Publications

This report is drawn from the Civil Justice System and the Public research data specific to Nunavut and to Inuit living in Ottawa (the largest community of Inuit outside of the territory). The data are based on interviews, community workshops and participant review of draft reports between June 2003 and June 2007. Based on the research findings, the report begins by asking the root question, what is justice in the context Nunavut and Nunavummiut living outside of the territory? In order to examine this question, important issues are considered in providing family, civil and administrative justice that generates respect, harmony, peace and rehabilitation — the Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit philosophy of justice and offers related recommendations. The importance of networks and partnerships in generating creative solutions for meaningful change to justice and social systems is discussed. The report concludes by asking how the Canadian Forum on Civil Justice can best support their partners in achieving the Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit vision of justice — not only for Nunavummiut, but for all people in Canada.

This paper celebrates the success of the Civil Justice System and the Public, a national collaborative, interdisciplinary and community-driven action research partnership that has generated ongoing multi-directional teaching and learning, networking, policy development and a broad range of evidence-based disseminations.

This article, drawn from the longer report "Balancing the Scales: Understanding Aboriginal Perspectives on Civil Justice" focuses on Aboriginal experiences of facing family court across a cultural divide and in a context of social discrimination. It concludes with suggestions for creating culturally appropriate alternatives that ensure Aboriginal parents and children can find justice in Canada's family court system.

Our thanks to LawNow for allowing us to provide this direct link to the magazine article.

Perspectives from Aboriginal participants in the Civil Justice System and the Public interviews, key contact meetings, focus groups and community workshops are the basis of this report. Participants identified seven major areas in which they experienced barriers to accessing civil justice:

1. A social context of discrimination
2. Differences among both Aboriginal cultures and populations
3. Incompatible concepts and processes of civil justice
4. Language barriers
5. Geographical dispersion
6. Child welfare and guardianship
7. Inadequacy of support services

Verbatim excerpts from interview transcripts illustrate how Aboriginal people experience these barriers to accessing civil and family justice and in the context of their experience the question is posed: Can the civil justice system work for Aboriginal people? The conclusion of the report discusses how to create bridges towards solutions, identifying challenges that must be confronted and the possibilities for enacting change. This report is a small beginning intended to be a conduit for the voices of Aboriginal research participants. Readers of the report are asked to hear what Aboriginal participants have said and take action in their local communities to hear and learn more about the changes that are needed to “balance the scales” and ensure that Aboriginal people can find justice in Canada’s civil and family courts.

The judiciary generally interact with the public under prescribed conditions, either in the courtroom or in the course of public speaking. The judicial role makes it almost impossible to learn first-hand what opinions the public in general, and litigants in particular, hold about the Canadian judiciary. Often, media are the main source of conjectured public opinion for both the public and the judiciary – but what reliable evidence do we really have about public perceptions?

This report was prepared for the Alberta Justice Policy Advisory Subcommittee on Public Confidence and is drawn from the background research conducted in connection with Public Perceptions of the Role of the Canadian Judiciary. Observations are based on an examination of 244 published Canadian and international information items. It is concluded that there is a lack of reliable empirical research addressing issues of public confidence in justice systems, beginning with the failure of most research to clearly define what is meant by "justice system".

Various forms of mass media are generally considered to be significant sources of all kinds of public information. Discussions concerning public understanding of and access to the justice system frequently contend that print and broadcast media play a particularly important role in forming public understanding and opinion of Canadian courts. The first part of this report discusses perceptions about the role of print media in reporting on civil justice issues from the perspectives of the justice community, the media, and the public. It is pointed out that there is little research about the quantity or quality of media coverage of legal issues, especially civil justice topics. The second part of the report presents snapshots of the extent and content of legal coverage in two newspapers, which were undertaken as part of the Civil Justice System and the Public program of research. After presenting observations from this exploratory study, the report concludes with suggestions for future research, and for establishing improved collaboration between the justice community and the media, with the goal of improving civil justice coverage.

The purpose of this report is to provide an overview of the Civil Justice System and the Public research project (the "CJSP") undertaken by the Canadian Forum on Civil Justice and several research partners from 2001 to 2006. The CJSP was an ambitious and complex project, spanning several years and involving a multi-tracked, multi-party evaluation of communication practices in the already complex arena of Canada’s civil justice system. Designed as collaborative action research, this was not a static project: over the course of five years, the project objectives and research processes continuously evolved as the research produced new and better information about various aspects of communication in the civil justice system. Getting the word out about the project, what is often termed “dissemination activity,” began with the project inception, has continued throughout the research process and is ongoing.

By addressing both substantive and procedural aspects of the CJSP, this report is intended to be useful to a wide variety of readers, including the CJSP Research Partners, the funding agencies that contributed to the CJSP, and all persons interested in evidence-based social science research and civil justice reform.

This report is designed to provide a better understanding of available evidence concerning public perceptions of the role of the judiciary in the administration of justice. The discussion is based on extensive examination of published Canadian and international information items and a special analysis of relevant data from the Civil Justice System and the Public research.

The report is divided into the following four parts that address various kinds of evidence and opinion:

1. What we think that the public think: personal experiences and reflections
2. The 'evidence' of public opinion: large scale polls and surveys
3. A more complicated public: insights from smaller researchstudies
4. What we know; what we don't know: and what to do about it.

Originally presented at the British Columbia restructuring Justice Conference 2005, this article addresses four key points in the Civil Justice System and the Public research. The participants’ own words are used to illustrate the following points:

1. The public wants to understand what is going on in their case, whether represented or unrepresented, individual users, small business people or major corporate representatives.
2. The public wants to avoid going to court. They are looking for litigation alternatives.
3. The public finds the civil justice system alienating, intimidating and something very removed from their lives.
4. The public knows what the issues are. We need to listen.

Combining Research Team observations with data from interviews with both members of the public and the justice community, this report discusses barriers to communication with the civil justice system faced by those living with physical and mental disabilities. Barriers to communication often begin well before issues of actual physical access arise and lack of awareness and consideration among service providers can be particularly acute when the disability is not visible. The authors conclude that in order to allow people with disabilities to fully participate, almost every area of access and communication with the civil justice system should be reviewed to identify needed improvements. This paper was submitted to the Ontario Committee on Accessibility of the Justice System of Persons with Disabilities.

This article introduces the Civil Justice System and the Public project and reports on the results from the Alberta pilot phase of the research. The main themes emerging from the research are presented. Focusing on what the participants had to say, findings about the three main research questions are addressed:

1. What is the current state of communication between the (broadly defined) civil justice system and the public about being involved in a case in the civil court system?
2. How is the communication experienced: a) by people within the system (with each other and with the public) and b) by the public?
3. What can be done to improve communication between the civil justice system and the public?
4. We are grateful to the Alberta Law Review for allowing us to make the full text version of this article available.

A five-page overview of the Civil Justice System and the Public research, including a colour graphic describing the research partnership and project goals.

The experience of going to Family Court is told through the eyes of the Research Team in an adapted, composite narrative created from field observation notes Beginning with the opening statement, “it is the first time I have been to family court,” the tale unfolds as the researchers sit inside and outside of family courtrooms coast to coast across Canada.

A one-page overview of the project and its goals.

Being involved in a civil court case is an out of the ordinary experience for the average person. This article focuses on the experiences of members of the public who have been involved in a civil case and the value of their constructive insights to developing effective reform initiatives.

This Issue of News and Views is devoted to profiling the Civil Justice System and the Public research. The idea for the issue was inspired by Law Student and Research Assistant Cam Schwartz, who along with five other Law and Graduate Social Science student members of the Research Team, authored articles for this Issue. Topics include: “Benefits of Atlas.ti Software” (James Cresswell); “Dark and Stormy Night: The Power of Observation” (Graham Statt); The Language of Communication” (Natalie Salvalaggio); “The Partner Symposium: Collaboration in Action (Cam Schwartz); “Finding the Public to Talk With” (Shannon Williams Stawnicky); “Beyond the Headlines” (Naomi Schmold) and “Evaluating Communication in Action: A Case Study in Public Participation” (Mary Stratton). The lead article for the Issue, “Information, Knowledge and Good Communication Practices” (Diana Lowe and Mary Stratton with Lily Tsui), focuses on building good practices that value and share our knowledge effectively.

Also published in Dialogues about Justice: the Public, Legislators, Courts and the Media (Montreal: Editions Themis, 2002) 61.

This paper was the first publication from the Civil Justice System and the Public project based on preliminary analysis of the Alberta data. Specific attention is paid to explaining the process of analysis in non-technical terms. An Appendix describing the “Thematic Frame” used for analysis is included. Excerpts from the interviews are used to illustrate emerging themes concerned with: language and procedures of civil court; the legal process versus justice; the need for transparent communication; What the public needs from public legal education; and communication tensions within a hierarchical system. The content of this paper was first presented at the Canadian Institute for the Administration of Justice in Hull, Quebec, October 2002, and was subsequently also published in the conference proceedings.

The Working Document was developed to provide an organized, but dynamic, forum to review and describe the research project. During the preparation of funding proposals and the early planning stages of the project, the Research Directors generated many thoughts and ideas about how to frame and conduct the research. These threads were brought together in the initial version of the working document. The document was circulated among the project partners as a tool to assist us in meeting our goals of a collaborative research partnership. Comments and suggestions from our partners were incorporated into the final version.

As the project developed updates were provided in each issue of the forum publication News & Views. The following are links to these articles.

• Issue 6 - Summer 2003
• Issue 5 - Fall 2002
• Issue 4 - Spring 2002
• Issue 3 - Spring 2000
• Issue 2 - Fall 1999