Legal research news from an Ottawa law librarian
Labels: Supreme Court of Canada
"Potential methods for countering the spread of disinformation in cyberspace, however, may pose challenges to basic principles in democratic societies, including the right to freedom of expression, and the right to privacy, as well as rules regarding transparency and oversight of government actions, among others."The first report is entitled Initiatives to Counter Fake News in Selected Countries:
"This report examines the legal approaches of fifteen countries, representing all regions of the world, to the emerging problem of manipulation with 'fake news' using mass and social media, especially the impact of fake news on ongoing political processes and elections, and the legislative measures undertaken to counteract the dissemination of false information. Fake news as a phenomenon is not new and has been known since ancient times, but the present-day proliferation of digital and social media platforms, which allow for much broader distribution of information to a global audience, makes the need to counter fake news much more acute. With the exception of Japan, which appears to be the only country in this study where fake news scandals are limited to newspapers and tweeted messages that have no outside influence, a fact explained by the difficulty of the Japanese language for foreigners, the widespread distribution of false information and its impact on decision making and democratic processes is becoming a challenge worldwide."The second report is Limits on Freedom of Expression:
"This report examines the scope of protection extended to freedom of speech in thirteen selected countries. In particular, the report focuses on the limits of protection that may apply to the right to interrupt or affect in any other way public speech. The report also addresses the availability of mechanisms to control foreign broadcasters working on behalf of foreign governments."
Labels: comparative and foreign law
"The purpose of the following is to understand the relationship between librarians in Canada and the United States of America and their understanding of AI in the workplace. By participating in this study, you are helping the library profession navigate the current awareness of AI and its potential to impact our work."
"This survey will run until September 6th, 2019, and should take 10 minutes or less to complete. All survey information is anonymous. Potentially identifying information will be removed from any quotations used. Results of this survey will be shared in aggregate through conference presentations and publications in the field."
"Some significant changes to the law are required to achieve a just division of property between partners on separation. It is essential that the right pool of property is available for sharing. We have concluded it is no longer appropriate to share automatically the family home no matter how it was brought to the relationship. Only property acquired during the relationship or acquired for the couple's common use or benefit should be shared. We also think that some property held on trust has been wrongly excluded from the pool for division and that the courts should have clearer powers to address this. In response to the longstanding problem of how to share more fairly the economic advantages and disadvantages that can arise on separation, we have proposed an entitlement to share family income for a limited period after separation. We have also concluded it would be wrong to ignore the opportunity in this review to promote the best interests of children when their parents separate. Changes to the way in which relationship property disputes are resolved are important as well to address behaviour that causes delay and increases costs."The Law Commission did not consider relationships ending on death, and recommended that these should be dealt with separately.
"Our recommendations constitute a package of reforms. Many of our recommendations work together. For example, refining the pool of property available for division is balanced by a more effective regime to share the economic advantages and disadvantages arising from the relationship or its end."
"Despite our recommendations for change, certain fundamental aspects of the law should remain as they are. The law should continue to value all forms of contribution to a relationship. This underpins the general approach of equal sharing, a '50/50 split', of relationship property. The law should continue to apply to relationships that are substantively the same – marriages, civil unions and de facto relationships of three years or more. "
Labels: family law, government_New_Zealand, law commissions, property law
"ALRI is recommending that the law of adverse possession be abolished in Alberta. This change would prevent new claims from being brought in the future, but would not affect claims that have been resolved or filed with the court before the change comes into effect."
"This change would mean that a registered owner of land could recover possession at any time and would not have to act within the 10-year limitation period that currently applies."
"If adverse possession is abolished, claims regarding lasting improvements to wrong land under section 69 of the Law of Property Act would have a more prominent role in resolving disputes concerning possession of land. To facilitate equitable resolution of disputes, ALRI recommends that an assign of the lasting improvement should not have to prove whether the person who made the improvement believed it was their land. This change would make section 69 consistent with how courts have applied it. ALRI also recommends that section 69 claims can be brought at any time."
Labels: government_Alberta, law commissions, property law
Labels: podcasts
Labels: Supreme Court of Canada
"The Boat People follows the story of Mahindan and other Sri Lankan refugees who escaped a civil war in their country only to arrive on Vancouver Island’s shores to face accusations of terrorism and the threat of deportation. Mahindan’s lawyer, Priya, a second-generation Sri Lankan Canadian, and Grace, a third-generation Japanese Canadian adjudicator, also feature prominently in the story."The prize, which is sponsored by ABA Journal and the University of Alabama School of Law, is "given annually to a book-length work of fiction that best illuminates the role of lawyers in society and their power to effect change."
"These recommendations address a broad cross-section of issues, including the process for initiating a class action, certification, settlement approval and distribution, counsel fees, costs and reporting on class actions. We believe our recommendations represent a necessary and important update to a significant piece of legislation that is now almost 30 years old."More background about the entire class actions project can be found on the LCO website.
Labels: class actions, government_Ontario, law commissions
Labels: access to justice, current awareness
Labels: podcasts
"This report examines the emerging regulatory and policy landscape surrounding artificial intelligence (AI) in jurisdictions around the world and in the European Union (EU). In addition, a survey of international organizations describes the approach that United Nations (UN) agencies and regional organizations have taken towards AI. As the regulation of AI is still in its infancy, guidelines, ethics codes, and actions by and statements from governments and their agencies on AI are also addressed. While the country surveys look at various legal issues, including data protection and privacy, transparency, human oversight, surveillance, public administration and services, autonomous vehicles, and lethal autonomous weapons systems, the most advanced regulations were found in the area of autonomous vehicles, in particular for the testing of such vehicles."The Law Library of Congress is the world’s largest law library, with a collection of over 2 and a half million volumes from all ages of history and virtually every jurisdiction in the world.
Labels: comparative and foreign law, IT trends
"Created in 2011, each year the Fastcase 50 award honors a diverse group of lawyers, legal technologists, policymakers, judges, law librarians, bar association executives, and people from all walks of life. In many cases, honorees are well known, but in many others, the award recognizes people who have made important, but unheralded contributions."There are a number of law librarians in the list:
" 'Every part of the legal market is changing right now – from law school through every part of the practice,' said Fastcase CEO Ed Walters. 'That change can be daunting or discouraging to many people. And that’s one reason that our team enjoys celebrating the accomplishments of the Fastcase 50. These are people who inspire us by their intelligence, creativity, and leadership. We hope they will inspire others as well, especially during a time of great change for the profession'. "
“They champion transparency—in lawyer/client relations, in government data, policy, and practice, in judicial proceedings, and in legal education. They advocate for access—to the law itself, and to justice. They build structures, systems, and tools for access, quality, economy, and efficiency.”Using his company as an example, Mills writes that “from any one person among the Fastcase 250, there are lines linking in many directions to many others.”
“They also collaborate. A tour of the five classes found time and again 50’s who are working together across organizations and projects, who influence and inspire one another.” [my emphasis]
Labels: awards, law firms, law libraries, law schools, law societies, legal publishers
Labels: Charter, health law, public education, tax law
Labels: criminal law, statistics, women
"What’s one piece of advice you’d give to someone looking to break into the legal information industry?
Continue with the learning – take a coding course, business writing, budgeting and website development course during the first few years of your career. These added skills, if you do not already have them, will round out your skill set that is a passport to all types of jobs. Stay open to new experiences and opportunities."
Labels: government_Ontario, law libraries, library associations, profiles.
Labels: careers, library associations
Labels: Supreme Court of Canada
Labels: awards, careers, conferences, continuing education, copyright, current awareness, law libraries, library associations
Law library blogaliciousness from Ottawa since 2005. Accept no substitutes.
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As Michel de Montaigne would say, "Je vais au change indiscrètement et tumultuairement - mon style et mon esprit vont vagabondant de même" (Essais, III, 9, De la vanité): I go where my fancy leads me, but my fancy always leads back to the law