The Federation of Law Societies of Canada (french: Fédération des ordres professionnels de juristes du Canada) is the national coordinating body of

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

's 14

law societies A law society is an association of lawyers with a regulatory role that includes the right to supervise the training, qualifications, and conduct of lawyers. Where there is a distinction between barristers and solicitors, solicitors are regulated ...

History

The Conference of Governing Bodies of the Legal Profession in Canada, formed in 1927, was the precursor of the Federation. The Federation was formed in 1972 to coordinate policies of provincial and territorial law societies. The Federation recommended that a proposed law school at

Trinity Western University , mottoeng = A Mighty Fortress Is Our God , established = Trinity Junior College (1962–1972), Trinity Western College (1972–1985), Trinity Western University (1986–present) , type = Privat ...

be approved by individual law societies. A number of law societies did not agree to accredit the school.

Reforms

In 2002, it formulated the National Mobility Agreement which facilitated the practice of law across provincial jurisdictions. The Federation's Task Force on the Common Law Degree released its final report in 2009. The report recommended that law societies for Canada's

common law In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omnipres ...

jurisdictions (all provinces and territories except Quebec) adopt a national minimum requirement for those seeking to enter bar admission programs. It proposed that law schools teach certain minimum competencies, a stand-alone ethics course, and possess certain institutional minimums. It would also affect the Federation's National Committee on Accreditation which permits the admittance of foreign educated students.

CanLII

The right of access to the law has been asserted through the Montreal Declaration. The Declaration was first promulgated in 2002 through the Legal Information Institutes of the world. In Canada, the National Virtual Law Library Group had presented a proposal for a free data base to the Federation of Law Societies of Canada in August 2000. Out of this initiative CanLII was created. CanLII is a non-profit organization that provides free access to legal information. It is funded by the Federation. The Board of Directors of CanLII reports to the Federation. CanLII's role is to address the interests of the provincial and territorial law societies as well as the needs of the legal profession and the general public for free access to law.About CanLII
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Member organizations

The FLSC is made up of 14 member organizations with one law society from each province and territory. The exception is

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

which has two law societies, one for lawyers and one for civil law notaries.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Federation Of Law Societies Of Canada * Organizations established in 1972 1972 establishments in Canada