DOWN UNDER Kathleen Cunningham
Sharing Law Reform Experiences Down Under Melbourne
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n March 2017, I attended the biannual conference of the Commonwealth Association of Law Reform Agencies (CALRA). This year it was hosted by the Victorian Law Reform Commission in beautiful Melbourne, Australia. Some 30 plus participants representing 21 Commonwealth law reform agencies, including 5 of the Australian commissions, gathered for 2 days to share information and discuss topics of shared interest.
The conference theme was “Effective Law Reform.” Discussion topics ranged from “Should Sitting Judges be Law Reform Commissioners?” to “Key Characteristics of Good Law Reform,” and a thoughtful speech from
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I was struck by how different law reform agencies are in size, resources, and structure, yet how similar our issues are. Emeritus Professor Rosalind Croucher, AM, and President of the Australian Law Reform Commission entitled “Law Reform and Government— Independence, Survival and Effective Law Reform.”1 I was struck by how different law reform agencies are in size, resources, and structure, yet how similar our issues are. Of particular interest for me were the discussions around the importance of independence from government. It is a key feature of any law reform agency’s work. It is what distinguishes us from other 1 T he text of the speech may be found on the ALRC website at http://www.alrc. gov.au/news-media/speech-presentationarticle/law-reform-agencies-andgovernment%E2%80%94independencesurvival-and “AM” is Member of the Order of Australia. Same as Order of Canada.
The Society of Notaries Public of British Columbia
Photo credit: ymgerman
organizations that propose changes to the law. Yet, we all find different ways to achieve that independence. In Canada, the three large law reform agencies are the BC Law Institute, the Alberta Law Reform Institute, and the Ontario Law Commission. We each have a unique approach to the way we carry out our work and we have very different funding models. BC is the only agency that is a registered charity; it receives operational funding from the BC Government and the Law Foundation of BC, as well as project funding from a variety of sources including The Notary Foundation of BC.2 Outside of Canada, most of the agencies still seem to operate under the traditional law reform commission model with mandates established by legislation. While some remain well supported by the governments that support them, others—as in Canada and some of the Australian commissions—are under funding threats. 2 C urrently, The Notary Foundation is 1 of 9 funders for our Strata Property Law Reform project.
Volume 26 Number 2 Summer 2017
