In 2013, Beverley McLachlin, Chief Justice of Canada, acknowledged that the Canadian justice system was increasingly failing to provide a system that was “accessible, responsive and citizen-focused.” In 2014 she wrote a letter to Thompson Rivers University Faculty of Law’s graduating class of 2017, in which she apologetically described the legacy of her generation. It was what she described as “a serious access to justice problem.” In the letter she advised us that responding to this issue and finding ways to solve it was our mission, and our success in that endeavour would be our legacy. She noted that fortunately, “governments, organizations, and many individuals responded to the plea for change.” The issue, she says, is that these initiatives are incoherent, meaning their effectiveness is reduced.

In 2008, the Action Committee on Access to Justice in Civil and Family Matters was created to focus reform efforts with a unified voice. In the pursuit of accessible justice, one function of the Committee is to “identify new tools that can assist people in dealing with their legal needs effectively and expeditiously.” In a report, “Access to Civil and Family Justice: A Roadmap for Change,” it says that “technology in all courts and tribunals must be modernized to a level that reflects the electronic needs, abilities and expectations of a modern society.” The report mentions ideas such as interactive court forms, as well as remote scheduling, e-filing, and docket management; all of which could be achieved or improved upon using legal applications, which provide a sort of ‘Smart Car’ alternative to the traditional ‘Rolls Royce’ system of justice and method of obtaining legal help.

The Action Committee’s report also stresses the importance of user-friendliness and accessibility in our justice system. Since apps present themselves as a useful tool in these reform efforts, and since all Canadians are potential users of the justice system, we must keep all Canadians in mind while developing legal apps.

What makes a good legal app? (Original diagram by Nick James, created using Gliffy)

As far as accessibility is concerned, Canadians have a broad variety of needs that our justice system must meet. An article by Law Technology Today recommends a few ways to meet some of these needs, such as captioned videos for the deaf, the ability to navigate only by keyboard for non-mouse users, and providing audio for the blind. A further recommendation made by Tomee Sojourner in a guest lecture at TRU (Thursday, March 16) was to include multiple languages. Particularly in a culturally diverse country such as Canada, compatibility in several languages is key to fulfilling the objective of accessibility.

In summary, Canada’s access to justice problem has been recognized by the Supreme Court of Canada, which is calling for (among other things) the use of technological advancements to reform our justice system. Legal apps can answer this call, but they are no good unless they are also accessible to as many Canadians as possible. As long as we keep this in mind, we can all make a difference.