The past two months have seen a flurry of innovative activity in the corner of the legal technology world that
concerns free access to law and open legal information.
Bucking the trends of the global
free access to law movement, our friends in Eagan have unveiled an ambitious interface to Chinese law.
On this occasion, Lexum wishes to acknowledge Colin's important contribution to the development
of Free Access to Law in Canada.
In all those countries, where access to legal information is limited, if any, the local Bar Associations supported by the IDRC are involved
in free access to law projects.
Joining with an international movement
for Free Access to Law, the US - based organization helps people know their rights in an increasingly uncertain and rapidly... Read More «Law for All: Free Law Project's Radical Approach to Legal Transparency»
This will lead to an understanding of the effects FAL
[free access to law] initiatives have on society and to an
This will lead to an understanding of the effects FAL [
free access to law] initiatives have on society and to an exploration of the factors determining their sustainability.
Despite the easy, reliable and largely
free access to law journals in Canada, the demand continues for law journals to be published in print.
Its collaborator in this endeavour, Lexum, then a legal info technology lab at the University of Montreal, has gone on to play a significant role in many other Canadian achievements essential to
securing free access to law in Canada, most notably through their role as the developer and operator of the CanLII website.
January 2014, the EuroLII Observatory site launched with the aim at answering the question of how European countried promote and
improve free access to law.
Isabelle Moncion of the Chair in Legal Information of the University of Montreal, and Lexum, has posted Building Sustainable LIIs — or
Free Access to Law as Seen Through the Eyes of a Newbie, on the VoxPopuLII Blog, published by... Continue reading →
On a more serious note, let's give well deserved credit to Canadian law societies, Canadian courts and many involved individuals, like you, for having built, supported and evolved the most
sustainable free access to law ecosystem in the world.
CanLII's work with others such as Lancaster House and Maritime Law Book is evidence of the organization's view that working with others is an important part of
facilitating free access to law.
These applications can be focused at both the public and the legal industry — furthering CanLII's mandate to
enhance free access to the law for the legal profession and the public.
As if that isn't enough, CANLII has indicated that it now appears to be ready and willing to offer
universal free access to law journals through its online service.
Montreal - based legal informatics group LexUM, in collaboration with the Southern African Legal Information Institute and the Centre for Internet and Society, recently released a preliminary project report
called Free Access to Law — Is it here to Stay?
Did you know that members of the public can have
free access to any law library (funded by lawyers), to research statutes, regulations as well as case law and represent themselves in court without having the need to hire a lawyer if they so wish to do so.
Civil codes are also in country legal databases and
Free Access to Law Movement (FALM) Legal Information Institutes (LIIs) for civil law jurisdictions.
The International Development Research Center of Canada (IDRC) has engaged in an assessment of the outcome
of free access to law initiatives in four African countries — Burkina Faso, Niger, Senegal and Togo.
Back to our turf, in 2002 at the Law via the Internet conference in Montreal the LII movement adopted the Montreal Declaration
on Free Access to Law.
Free access to law services such as CanLII provide such technology for linking to primary legal sources — as Ivan Mokanov explains in this recent post.
It's an idea that does a great job of supporting their primary goal to «
promote Free Access to Law and Open Justice in Africa» and it facilitates the development of other Legal Information Institutes in Africa.
It has nearly 1.5 million documents across over 300 case law and legislative collections, and at nearly 10 million visits in 2014 is quite likely the most used legal information resource in Canada and unquestionably essential to supporting the work of the legal profession, the courts and the public interest
in free access to law.
A recent post on VoxPopuLII, Reaching Sustainability of
Free Access to Law Initiatives, gives a fascinating insight into LII funding and sustainability.
Even though my career headed up
the free access to law movement, one may always look at what he is missing.
The conference brings together people from the Legal Information Institutes (LIIs) from different countries and continents that together form
the Free Access to Law Movement.
Today in Canada
free access to law is a commodity (no more «wow!»)
And as such, it's followed by an invitation to join
the free access to law artisans at the 2014 Law via the internet conference.
The proper solution would be public free access, available to everyone, on the LII model within
the free access to law movement.
To honour her considerable contribution to the success of this virtual law library, to continue her legacy, and to inspire and empower CALL members to continue her passion of supporting the provision of
free access to the law, CanLII has established the Janine Miller Fellowship.
The purpose of the Fellowship is to provide funding annually for one CALL member to attend the Law via the Internet Conference, an initiative of the Legal Information Institutes worldwide that constitute
the Free Access to Law Movement.