Lessons from Canadian justice

Sometimes, you can get a vote wrong. My Dad was offered a job in Victoria, British Columbia when I was 15. In the family councils that followed, I was against going: too many friends over here. What a mistake. I have become an enormous fan of Canada. Wonderful scenery; lovely people; interesting legal aid. And, as a trip last month to Quebec and Ontario revealed, a country that is open to the use of new technology in the legal field.

Montreal

My first stop was at the wonderfully named Cyberjustice Laboratory at the University of Montreal. This has a fully wired model court designed to integrate technological advances and overcome barriers in relation to court processes. The man largely behind its creation is Professor Karim Benyekhlef, one of the giants of the original online dispute resolution movement. Current co-director is Nicolas Vermeys. A nice touch about the system is that it is capable of updating and amendment. For example, Dr Vermeys