New Zealand Law Reform Commission Fourth Issues Paper on Law of Trusts

The Law Commission of New Zealand has published its fourth issues paper in its review of the law of trusts:

"Part one of the paper examines the duties that a trustee owes to beneficiaries of a trust. It gives particular attention to the duty to inform beneficiaries about matters relating to the trust. Part one also looks at which of the duties should be considered part of the irreducible core of the trust, that is, which duties should be incapable of being excluded by a trust deed. The Commission considers whether there should be limits on what exemption clauses, which exclude the liability of trustees for failing to carry out the duties, can do."

"Part two of the paper discusses the appointment, retirement and removal of trustees. It also addresses the powers given to a trustee. These issues are examined to identify whether the law is effective, or whether it should be modernised and improved."

Earlier Library Boy posts on the topic include:

• New Zealand Law Reform Commission Introductory Issues Paper on Law of Trusts (November 17, 2010): "The first issues paper is primarily a background paper. It traces the development of the trust from its origins in England through to the present day uses of the trust both in New Zealand and internationally."
• Recent Reports by the Law Commission of New Zealand (December 30, 2010): "The second issues paper will cover issues with the use of trusts (especially family trusts) in New Zealand. This paper will look at the purposes for which family trusts are established, including reducing tax obligations, protection of assets from creditors and relationship property claims, and meeting eligibility thresholds for government assistance. The paper examines different legislative and judicial responses to the use of trusts to 'look through' or disregard a trust where a trust has been used to frustrate the underlying policies of particular statutes. The Commission poses options for how the law could address concerns about the use of trusts. The paper seeks comment from as broad an audience as possible on issues such as why trusts are so common in New Zealand, whether limits should be placed on the uses to which trusts are put, whether high levels of settlor control is an issue for concern, how effective existing legislative mechanisms are at addressing the impacts of trusts and whether the law on sham trusts is satisfactory."
• New Zealand Law Reform Commission Third Issues Paper on Law of Trusts (May 4, 2011): "Part one of the paper examines the rules that limit the duration of a trust: the common law rule against perpetuities and the Perpetuities Act 1964. The Commission explores the underlying rationale for the rule against perpetuities and asks whether the rule continues to meet a relevant policy need or whether either the mechanism for achieving this policy or the policy basis itself should change. The paper canvasses different options, including retaining the statutory perpetuity rule, adjusting or extending the statutory rule and abolishing the rule altogether, as has been done in a number of overseas jurisdictions. Part two of the paper looks at the rules that allow trusts to be altered. "
  

Calgary Statement on Free Access to Legal Information

The Council of Canadian Academic Law Library Directors has released the Calgary Statement on Free Access to Legal Information adopted in mid-May.

The Statement promotes the principles of open access in scholarly publishing at Canadian academic institutions and of free access to legal information in society.

It comes 2 and 1/2 years after the Durham Statement on Open Access to Legal Scholarship adopted by the law libraries of major American universities.

Earlier Library Boy posts on open access scholarly publishing include:

• Law Library Directors: Law Reviews Should Stop Print, Go Fully Digital (February 24, 2009): "Today, the Law Library Blog reprints the Durham Statement on Open Access to Legal Scholarship, written by the directors of some of the major academic law libraries in the United States. In the document, they call for the abandonment of print versions of law journals and the adoption of 'stable, open, digital formats' for the dissemination of legal scholarship. They also call on law libraries to stop acquiring print versions of law journals ..."
• Live Webcast Friday of Duke Conference on Open Access Law Journals (October 20, 2010): "Duke University in North Carolina is hosting a workshop this Friday, October 22 on Implementing the Durham Statement: Best Practices for Open Access Law Journals ..."
• Newest Issue of Law Library Journal (February 14, 2011): "The most recent issue of Law Library Journal is available on the website of the American Association of Law Libraries. Among the highlights: The Durham Statement Two Years Later: Access in the Law School Journal Environment: 'The Durham Statement on Open Access to Legal Scholarship, drafted by a group of academic law library directors, was promulgated in February 2009. It calls for two things: (1) open access publication of law school–published journals; and (2) an end to print publication of law journals, coupled with a commitment to keeping the electronic versions available in 'stable, open, digital formats.' The two years since the Statement was issued have seen increased publication of law journals in openly available electronic formats, but little movement toward all-electronic publication. This article discusses the issues raised by the Durham Statement, the current state of law journal publishing, and directions forward'."
• Law Library Journal Spring 2011 Issue (May 24, 2011): "The Spring 2011 issue of Law Library Journal is out. It is a publication of the American Association of Law Libraries. Among the articles I found interesting are: A Response to The Durham Statement Two Years Later (Margaret A. Leary): 'This response to The Durham Statement Two Years Later, published in the Winter 2011 issue of Law Library Journal, addresses that article’s call for an end to print publication of law journals and its failure to sufficiently consider the national and international actors and developments that will determine the future of digital libraries'."
  

U.S. State Department HumanTrafficking Report 2011

The State Department of the United States has been producing an annual report since the year 2000 called the Trafficking in Persons Report. It reports on foreign governments' efforts to eliminate trafficking in persons. It has released its 2011 report.

It provides a detailed description of the issue, ranking every major country across the globe. Human trafficking takes numerous forms according to the report:

• Forced labour
• Sex trafficking
• Bonded labour - where a worker's debt is exploited
• Forced child labour and sex trafficking
• Child soldiers

Here in Canada, the British Columbia Office to Combat Trafficking in Persons has created an online course for Canadian service providers on how to recognize, protect, and assist a person who may have been trafficked.

Earlier Library Boy posts on human trafficking include:

• New Library of Parliament Publications (October 6, 2006): "Trafficking in Persons: 'The United Nations estimates that 700,000 people are trafficked annually worldwide – this is a fluid figure that is difficult to pin down (...) This paper will discuss the concept of trafficking in general terms and provide an overview of the legislative framework surrounding the issue at the international level and within the Canadian context. It will conclude with a discussion of potential gaps in Canadian legislation and policy with respect to trafficking in persons'."
• New Library of Parliament Research Publications (February 18, 2007): "Human Trafficking: 'Trafficking in persons is not the same as migrant smuggling. The key distinction is that smuggled migrants are usually free once they arrive at their intended destination, whereas trafficking victims may be held against their will and subject to forced labour or prostitution (...) The 2006 Trafficking in Persons Report [U.S. State Department] also indicates that 'Canada is a source, transit, and destination country …' Some 800 people are trafficked into this country each year, while an additional 1,500 to 2,200 are trafficked through Canada to the United States'."
• Annual U.S. State Department Report on Human Trafficking (June 27, 2007): "The State Department of the United States has been producing an annual report since the year 2000 called the Trafficking in Persons Report. It reports on foreign governments' efforts to eliminate severe forms of trafficking in persons (...) According to the country section on Canada: 'Canada is principally a transit and destination country for women and children trafficked for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation. Women and children are trafficked mostly from Asia and Eastern Europe for sexual exploitation, but victims from Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, and the Middle East also have been identified in Canada'."
• New U.S. Reports on Human Trafficking (August 1, 2007): "The Government Accountability Office in the United States recently published 2 reports on human trafficking"
• International Day for the Abolition of Slavery (December 2, 2007): "Today is the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery and the Dag Hammarskjöld Library of the United Nations has put together a web page with resources on contemporary forms of human trafficking."
• Wiki on Forced Migration Issues (September 17, 2008): "Librarian Elisa Mason, who has worked at the UN High Commission for Refugees and the Refugee Studies Centre in Oxford, has created the Forced Migration Guide using wiki software. The guide offers descriptions of resources for the study of refugees, internal displacement and human trafficking."
• Library of Parliament Publication on Trafficking of Humans (October 21, 2008): "This paper will discuss the concept of trafficking in general terms and provide an overview of the legislative framework surrounding the issue at the international level and within the Canadian context. It will conclude with a discussion of potential gaps in Canadian legislation and policy with respect to trafficking in persons."
• United Nations Report on Globalization of Crime (September 5, 2010): "The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime recently published a report on The Globalization of Crime A Transnational Organized Crime Threat Assessment. The report examines a range of transnational criminal activities, including human trafficking, the heroin and cocaine trades, cybercrime, maritime piracy and trafficking in environmental resources, firearms and counterfeit goods."

Canadian Bar Association Task Force on Class Actions Proposes Draft Judicial Protocol

The Canadian Bar Association (CBA) National Task Force on Class Actions has released a draft Judicial Protocol to deal with overlapping multijurisdictional class actions:

"As part its mandate, the Task Force developed a draft Judicial Protocol that allows courts in different provinces to work together to coordinate these competing class actions as they move toward a hearing or settlement. It is seeking the comments of interested parties, including members of the class action bar, on its provisions."

"The draft Judicial Protocol relies on existing provisions in the various provincial class proceeding statutes to establish a system whereby multiple and potentially overlapping class actions can move through two or more courts in an orderly manner. It would allow those courts to work together to make orders regarding case management and would allow those courts, if they all agree, to name a single judge to coordinate the scheduling of procedures in the various courts, or the administration of a settlement.'

"The purpose of the consultation is to ensure that the Judicial Protocol will meet the needs of counsel, the judiciary, and parties affected by class action litigation, and will be effective in solving the problems that may arise in multijurisdictional class actions."

"The consultation period will be open until July 8, 2011. The Task Force will consider the comments received prior to preparing a finalized version of the Protocol and sending it to the CBA for its endorsement"

The CBA maintains a National Class Action Database "to give lawyers and the public easy access to court documents submitted with regard to class action lawsuits currently underway across the country."

World Drug Report 2011

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) recently released its 2011 annual report [from the Executive Summary]:

"Cannabis is by far the most widely used illicit drug type, consumed by between 125 and 203 million people worldwide in 2009. This corresponds to an annual prevalence rate of 2.8%-4.5%. In terms of annual prevalence, cannabis is followed by ATS (amphetamine-type stimulants; mainly methamphetamine, amphetamine and ecstasy), opioids (including opium, heroin and prescription opioids) and cocaine. Lack of information regarding use of illicit drugs – particularly ATS - in populous countries such as China and India, as well as in emerging regions of consumption such as Africa, generate uncertainty when estimating the global number of users. This is reflected in the wide ranges of the estimates."

"While there are stable or downward trends for heroin and cocaine use in major regions of consumption, this is being offset by increases in the use of synthetic and prescription drugs. Non-medical use of prescription drugs is reportedly a growing health problem in a number of developed and developing countries. Moreover, in recent years, several new synthetic compounds have emerged in established illicit drug markets. Many of these substances are marketed as ‘legal highs’ and substitutes for illicit stimulant drugs such as cocaine or ‘ecstasy.’ "

The Office produces many other publications in areas such as alternate development, corruption, human trafficking by organized crime, demand reduction strategies, drug testing, etc.

It also offers an online Legislation/Legal Library with the full text of laws and regulations promulgated by many States.

Launch of Business & Children Portal

On June 14th, the non-profit Business & Human Rights Resource Centre launched an online portal on Business & Children.

The Portal covers issues such as child labour, dangerous products, education, forced labour, pollution damaging health, pregnancy discrimination, sexual exploitation and trafficking. The content comes from many sources including NGOs, international organizations such as UNICEF and the ILO, governments, journalists, academics, and companies themselves. It features responses by companies to allegations of misconduct as well as positive initiatives they, NGOs and other organizations have taken to protect the rights of children.

The Business & Human Rights Resource Centre tracks the human rights impacts (positive & negative) of 5000 companies in over 180 countries. Its work is supported by some 20 academic partners in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas.

Materials from Harvard "Future of Law Libraries: The Future is Now?" Conference

Last week, Harvard hosted a conference on the Future of Law Libraries: The Future is Now?

The sessions were recorded and are available as webcasts.

As well, John Palfrey of Harvard's Berkman Center and Sarah Glassmeyer, professor at the Valparaiso University School of Law Library, blogged the event.

Statistics Canada Report on Money Laundering in Canada

Statistic Canada's Juristat Bulletin released an article today entitled Money laundering in Canada, 2009:

"In recent years, the issue of money laundering has been highlighted as an emerging problem both in Canada and internationally ... In Canada, it is estimated that the amount of money laundered on an annual basis is somewhere between $5 and $15 billion ... Worldwide, it has been estimated that this figure may be as high as $500 billion to $1 trillion in U.S. currency ... "

"According to the Criminal Code, money laundering, also referred to as laundering proceeds of crime, occurs when an individual or group uses, transfers, sends, delivers, transports, transmits, alters, disposes of or otherwise deals with, any property or proceeds of any property that was obtained as a result of criminal activity. This is done with the intent to conceal or convert illegal assets into legitimate funds."

"An example of money laundering would involve a person who sells illegal drugs, and then uses the profit to purchase legal goods to sell through a legitimate business. Previous research suggests that money laundering schemes are often associated with the illegal drug trade or the defrauding and manipulation of Canada’s financial institutions ... Some authorities, including the RCMP, have found that money laundering is often related to organized criminal and/or terrorist activity ..."

Supreme Court of Canada: New Library Titles

The list of new library titles added to the Supreme Court of Canada collection for the period of June 1st to 15th, 2011 is now available on the Court website.

The web page explains: "The Supreme Court of Canada Library does not lend materials from this list, which is provided for information only."

But, once the material goes into the general collection, after about a month, the works do become available for inter-library loan to authorized libraries.

It is possible to subscribe via e-mail to receive the list.

The Atlantic Article on Advances in Neuroscience and Criminal Law

The July/August 2011 issue of The Atlantic features an article entitled The Brain on Trial that explains how recent advances in neuroscience are calling into question the voluntary nature of many criminal acts:

"Does the discovery of Charles Whitman’s [a mass shooter at the University of Texas in Austin in 1966] brain tumor modify your feelings about the senseless murders he committed? Does it affect the sentence you would find appropriate for him, had he survived that day? Does the tumor change the degree to which you consider the killings 'his fault'? Couldn’t you just as easily be unlucky enough to develop a tumor and lose control of your behavior?"

"On the other hand, wouldn’t it be dangerous to conclude that people with a tumor are free of guilt, and that they should be let off the hook for their crimes"

"As our understanding of the human brain improves, juries are increasingly challenged with these sorts of questions. When a criminal stands in front of the judge’s bench today, the legal system wants to know whether he is blameworthy. Was it his fault, or his biology’s fault?"

"I submit that this is the wrong question to be asking. The choices we make are inseparably yoked to our neural circuitry, and therefore we have no meaningful way to tease the two apart. The more we learn, the more the seemingly simple concept of blameworthiness becomes complicated, and the more the foundations of our legal system are strained."

Earlier Library Boy posts on the topic include:

• Using Brain Scans To Prove Your Client Is Innocent (January 15, 2008)
• Impact of Forensic Neuroscience on Criminal Justice (December 31, 2008)
  

Canadian Human Rights Commission Report on Extension of Human Rights Act to First Nations

The Canadian Human Rights Commission tabled its report Now a Matter of Rights in the House of Commons this week.

When it was enacted in 1977, the Canadian Human Rights Act excluded people governed by the Indian Act, primarily residents of native reserves. This exclusion was repealed in 2008. First Nations communities were given 3 years to prepare for the transition:

"On June 18, 2011, people affected by the Indian Act will have full access to Canadian human rights law for the first time in history"

"In June 2008, Parliament repealed section 67 of the Canadian Human Rights Act. For over three decades, this section prevented people from filing discrimination complaints resulting from the application of the Indian Act. This meant that discrimination complaints about the Indian Act could not be made against the Government of Canada or First Nations governments. The Canadian Human Rights Commission (the Commission) had repeatedly called for this change."

"When this change was made in 2008, people could immediately make discrimination complaints about the Indian Act against the Government of Canada. First Nations governments were given a three-year transition period to prepare for the change. June 18, 2011, marks the end of the transition period"

"The purpose of this special report is to update Members of Parliament, First Nations governments, Aboriginal people and other Canadians on the steps the Commission has taken over the past thirty-six months to prepare for full repeal."

For more background on the issue, see the Library Boy posts:

• Canadian Human Rights Commission Continues to Demand Aboriginals Be Allowed To Sue Under Indian Act (January 30, 2008): "The Canadian Human Rights Commission yesterday released Still a Matter of Rights, a report calling for the federal Parliament to pass legislation repealing section 67 of the Canadian Human Rights Act. Section 67 denies aboriginal people living on or off reserve from filing a complaint with the Commission relating to any action arising from or pursuant to the Indian Act (...) Although some progress has been made, the fact remains that, more than two years after the Commission’s first report, section 67 is still in place. First Nations citizens are still denied the protection from discrimination that other citizens take for granted. That is unacceptable in a free and democratic society that values fundamental human rights."
• Canadian Human Rights Commission 2010 Annual Report (April 6, 2011): "The Commission's 2 priorities last year were: working with First Nations to develop and increase their capacity to address human rights issues within their own communities. In June 2011, full human rights protection will become available to all First Nations people living on reserves (...) "
  

Canadian E-Discovery Case Digests and Reading List Updated

The Ontario Bar Association's Canadian E-Discovery Case Law Digests and its Electronic Discovery Reading List have recently been updated.

On Slaw.ca, Peg Duncan explained the changes earlier this week.

For case digests:

"New sections have been added to cover pleading practices, discovery planning, the application of the proportionality principle, discovery of social media and other internet sources, and admissibility and authentication of electronic evidence. Newly added decision summaries include deep links into the paragraphs in the decision dealing with the issue."

For the reading list:

"Some new links were added, as well as whole new sections on Social Networks and Discovery and Cloud Computing. The latest version, which is with LawPRO for loading onto the practicePRO website, contains all the new links as well as a whole new section on Authenticating Electronic Information."

Government of Canada Reintroduces Mega-Trials Legislation

The federal government this week reintroduced legislation to reduce the delays that are common in so-called mega-trials.

According to the government press release:

"Due to the magnitude and complexity of the evidence, the numerous charges against multiple accused and the need to call many witnesses, mega-trials can take up a lot of court time and tend to progress very slowly. Longer court proceedings increase the risk of mistrials (...)"

"The Fair and Efficient Criminal Trials Act would help improve Canada's justice system through:

• stronger case management;
• reduced duplication of processes; and,
• improved criminal procedure."

"For example, this proposed bill would allow for a Case Management Judge to be appointed who could impose deadlines on parties and encourage them to simplify proceedings. The Case Management Judge could also decide preliminary issues such as Charter and disclosure motions. These reforms would also permit a joint hearing of motions to take place when similar evidence, arising in related but separate cases is involved. This would help reduce duplication of process."

An earlier bill on the same topic died in the last parliamentary session. The Library of Parliament had prepared a legislative summary of the proposed legislation in March 2011.

New Study of Key Canadian Elder Abuse and Neglect Cases

The Canadian Centre for Elder Law marked World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (June 15) by publishing a discussion paper entitled Moving From Scrutiny to Strategy: An Analysis of Key Canadian Elder Abuse and Neglect Cases.

The Centre is affiliated with the British Columbia Law Institute.

The discussion paper "reviews a number of recent elder abuse and neglect cases that have been recorded in Canadian court decisions – largely criminal cases. The cases serve as a backdrop for highlighting social dynamics at play in elder abuse cases, comparing relevant legislation across the country, clarifying legal obligations to respond to elder abuse under legislation and professional codes of ethics, and making recommendations for protocol and policy development, and professional development and training to support the practice of health care and social service workers in the area of elder abuse and neglect."

July 16 Event in Ottawa : Career Planning for Library Professionals

On July 16, the Canadian Library Association (CLA) is hosting a full-day workshop on career planning in Ottawa. The speaker will be Ulla de Stricker, a well-known figure in the Canadian information and library community.

The event takes place at the Ottawa Public Library, Main Branch from 10:30 am to 4:30 pm.

On the agenda:

• Résumés: Let’s tackle the monster
• Where do you "fit"? Understanding your "career type"
• Self-promotion without cringing: Gaining visibility through giving
• Positive politics: Building a healthy workplace

Cos:

• CLA Members – $30
• CLA Members / Student – $15
• CLA Members / New Professional (working in the field for less than 2 years): $20
• CLA Members / Unemployed: $20
• Non-Members: $50
• Student Non-Members – $20
• Personal Members of Other Associations: $40

Osgoode Society Awards for Canadian Legal History

Next week, the Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History will honour three academics for their recent contributions to Canadian legal history.

The Society has been around since the late 70s and has published many fascinating volumes on different aspects of the country's legal history, many of which are part of the collection of the Supreme Court of Canada library where I work. The Society is an organization definitely worth knowing.

The 3 academics who are being honoured are:

• Daniel Rueck, a McGill University Ph.D. candidate who will soon be a visiting scholar at the University of Western Ontario where he will be researching Mohawk systems of land tenure and land use in Kahnawake during the nineteenth century;
• Jonathon Penney, a doctoral student at Balliol College, Oxford and author of the article "Ivan Rand’s Ancient Constitutionalism" (University of New Brunswick Law Journal Vol. 61 No. 1, 2010) about Justice Ivan Rand’s groundbreaking civil rights decisions of the 1950s. Rand was a Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada from 1943 until 1959; and
  
• Douglas Harris of the University of British Columbia, author of the book Landing Native
  Fisheries: Indian Reserves and Fishing Rights in British Columbia, 1849-1925 (UBC Press).
  

British Columbia Supreme Court Info Packages for Self-Represented Litigants

The Stream, the blog of Courthouse Libraries BC, writes that BC Courts Unveil 24 Information Packages for the Self-Represented:

"The good news recently started as an inconspicuous little blurb on the BC Supreme Court’s homepage on April 21, 2011 announcing new information packages for self-represented litigants. We put up a quick announcement at the time listing the two dozen new packages—we saw an immediate effect. Of the members of the public who use our Vancouver branch's computer facilities, several came in soon after to complete forms in connection with the information packages."

"The information packages are aimed at self-represented litigants and others engaged in a variety of court-related applications and proceedings. Most of the information packages contain, where applicable, forms, instructions and some commentary, but vary widely—from non-adversarial matters (such as name changes, indigency applications, company restoration, and even adoptions), to appeals and judicial review issues (including separate packages for appeals generally, Masters’ orders, Legal Professions Act reviews, small claims, and petitions for judicial review), to post-judgment and execution issues (such as packages for costs, enforcement and garnishment issues, etc.), to civil litigation basics (chambers applications, responses, CPLs, financial statements, etc.)."

The 24 information packages can be found on the website of the BC Supreme Court.

Earlier Library Boy posts on the topic include:

• Canadian Judicial Council Statement on Self-Represented Litigants (December 17, 2006): "Self-represented litigants are often unaware of the workings of the justice system and can feel overwhelmed by all the rules of procedure. The set of principles proposed by the Council should guide judges, court administrators, members of the Bar, legal aid organizations in assisting self-represented ligitants understand how the justice system works."
  
• CALL 2007 Conference - Canadian Courthouse Library Survey (May 6, 2007): "Leaders of the Courthouse and Law Society Libraries SIG [of the Canadian Association of law Libraries] unveiled the results of a survey regarding public access (...) 27.6% of libraries have developed resources to assist members of the public in finding legal information or legal advice consisting of prepared printed brochures and research guides. These materials included electronic sources, pathfinders, online forms and Internet sites. 34.5% of the libraries indicated they were involved in access to justice projects with other organizations: training sessions for public librarians and university students, moot court tournaments for high schools or newspaper article series on public legal education ..."
• CALL 2007 Conference - Public Access to Legal Information (May 7, 2007): "At the 2007 conference of the Canadian Association of Law Libraries being held in Ottawa until Wednesday, there was a session today on 'The Ultimate End User: the Public's Access to Law Libraries and Legal Information'. There were 3 presentations dealing with how law libraries and public libraries can respond to the growing number of self-represented litigants, as well with the generalized growth in the appetite of the public for legal information. "
• Role of Public Law Libraries (June 24, 2008): "The most recent issue of the AALL Spectrum features an article about what are called public law libraries which are law libraries that serve the general population, including self-represented litigants."
• CALL 2009 Conference - Research Projects by Members (May 27, 2009): "At this year's session, 2 CALL members presented the results of their research projects. The first was from Kirsten Wurmann of the Legal Resource Centre in Edmonton who presented the results of her study on the role and impact of librarians in the history and development of public legal education practice in Canada. Her paper is entitled The Role and Impact of Librarians in the History and Development of Public Legal Education (PLE) in Canada. "
• Materials from Austin, Texas Conference on Self-Represented Litigants (April 7, 2010): "The Self-Represented Litigation Network is an open and growing group of organizations and working groups dedicated to fulfilling the promise of a justice system that works for all, including those who cannot afford lawyers and who go to court on their own. The Network brings together a range of organizations including courts, and access to justice organizations in support of innovations in services for the self‐represented (...) Public libraries are critical access points to government institutions. As times get tougher, it becomes more and more important that people have libraries where they can find out how to protect their rights and navigate the complexities of our society. It also becomes more and more important that libraries can show how important and effective they are at meeting this need."
• Judges Struggling to Deal With Increased Number of Self-Represented Litigants (November 1, 2010): "This week's issue of The Lawyers Weekly includes the article Judges grapple with unrepresented litigants that quotes Judge François Rolland, chief justice of Quebec’s Superior Court, on the growing and disturbing trend towards self-represented litigants (...)"

Supreme Court of Canada Building Featured on New Stamp

Canada Post has chosen the Supreme Court of Canada as one of the structures to be showcased in a five-stamp issue celebrating the Art Deco period. The issue, which is being launched today, displays features of structures from across Canada that embody the Art Deco style of the 1930s:

• Burrard Bridge – Vancouver,
• R. C. Harris Water Treatment Plant – Toronto,
• Cormier House – Montreal,
• Supreme Court of Canada – Ottawa, and
• Dominion Building – Regina

For its stamp of the Supreme Court, Canada Post chose one of the rosettes on the ceiling of the Grand Entrance Hall.

The Supreme Court of Canada building was designed by Montreal architect Ernest Cormier.

Ordering information is available online.

Sustainable Librarians Group on LinkedIn

In May, at the annual conference in Calgary of the Canadian Association of Law Libraries, the Courthouse and Law Society Libraries group (of which I was co-chair until a few weeks ago) organized a session on "Going Green at your Law Library: Learning from Calgary Public Library's Eco Action Team".

So the following item from the blog Going Green @ Your Library attracted my attention: New Sustainable Librarians Group on LinkedIn :

During our research to write this book chapter Librarians as Sustainability Advocates, Educators and Entrepreneurs (part of The Entrepreneurial Librarian book to be published by McFarland & Company in late 2011 or early 2012, editors Mary Krautter, Mary Beth Lock and Mary Scanlon), we were looking for inspiring, entrepreneurial stories about green initiatives by librarians to include. We collected some fantastic stories and heard from some wonderful people, many of whom mentioned a need to better network connect with others. So we created a network on LinkedIn called Sustainability Librarians. where we hope people share stories and best practices, network and encourage others to join the movement.

Statistics Canada Article on Police-Reported Hate Crimes 2009

The Statistics Canada publication Juristat has published a new article on Police-reported hate crime in Canada, 2009:

"In 2009, police services covering 87% of the population of Canada reported 1,473 hate crimes, representing less than 1% of all Criminal Code incidents.8 Expressed as a rate, there were 5 police-reported hate crimes for every 100,000 Canadians in 2009. The number of hate crimes in 2009 reflected the second increase in a row, up by 437 incidents or 42% from 2008 (...)"

"Data from a subset of police services covering half of the country shows that the increase in police-reported hate crimes in 2009 occurred largely among non-violent offences, predominantly mischief (e.g. graffiti, vandalism to religious property) which accounted for more than half (54%) of all hate crime incidents in 2009. While the number of violent crimes also rose in 2009, the difference was less substantial than for non-violent hate crimes. Among violent hate crimes, minor assaults (13%), in which little to no physical harm was caused to the victim, and uttering threats (10%) were the most common types of offences. Police reported no hate-motivated homicides in 2009"

Over half (54%) of police-reported hate crimes in 2009 were motivated by race or ethnicity, 29% by religion and 13% by sexual orientation. The largest increase was among those motivated by religion, which rose 55% in 2009.

Violent offences, such as assault, accounted for about 4 in 10 hate crimes reported by police. Violent offences were particularly more common among hate crimes motivated by sexual orientation.

The number of police-reported hate crimes against all racial groups rose in 2009. Blacks continued to be the most commonly targeted racial group. 7 in 10 religiously-motivated hate crimes were committed against the Jewish faith in 2009.

Statistics Canada explains in a Note to Readers:

"Police-reported hate crimes refer to criminal incidents that, upon investigation by police, are determined to have been motivated by hate towards an identifiable group. The incident may target race, colour, national or ethnic origin, religion, sexual orientation, language, sex, age, mental or physical disability, or other factors such as profession or political beliefs (...)"

"The number of hate crimes presented in this release likely undercounts the true extent of hate crime in Canada, as not all crimes are reported to police. Self-reported victimization data from Canadians suggests that about one-third (34%) of incidents perceived by respondents to have been motivated by hate were subsequently reported to police."

Quebec Bar Association TV Series To Launch 2nd Season

This is a follow-up to the Library Boy post of October 5, 2009 entitled Quebec Bar Association Launches TV Series.

The Quebec Bar Association has announced that the second season of its television series "Le Droit de Savoir" (The right to know) will be broadcast this fall on the Canal savoir channel in Quebec, and then on the Télé-Québec public educational network in the summer of 2012.

The new season will tackle topics such as dying with dignity, adoption, harassment in the workplace, identity fraud and parental responsibility.

The show will also offer a new feature called "Les Chroniques de la Justice", that will introduce the audience to places to which the public usually has no access, like the morgue and the evidence room of a courthouse.

If you want to have an idea of what the series looks like, all the episodes of Season One can be watched for free on the Tou.tv website launched by CBC/Radio-Canada and other broadcasting partners.

Papers from Hong Kong Law Via the Internet Conference

The Hong Kong Legal Information Institute is hosting an international conference on Law via the Internet later this week and many of the papers to be presented are already available online, including a number from Canada.

The Law via the Internet conference is organized by the Legal Information Institutes (LIIs) from different countries and continents that together form the Free Access to Law Movement.

The goal of the LIIs is to maximize free access to public legal information such as legislation and case law from as many countries and international institutions as possible.

CanLII, the Canadian Legal Information Institute, is a prominent member of the movement.

International Commission Recommends Legalizing Drugs

Last week, the Global Commission on Drug Policy released a report recommending international legalization of cannabis, marijuana and other drugs.

The report concludes that the punitive law enforcement model of the global "wars on drugs" has been a failure. Rather, it recommends expanding the availability of treatments available to drug users, as well as making them more available.

Members of the Commission include Mexican writer Carlos Fuentes, former Brazilian president Fernando Henrique Cardoso, former Colombian president César Gaviria, former US Secretary of State George Shultz, former UN Secterary General Kofi Annan, and Louise Arbour, former Supreme Court of Canada justice, former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and currently president of the International Crisis Group.

On Library Boy, I have written in the past about the British website openDemocracy whose Drug Policy Forum takes a critical reformist look at stories about the "war on drugs" and criminal justice issues.

Nominations for 12th Annual Justicia Awards

Nominations are open until June 20, 2011 for the 12th Annual Justicia Awards that reward "outstanding broadcast and print or Web journalism that fosters public awareness and understanding of the Canadian justice system".

The Awards are given each year by the Canadian Bar Association (CBA) and the Department of Justice for French or English stories in two categories: print and broadcast media. The 2011 Awards will be presented at the CBA's Canadian Legal Conference in Halifax, Nova Scotia in August.

Last year, a team from the Victoria Times Colonist was the winner in the print category for a series on access to information in the B.C. courts, published in February 2010. A team from Radio-Canada's Enquête was the winner in the broadcast category for a February 2010 show on the practice of paying informants.

The eligibility criteria and a complete list of past winners are included on the CBA Justicia Award website.

Winners receive a bronze statuette that is based on the statue that stands outside the Supreme Court building in Ottawa.

Supreme Court of Canada: New Library Titles

The list of new library titles added to the Supreme Court of Canada collection for the period of May 16th to 31st, 2011 is now available on the Court website.

The web page explains: "The Supreme Court of Canada Library does not lend materials from this list, which is provided for information only."

But, once the material goes into the general collection, after about a month, the works do become available for inter-library loan to authorized libraries.

It is possible to subscribe via e-mail to receive the list.

May 2011 Issue of Governance and Recordkeeping Around the World

The Governance and Recordkeeping Around the World newsletter, published by Library and Archives Canada (LAC), highlights issues pertaining to government and recordkeeping practices in the public and private sector.

The May 2011 issue has just been published on the LAC website.

It includes:

• news items from Canada and around the world
• announcements of upcoming events (meetings, workshops, seminars)
• project and product news in areas such as digitization, archives, open source, e-government, access to information and Web 2.0 initiatives
• selected papers and readings (white papers, presentations, reports)