Access to Justice: Towards a Collaborative and Strategic Approach
![handle is hein.journals/unblj63 and id is 52 raw text is: ACCESS TO JUSTICE: TOWARDS A COLLABORATIVE AND
STRATEGIC APPROACH
The Honourable Thomas A. Cromwell*
Supreme Court of Canada
[The thirty-third Viscount Bennett Memorial Lecture was delivered on October 27h,
2011, by the Honourable Thomas A. Cromwell, Justice of the Supreme Court of
Canada.]
INTRODUCTION
It is a great honour and pleasure to present the thirty-third Viscount Bennett Lecture.
I attended the Viscount Bennett Lecture in 1987 and took part in the Symposium on
Dispute Resolution held in connection with it. Some of the themes we explored 23
years ago remain current when we turn to my subject for this year's lecture, Access
to Civil and Family Justice.
My remarks will address three main areas. First, I will provide a working
definition of access to civil and family justice and sketch what I take to be the
dimensions of the problem. Second, I will tell you about the work of the Action
Committee on Access to Civil and Family Justice, which was set up by Chief Justice
McLachlin, and which I am chairing. Finally, I will turn to some thoughts about how
law faculties could become more fully engaged in efforts to improve Access to
Justice.
Justice Cromwell was appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada in 2008 and prior to that was a
member of the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal. He has held many other offices, including several relating to
civil justice and law reform. He acted as Chair of the Board, Canadian Forum on Civil Justice, 2007 2008;
Research Director, C.B.A. Court Reform Task Force, 1989 1991; Chair, C.B.A. Interim Organizational
Committee for the National Organization on Civil Justice Reform, 1996 1997; and Commissioner, Law
Reform Commission of Nova Scotia, 2002 2007.](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/unblj63&div=7&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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Access to Justice: Towards a Collaborative and Strategic Approach
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