News and Views Issue 3: Spring 2000
The Civil Justice System and the Public
The Alberta Law Foundation has granted the Forum funding to begin our interdisciplinary study of the relationship between the civil justice system and the public. The focus of the research will be on communication, with the goal of understanding and ultimately improving communication between the courts and the public. We reported last fall that we were applying to the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), and although our proposal was approved, we did not receive the grant because SSHRC is limiting each university to one grant under the pilot phase of their new "Community-University Research Alliance" grants. We are applying to SSHRC again in partnership with academics, the judiciary, court administration, the legal profession and representatives of the public from across Canada, and we believe that our success in obtaining funding for the Alberta project will strengthen our application this year.