisory Board experts in both the common law system and the civil law system of Quebec. Individuals and organizations concerned with civil justice reform are invited to join the Forum as Members. For membership applications or more information about the Canadian Forum on Civil Justice, please contact us by phone at 780.492.2513 or by email at cjforum@law.ualberta.ca.

Diana Lowe is the Executive Director of the Canadian Forum on Civil Justice. This article was previously published in the CBA National ADR Newsletter Possibilities.

This article was published in the June 2000 issue of BarTalk.