Judges Working Group Comes Up With Ideas for Helping Self-Represented Litigants

A small Working Group of judges representing jurisdictions across Canada have released a document entitled Working with SRLs: Ideas and Suggestions from the Bench.The group was facilitated by Julie Macfarlane of the University of Windsor who leads the National Self-Represented Litigants Project.

From the introduction by Associate Chief Justice John D. Rooke, Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench:

"Judges across Canada are dealing with the challenges p resented by historic numbers of self -­‐ represented litigants (SRLs) in their courtrooms. The SRL phenomenon has had a very significant impact on the way judges perform their role and the work they do. The approaches and strategies described in this 'First Edition' document - the result of a detailed exchange among five judges from across Canada about their experiences and practices - reflect the work, attention and care that judges are giving to this issue. "

"The intent of 'Working with Self -­‐ Represented Litigants: Ideas and Suggestions from the Bench' is to contribute to this ongoing discussion, building on important work in judicial education by the Canadian Judicial Council, the National Judicial Institute and other judicial education institutions. We judges recognize that it is important to talk about best approaches at the level of both principle and practice. This document is oriented towards practical tips and strategies that we have used in our own courtrooms. We hope that other judges might find them useful, and that SRLs might also learn from them – in the spirit of an important and constructive dialogue."