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Inventory of Reforms

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Prince Edward Island Task Force on Access to Justice

Year:
2001

Description:
Joint task force formed to review access to justice and identify problems with the existing system in an effort to improve access to justice, reduce cost of litigation, simplify practice and procedures, and improve technology.

Jurisdiction:
Prince Edward Island

Body Responsible:
Prince Edward Island Courts
Office of the Attorney General

Timeline:
2001: Task Force on Access to Justice established
October 2002: Task Force on Access to Justice Final Report released

Publications:
Prince Edward Island. Task Force on Access to Justice, Task Force on Access to Justice : final report (Charlottetown : The Task Force, 2002). [Final Report]
Ann Sherman, A study of self represented litigants in the Supreme Court of Prince Edward Island (CLIA PEI, 2008). [Study of SRL]

Development:
The Task Force on Access to Justice was established in 2001 by the Honourable Gerard E. Mitchell, the Chief Justice of Prince Edward Island, in cooperation with the Office of the Attorney General, the Law Society and the PEI Branch of the Canadian Bar Association.

The Final Report was released in October of 2002 outlining findings and several recommendations. Following the Final Report’s release, an Implementation Steering Committee was established to help move these recommendations forward. Due to government cutbacks, the Committee was disbanded in December 2004. However, the recommendations and discussions contained in the Final Report are still considered relevant and useful for PEI’s Courts (Study of SRL at 8).

Purpose:
The task force was mandated “to review access to justice, broadly interpreted, and identify problems with the existing system in an effort to improve access to justice, reduce cost of litigation, simplify practice and procedures, and improve technology” (Final Report at 1-2).

Description of Reforms:
The task force concentrated mainly on

Some limited action was taken based on the findings and recommendations of the Task Force. It included changes to Small Claims, Family Law Legal Aid, and Family Law Centre and those based on the recommendations dealing with administrative issues and the Rules of Court.

Revision History:
This summary was last reviewed in Dec 02, 2013