University of Montreal’s Cyberjustice Project

Word came down recently that the University of Montreal’s Centre de recherche en droit public won a six million dollar grant “to create a research infrastructure in which to develop different software solutions to the many problems currently plaguing the justice system.” You can read the CRDP announcement here. The Cyberjustice Laboratory project will comprise a research facility, a “virtual courtroom” and a “transportable courtroom” housed at McGill University. The project is headed by Professor Karim Benyekhlef, Director of the CRDP, and by Nicolas Vermeys, Associate Director of the project.

The chart below will give you some idea of where the project is headed:

There is a PDF concerning the project that is available here.

Osgoode Hall Law School has received funding for a similar project, and there is the Canadian Centre for Court Technology (headed by Slawyer Dominic Jaar). I hope that it will be possible for these groups, and other similar ventures, to collaborate with the Cyberjustice Project. We’re clearly at the stage where what is wanted is a national clearinghouse and coordinating body for law and technology.