RESEARCH:         CONSENSUAL DISPUTE RESOLUTION IN FAMILY LAW

ACE is working in partnership with the BC Ministry of Attorney General’s Family Policy, Legislation, and Transformation Division to study consensual dispute resolution in the family law system, where allegations of intimate partner violence have been made. ACE’s team of Michelle Lawrence, Robert Lapper, KC and Kenya Rogers are working to ascertain best practices, taking into account the access to justice and personal safety needs of those involved in such cases. Funding has been provided through the Justice Partnerships Innovation Program.

SPECIAL ISSUE:  PERSON-CENTRED JUSTICE


ACE Associate Andrew Pilliar (TRU Law) and ACE Director Michelle Lawrence (UVic Law) will be guest editors for a 2024 Special Issue of the Canadian Journal of Law & Society / Revue Canadienne Droit & Societe. The special issue is titled “Person-Centred Justice: Reimagining Law, Institutions and Process.” It promises to showcase interdisciplinary scholarship that examines and expounds on the concept of “person-centred justice” – what it means and what it might mean to reimagine and reform a justice system based on this concept.

 

Research: Access to Justice Artificial Intelligence Lab

ACE Associate Director, Michael Litchfield is leading this multifaceted research project to determine the risks and benefits of artificial intelligence for self represented litigants.

Click here for more information.

RESEARCH: ACCESS TO JUSTICE & THE OPEN COURT PRINCIPLE

Michelle Lawrence and Robert Lapper, KC, are investigating the legal requirements of the open court principle in the post-pandemic era, with specific attention to the use of virtual hearings in administrative tribunal processes. Their study will seek to inform best practices by ascertaining minimum requirements at law, identifying permissible and potentially impermissible variations in approach (including variations in process and use of technology), examining potential access to justice implications, and clarifying the scope of remedies available on breach. Funding support has been generously provided by the Canadian Foundation for Legal Research.

Research: JUSTICE DATA AND DESIGN LAB

Kate Gower is leading this exciting project bringing fresh eyes and skillsets to the access to justice problem. We designed and built a Research Engine that uses unsupervised machine learning to identify legal needs. Students from law, data science, computer science, and public administration collaborate and use the Research Engine to collect, aggregate and analyze data and user experience on people’s everyday legal problems.

Click here for further information.

Research: Access to Legal Education.

Rachel Lewis is examining the struggles of the neurodiverse within the traditional pedagogies of law schools, with the goal of developing a project proposal for better understanding and better support for future lawyers with extraordinary minds.

Visit the project website at neurodiversityinlaw.ca for more information.

Course: Open Access to Justice

UVic ACE is currently working on an access to justice course.

Stay tuned here for further information.

Research: Developing a Cross-Sector Justice Metrics Strategy

The following research reports are part of a project to support a coordinated provincial strategy to enhance the quality and comprehensiveness of justice metrics and empirical research on A2J in in BC. Click below to read the reports.

"A Supreme Lack of Information" September.2015

"What do we want to know about Access to Justice in BC?" September.2018