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Full-Text Articles in Law

Public Access To Online Hearings, Jérémy Boulanger-Bonnelly Aug 2022

Public Access To Online Hearings, Jérémy Boulanger-Bonnelly

Dalhousie Law Journal

The open court principle faced a significant challenge when courthouses closed their doors to limit the spread of COVID-19. The shift to online hearings in many jurisdictions generated new avenues for public access but also raised concerns for the privacy and security of individuals, and for the administration of justice. Building on existing principles and a review of the measures adopted by courts in Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Australia during the pandemic, this paper seeks to identify best practices to preserve an appropriate balance between openness and competing interests in the online environment. It concludes that …


Confidential Information And Governments: Balancing The Public's Right To Access Government Records And An Oil And Gas Company's Right To Protect Confidential Information, Stephen Burns, Todd Newhook, Sébastien Gittens Apr 2014

Confidential Information And Governments: Balancing The Public's Right To Access Government Records And An Oil And Gas Company's Right To Protect Confidential Information, Stephen Burns, Todd Newhook, Sébastien Gittens

Dalhousie Law Journal

This paper explores the relationship between the public's right to access records in the custody or under the control of the government with the oil and gas industry's need to protect its confidential information from disclosure. Focusing on practical issues, the authors review the law of confidence, the structure of the access to information legislation and related case law, the public policy considerations supporting same, and some of the risks and pitfalls that organizations can avoid if they consider such legislation when interacting with public bodies.


Ministerial Misfeasance: R. V. Morris And A Unique Early Privacy Breach, Barry Cahill Oct 2009

Ministerial Misfeasance: R. V. Morris And A Unique Early Privacy Breach, Barry Cahill

Dalhousie Law Journal

According to Klein &Kratchanov (Government Information: The Right to Information and Protection of Privacy in Canada, 2nd ed., 2009), "there is one reported case of a successful private prosecution for violation of an access statute through the unauthorized release of personal information. The matter arose under a former Nova Scotia Act and resulted in a modest fine being imposed against a Minister of the Crown who had disclosed information about the complainant." What follows is a close, contextual study of a case unique in the short history of privacy law in Canada, from the perspective of the thirty-year development of …


Habermas, Legal Legitimacy, And Creative Cost Awards In Recent Canadian Jurisprudence, Michael Fenrick Apr 2007

Habermas, Legal Legitimacy, And Creative Cost Awards In Recent Canadian Jurisprudence, Michael Fenrick

Dalhousie Law Journal

Access to justice continues to be a live issue in Canadian courtrooms. While state-sponsored initiatives that promote access continue to flounder in Canada or in some cases, are cancelled altogether, the pressure is mounting to find creative solutions that facilitate greater participation in formal dispute resolution processes. The price of failing in this regard is very high. To truly flourish, both social cohesion and individual liberties require a more participatory and inclusive legal system than the one that currently precludes all but the wealthiest from accessing our courts. Drawing on the legal philosophy of Jargen Habermas, the author examines access …


The Best Things In Law Are Free?: Towards Quality Free Public Access To Primary Legal Materials In Canada, Teresa Scassa Oct 2000

The Best Things In Law Are Free?: Towards Quality Free Public Access To Primary Legal Materials In Canada, Teresa Scassa

Dalhousie Law Journal

In this article the author explores the move in several jurisdictions towards providing primary legal materials online without charge. In Canada the federal government, most provincial governments and many courts currently provide some form of online access to primary legal materials. However, this is not done in a unified, comprehensive or systematic manner. The author evaluates the "legal information institute" model as it has emerged in Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States, and considers whether such a model would be useful or workable in Canada. In the course of this assessment, the author canvasses such issues as the …