University of Windsor Guide on Artificial Intelligence Regulation

Annette Demers, reference librarian in the law library at the University of Windsor, has created a new LibGuide on Artificial Intelligence Regulation.

It has sections for Canada, the US, Europe as well as a global resources section.

The Canadian section covers government policy statements and guidelines, court practice directions, legislation and bills.

The Global Resources section includes an OECD dashboard, describing itself as "a live repository of over 1000 AI policy initiatives from 69 countries, territories and the EU".

Nominations for the Next Hugh Lawford Award for Excellence in Legal Publishing

The Canadian Association of Law Libraries (CALL) is accepting nominations for the next Hugh Lawford Award for Excellence in Legal Publishing.

The award honours a publisher (whether for-profit or not-for profit, corporate or non-corporate) that has demonstrated excellence by publishing a work, series, website, or electronic product that makes a significant contribution to legal research and scholarship. Legal content in all information formats is welcome.

Members as well as non-members of CALL can make nominations. 

Nominations can be sent to the CALL National Office by January 31, 2024.

The award will be presented to the recipient during the 2024 CALL Annual Conference, which will be held in Montreal June 25 - 28, 2024.

The award honours Hugh Lawford (1933-2009), Professor of Law at Queens’ University and the founder of Quicklaw.

Canadian Bar Association Podcast Episode on State of AI Regulation in the U.S.

The most recent episode of Modern Law, a Canadian Bar Association podcast hosted by Yves Faguy, features a conversation with Boston-based privacy expert Woodrow Hartzog about the regulation of artificial intelligence:

"We've been talking a lot about AI on the podcast and on CBA National, and one of the issues that keeps coming up is the challenge for a country like Canada in selecting the right approach to regulating AI risk. "

"It's not as if there's a single model out there. The EU is trying to set the gold standard for the world, much as it did with its GDPR privacy regulation. The US is contemplating various bills, but for the most part, it is applying existing laws and regulations through regulators like the Federal Trade Commission, the Consumer Financial Protection Board, and the US Department of Justice. These agencies have been instructed by the White House's executive order in October to follow eight guiding principles for AI safety. Meanwhile, China's approach is to ensure that all information generated by AI aligns with the state's interest. All are key players to watch as we try to understand where the future of global AI governance is headed. And today, we are going to take a closer look at a perspective coming from the US."

"International privacy expert Woodrow Hartzog discusses the state of AI regulation in the U.S., his thoughts on the global dynamics at play, and his concerns surrounding the normalization of surveillance and our reliance on half-measures to save us from the potential harms of AI."

Winners of 2023 Canadian Law Blog Awards

The winners of the 2023 Canadian Law Blog Awards (known as the Clawbies) were announced on New Year's Eve.

The Clawbies exist to reward the best and most innovative Canadian blogs, podcasts, videos, legal newsletters, and other forms of online commentary. 

The 2023 Fodden Award recognizing a single, outstanding publication went to the Blogue du CRL:

"This year, we are excited to be honouring one of the country’s longest-running and most successful group blogs: Blogue du CRL, published by the Jeunne Barreau de Montréal’s Research and Legislation Committee."

"For well over a decade, Blogue du CRL has been the go-to current awareness tool for Quebec professionals, publishing an ample and steady stream of case summaries and legislative developments."

"The scale of the blog is huge, with more than 50 volunteer writers, and also featuring case summaries from SOQUIJ and occasional contributions from Jeune Barreau’s other committees."

There are awards in many categories.

The Clawbies are organized by Stem Legal, a B.C.-based strategy firm.

Canadian Forum on Civil Justice Winter 2023 Newsletter

The non-profit Canadian Forum on Access to Justice (CFCJ) publishes a regular newsletter on access to justice issues.

The latest issue includes news about:

• the role of legal clinics
• a newly revised Selected Annotated Bibliography of National and Regional Legal Needs Surveys
• CFCJ resources and reports
• and much more

The CFCJ is a national non-profit organization that works to advance civil justice reform through research and advocacy.

Survey for Law Library Benchmarks, 2024-25

New York-based Primary Research Group will soon publish a new edition of Law Library Benchmarks, a survey of law libraries.

US and Canadian law libraries that contribute through a survey will receive a free copy of Law Library Benchmarks, 2024-25 Edition.

Primary Research Group has published many law library-related surveys in the past.

Recent Justice-Related Documents from the Government of Canada

The Government of Canada's Weekly Acquisitions List can be a great way to discover new research reports published by various public bodies and agencies of the federal government. It is a record of all publications catalogued in the previous week.

Here are a few recent additions of justice-related documents:

• Child to parent violence and aggression : reviewing the research: "Child-to-parent violence and aggression (CPVA) is described as a form of family violence characterized by a pattern (as opposed to a single incident) of violent and aggressive behaviours in children and youth Footnote1 towards their parents or primary caregivers. These behaviours may have several consequences, including: triggering fear, grief, and other emotions; experiencing a loss of control; negatively impacting both individual and family well-being; and generating new behaviours in parents, siblings and other family members or caregivers in order to avoid physical violence or verbal altercations (...) This report synthesizes the findings of a scoping review that resulted in 162 peer-reviewed articles on CPVA that were published between January 2009 and March 2022 as well as an analysis of statistical information on victims (parents or siblings) of youth violence in Canada between 2009 and 2021."
• Perceptions of the Canadian youth criminal justice system : key findings from the 2022 National Justice Survey: "The National Justice Survey (NJS) is a public opinion research survey that is administered on an annual basis to explore the perceptions and knowledge of justice-related issues of people living in Canada. Findings from this survey are used to inform policy and program development. This report focuses on youth justice-related issues and examines respondents’ perceptions and knowledge of the youth criminal justice system (YCJS)."
• Understanding family violence in diverse communities : what subject-matter experts think family law legal advisers should know: "This report summarizes five thought papers written by subject-matter experts to assist family law legal advisers in identifying and responding to family violence in diverse communities. The thought papers focused on the following population groups: racialized groups; 2SLGBTQI+ individuals; Muslim communities; newcomers; and people with disabilities."
• Experiences of Indigenous families in the family justice system : a literature review and perspectives from legal and frontline family justice professionals: "This report aims to contribute to the understanding of the experiences of Indigenous families (specifically, unmarried or married couples with children) dealing with separation and divorce, who are going through the family justice system (FJS). This includes both identifying needs specific to Indigenous people going through the mainstream FJS and developing a better understanding of Indigenous approaches to resolving family conflicts. This preliminary information will help to identify specific challenges faced by and opportunities available for Indigenous families going through separation and divorce, and those who work with them. The research can inform future efforts to respond more effectively to the needs of Indigenous families and communities, as well as opportunities to welcome more effectively the gifts of Indigenous Knowledge Keepers through subsequent policy development, consultation, and research activities in relation to family law and family justice."

Proceedings of the 2023 Congrès de professionnel.le.s de l'information Now Available

The Congrès de professionnel.le.s de l'information is the largest French-language library and archives conference in Canada.

Its last meeting took place in Montreal from November 7 to 9, 2023.

The presentations are now available online for free.

Crown Copyright Code of Best Practices for Libraries

The Canadian Association of Research Libraries and the Canadian Federation of Library Associations (CFLA) have been working on a Crown Copyright Code of Best Practices for Libraries.

The Canadian Association of Law Libraries is a member of the CFLA and has argued for reform of Crown Copyright.

The draft code is now available for comment. 

As the draft explains:

"The current legal provision related to Crown copyright in Canada is found in Section 12 of the Copyright Act. It is extremely comprehensive in scope, granting the Crown copyright to any work that has been 'prepared or published under the direction or control of Her Majesty or any government department.' It also preserves the ancient royal prerogative or privilege that predates copyright law and it is silent about term length for unpublished works, leading to the assumption that these works are protected by copyright in perpetuity. These anomalies provide governments with expansive rights that could be used to withhold, censor or control government information to the detriment of the public good."

"Section 12 also sets out the duration of copyright controls for government works it covers. For published government works, the duration of the term of copyright is 50 years after the year of publication. In addition, and by virtue of Subsection 13(3) of the Copyright Act, the Crown, like any private sector employer, owns copyright in original work authored by its employees in the course of their employment. This copyright lasts until the end of the 70th year past the death of the author. Both Sections 12 and 13(3) may be modified by agreement but such agreements are relatively rare. Both apply to all works of the federal and provincial government and the territories and neither provides for compulsory licensing. In practice, government works are generally assumed to be protected by Crown copyright unless a personal author is named on the title page and the copyright statement does not clearly state that Crown copyright applies (e.g., © Government of Canada)."

(...)

"Confusion about the appropriate interpretation of the Act, and its hampering impact on the efforts of libraries attempting to serve as stewards of government works, was described in numerous submissions and testimonies presented to the Parliamentary Committee responsible for the Copyright Act review of 2018/2019, summarized by librarian Amanda Wakaruk and described in the Committee’s final report. Put briefly, this confusion, compounded by copyright anxiety and related legal chill, has impeded the work of libraries, which has resulted in the loss of innumerable government works, including both born digital files and legacy print materials."

"At the time of writing, the Government of Canada has yet to address the concerns of those that participated in the most recent legislative review or the near-continuous requests for review and reform made by Canadian library associations and the Canadian Association of University Teachers. Nor has it addressed the comments of the Supreme Court of Canada, that Section 12 be revisited by Parliament."

The issue was discussed earlier in December at one of the sessions at the Government Information Day(s) 2023.

Supreme Court of Canada Calendar of January 2024 Hearings

The Supreme Court of Canada has published its calendar of upcoming appeals that will be heard in January 2024.

To find out more about any particular case, click on a case number in parentheses to find docket information, case summaries as well as factums from the parties and any interveners.

December 2023 Issue of In Session E-Bulletin of Canadian Association of Law Libraries

The December 2023 issue of In Session has been published. 

It is the monthly e-newsletter of the Canadian Association of Law Libraries (CALL) and contains news from CALL committees and special interest groups, member updates and events. 

In this issue, there is information about:

• CALL's strategic plan 2024 - 2029
• Results from the 2023 CALL-TALL (Toronto Association of Law Libraries) Salary Survey 
• Scholarships and Awards

Canadian Bar Association Practice Tools on Business and Human Rights

The Canadian Bar Association has developed tools to help practitioners navigate the area of business and human rights.

"Businesses, including their subsidiaries and partners, are not isolated from the societies in which they operate, nor are they insulated from events occurring in places where they secure raw materials and other goods. These facts are underscored by two recent and high-profile international developments: the February 2021 military coup in Myanmar; and the persecution of Uyghurs and other minorities in China's Xinjiang province. As a result, companies in Canada and across the globe are being required to examine their operations to ascertain what links, if any, they have to any ongoing human rights abuses in these territories. Situations like these will continue to present themselves, and will require Canadian lawyers and their clients to examine operations and formulate responses. This guide is meant to assist Canadian (external and in-house) practitioners with these efforts."

Presentations of the Ontario Access to Justice Week 2023 Available Online

The Action Group on Access to Justice (TAG) was established by the Law Society of Ontario in 2015 to bring together justice stakeholders to develop public-centred solutions.

One of its activities is Access to Justice Week whose 2023 edition took place from October 23 to 27, 2023.

Many of the sessions were recorded and are now available for free online.

New Book Gives Insider's View of Law Reform Commission Work

The Law Commission of England has published a new book, Inside Modern Law Reform, that provides an insider's point of view of the history of the Commission and how it carries out its work to make laws more relevant, modern and fair.

From the brief description on the Commission website:

"As well as describing the history and process of law reform, the book outlines the wide-ranging social and economic benefits it provides, the importance of an independent Law Commission, the unique work it does in Wales, its international relationships, and the opportunities they offer to enrich the Commission’s work."

"While the level of detail provided in the book may be of more interest to those who are already familiar with the work of a law reform body, nonetheless the Commission hopes that the work will be of interest to a more general audience. Above all, the work is aimed at all those who share a concern for good law reform both nationally and internationally."

"The Commission is indebted to the many thousands of individuals and organisations who have contributed so fully and generously to its law reform projects over the decades and from whom it has learned and continues to learn. It is because of these contributions that it has been able to build up the wide-ranging experience of law reform described in this book."

The book is available for free in PDF format.

30 Documents for 75th Anniversary of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights

Today marks the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).

It was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948 and remains of the world's most important documents defining rights.

The UN Dag Hammarskjöld Library in New York has selected 30 key documents related to the 30 articles of the UDHR.

New Zealand Courts Guidelines for Generative Artificial Intelligence

The New Zealand judiciary has issued Guidelines for use of generative artificial intelligence in Courts and Tribunals.

The guidelines are cautious and pragmatic and include ideas for :

• Judges, Judicial Officers, Tribunal Members and Judicial Support staff
• Lawyers
• Non-lawyers (such as self-represented litigants)

Government Information Day(s) 2023 Program

The Ontario Council of University Libraries - Government Information Community will be hosting this year’s virtual Government Information Day(s) 2023 next week (December 12-14).

Topics include:

• parliamentary and legislative libraries and their work;
• current day issues with online government information and efforts to safeguard its permanence and accessibility;
• the metadata and organization of online government information;
• Crown Copyright and where we are at;
• Freedom of Information (FOI) for both the beginner and more advanced advocates;

Registration for the Zoom sessions is free.