Robert Leckey: The Days of Unlimited Trials Are Over

In Quebec, a divorce petition made the headlines when it monopolized the Superior Court during 23 days for its preliminary proceedings alone. In an opinion piece (French only) published on 23 April 2018 by La Presse, 2003 Foundation scholar Robert Leckey denounced "the excessive use of the state’s civil justice system by the privileged class” (translations ours). Noting that under Quebec’s current system, "universal access to an unlimited trial does not necessarily guarantee universal access to justice," Leckey suggested limiting the number of hearing days  underwritten by the state for the litigant to seven, for instance. This would make commercial disputes or cases brought forward by wealthy parties more efficient and make it possible for a greater share of the general population to access the courts.

Robert Leckey is a 2003 Foundation scholar and the dean of the Faculty of Law at McGill University. Read his article here.