Research in Action
Understanding Civil Justice in the Everyday World
Advancing, encouraging and conducting research about civil justice is an integral part of the Canadian Forum on Civil Justice mandate to systematically collect and share information relating to the system for administering civil justice and to communicate this knowledge so that the public can understand and become more involved in civil justice reform.
To fulfill these objectives, the Forum works collaboratively with many justice system stakeholders. By valuing the richness and variety of our partners’ expertise, we work together to create new theories about the way civil justice systems work, develop new methods of obtaining the information necessary to move forward and find innovative ways to take that new information into action. We achieve this by carrying out in-depth research on the operation of the civil justice system that can help to meet the challenges of modernizing our civil justice systems in Canada and internationally.
Justice community stakeholders across Canada and internationally are increasingly convinced of the value of research evidence to creating informed and effective policy reform and program development. Promoting information about the use of good research practices is an important part of our research program. The Forum is committed to a collaborative process of research that taps the knowledge that already exists within the communities of those working and using the civil justice system. When a community is involved in generating knowledge about itself, it is more accepting of identified need for change and is best able to identify existing strengths (best practices), along with the most effective ways of introducing change by building from these strengths. Individuals and communities that recognize they have valuable and useful insights to share with others are generally willing to do so.
Projects
- The Civil Justice System and the Public — A collaborative action research program founded on the belief that a lack of effective communication, both within the civil justice system and between that system and the public, is a significant barrier interfering with access to justice.
- Canadian Judicial Council Project on Self-represented Litigants and Accused Persons — Assessing the nature and extent of challenges presented to trial and appeal courts across Canada by self-represented litigants and accused persons.
- Alberta Self-Represented Litigants Mapping Project — Documenting the availability of resources for self-represented litigants in Alberta.
- Civil Justice Thesaurus — Research towards the creation of a thesaurus of Canadian civil justice terminology.
- Developing Networks for Evidence-Based Socio-Legal Research — This project directly relates to our mandate to advance, encourage and conduct research about civil justice. It aims to build knowledge in the justice community about the nature of socio-legal research and to develop awareness and capacity among social science researchers about the opportunities for socio-legal research.
- Designing a "Cost of Justice" Project — Cost is a key factor affecting access to justice and a top research priority for the Forum. We are designing a research project aimed at increasing our understanding of the costs associated with accessing civil justice. The Forum will partner with a broad network of civil justice system participants to ensure that the research accesses existing knowledge and responds to stakeholder needs.
- Alberta Legal Services Mapping Project — Mapping the legal services available in Alberta.
- Creating, Sharing and Transforming Knowledge into Action — This three-year project, funded by the Law Foundation of British Columbia is specifically designed to build on the foundation provided by the research findings and stakeholder partnership established through The Civil Justice System and the Public project. Developing socio-legal research capacity in British Columbia, and ultimately the rest of Canada, is an important component of “transforming knowledge into action,” which this project will advance. It will also enable a collaborative culture essential to bringing about effective civil justice reform.