Canadian Forum on Civil Justice

Canadian Forum on Civil Justice
Name	Canadian Forum on Civil Justice
Formation	2007
Type	Research network
Headquarters	Toronto, Ontario
Location	Canada
Leader title	Director

Canadian Forum on Civil Justice is a national research network focused on civil justice reform in Canada, convening scholars, policymakers, and stakeholders to study access to civil justice. It links academic institutions, legal organizations, and funders to examine civil litigation, dispute resolution, and public policy across provinces and territories. The Forum has produced empirical research, policy recommendations, and outreach aimed at improving dispute resolution for individuals, small businesses, and community groups.

History

The Forum was established in 2007 as part of a wave of research initiatives following developments such as the decline in civil litigation rates noted in comparative studies involving United Kingdom, United States, Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland. Its founding drew on expertise from faculties including University of Toronto Faculty of Law, Osgoode Hall Law School, University of British Columbia Faculty of Law, McGill University Faculty of Law, and University of Alberta Faculty of Law. Early collaborators included national institutions such as the Law Commission of Canada, provincial ministries of justice in Ontario, British Columbia, and Quebec, and foundations like the Law Foundation of Ontario and the Craig H. Neilsen Foundation. Over time the Forum engaged with adjudicative bodies including the Supreme Court of Canada, provincial courts such as the Ontario Superior Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal for Ontario, and administrative tribunals linked to regulatory regimes like Competition Tribunal (Canada).

Mandate and Objectives

The Forum’s stated mandate emphasizes empirical analysis of access to civil justice, including barriers faced by litigants in jurisdictions such as Nova Scotia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Newfoundland and Labrador, and the Northwest Territories. Objectives include documenting trends in dispute resolution comparable to work by organizations such as the Canadian Bar Association, the Federation of Law Societies of Canada, and international entities like the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the United Nations Development Programme. The Forum aims to inform policymakers in bodies like provincial ministries, municipal governments such as the City of Toronto, and federal departments including the Department of Justice (Canada), while engaging professional associations including the Canadian Institute for the Administration of Justice.

Research and Activities

Research programs covered topics such as self-represented litigants, small claims processes, cost barriers analyzed alongside scholarship from Harvard Law School, Yale Law School, Stanford Law School, and comparative projects with the UK Ministry of Justice. Outputs included empirical reports, policy briefs, and practitioner guides co-authored with partners like the Public Legal Education Association, the Legal Aid Ontario, and advocacy organizations including Pro Bono Ontario and the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. The Forum organized symposia and workshops featuring speakers from institutions such as the Canadian Judicial Council, the Association of Canadian Law Deans, international experts from Harvard Kennedy School, and judicial officers from courts including the Court of Appeal of Alberta. It contributed to pilot projects on online dispute resolution alongside technology partners and research centres such as the Centre for Internet and Society and the Oxford Internet Institute.

Organizational Structure and Governance

The Forum operated as a networked research body anchored at host universities and governed by an advisory board composed of academics from schools like Queen's University Faculty of Law, practitioners from firms including Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP and Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP, and representatives from funders such as the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and provincial law foundations. Governance mechanisms drew on best practices from institutes like the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and university research offices at McMaster University and University of Calgary. Its secretariat coordinated with partner centres including the Centre for Public Legal Education Alberta and administrative units in provincial courts.

Funding and Partnerships

Funding sources combined grants from major funders such as the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, provincial law foundations including the Law Foundation of British Columbia and the Alberta Law Foundation, and contributions from charitable foundations similar to the J.W. McConnell Family Foundation and corporate donors linked to national law firms. Partnerships extended to provincial legal aid plans, bar associations such as the Toronto Lawyers Association and the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association, and international collaborators including the International Bar Association and the Commonwealth Secretariat. Research alliances included university research centres like the F.R. Scott Legal Research Centre and public policy institutes such as the Institute for Research on Public Policy.

Impact and Legacy

The Forum influenced reforms in procedural rules, small claims thresholds, and alternative dispute resolution policies across jurisdictions including reforms considered by the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General and legislative reviews in British Columbia and Nova Scotia. Its empirical studies informed decisions by tribunals and courts, cited in academic work from journals associated with University of Toronto Law Journal, McGill Law Journal, and policy analyses by think tanks such as the Fraser Institute and the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. Alumni and collaborators moved into roles at institutions like the Department of Justice (Canada), provincial ministries, academic chairs at Dalhousie University Schulich School of Law and Western University Faculty of Law, and leadership positions within national organizations including the Canadian Bar Association and the Federation of Law Societies of Canada. The Forum’s body of work continues to inform debates on access to civil justice in Canada and comparative law discussions involving courts, legislatures, and policy communities.

Category:Legal research institutes in Canada