Website of the Alberta Law Reform Institute

PDF Version: The Alberta Law Reform Institute Begins Project Selection

By: Barry Chung

Since 2016, the Institute has received over 50 law reform suggestions from the public, legal community and various service organizations. There was a wide variety of topics that ranged from the appointment of Provincial Court Judges, Indigenous Peoples and reconciliation, autonomous vehicle legislation, and Business Corporations Act compliance to name just a few.

While the majority of these topics are important and worthy of consideration, only a few will make it through ALRI’s rigorous selection process.

Central to this selection process are four prerequisite criteria:

  • There must be a need for reform as demonstrated by a perceived deficiency in the law or administration of justice.
  • The issue is not something that a political or other administrative process is able to deal with effectively.
  • The project must be within the capability of the Institute and its network.
  • The project must make contributions to both the technical areas of law and to the areas of law involving social policy.

Many of the suggestions that we receive often satisfy only some of the preceding criteria. Potential projects that satisfy all four go through a preliminary assessment where specific legal issues are identified, and the scope of the potential project is established. A project plan is then developed that determines the research and consultation methods to be used while also establishing the resources required and expected outcomes. Upon a final review, the ALRI Board decides if the suggestion proceeds as a full law reform project, and if so, schedules the project and allocates resources.

Project selection takes approximately six months to complete and is an arduous task but is ultimately essential to ensuring that ALRI is making optimal use of its resources and time. The Institute thanks everyone who submitted a suggestion for a law reform project and continues to invite all Albertans submit their suggestions, participate in our consultations, and provide feedback on our work.

A complete list of project suggestions ALRI received since 2016 is available at our website.

This post may be cited as: Barry Chung, “The Alberta Law Reform Institute Begins Project Selection” (November 28, 2018), online: ABlawg, http://ablawg.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/ALRI_Project_Selection_Announcement.pdf

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