NEWSLETTER – September 2009
Irwin Rudick, President
Allen Mendelsohn & Dorith Toledano, Editor(s)
Message from the President
Irwin Rudick
As President of the Lord Reading Law Society, it gives me great pleasure to both welcome and invite you to participate to the fullest extent possible in the 2009-2010 season.
The advent of the Rentrée judiciaire signals an end to the slower pace of the summer season and a rejuvenated beginning of our activities.
Through the summer the Executive of the L.R.L.S. has been hard at work planning and setting into motion an excellent roster of dinner meetings and initiatives. Our first dinner meeting, paying homage to the Honourable Mr. Justice Nuss, will take place on September 16th, 2009. For our third dinner meeting, our Human Rights Lecture, we will have as our guest speaker, a prominent Rwandan human rights activist and genocide survivor, and this on December 3rd, 2009.
Our second lecture, which will also be of great interest to our members, will take place approximately in mid-October and I will announce the details once they are confirmed. As you can see, the 2009 portion of our season is virtually complete regarding dinner meetings. Every effort will be made to secure CLE accreditation for these meetings, the first of which has been already been so accredited.
Over the summer, the L.R.L.S. also completed its incorporation formalities, as you can see elsewhere in this Newsletter. Other plans and initiatives of great interest are continually being worked on, and I will be pleased to announce these in coming Newsletters.
Irwin Rudick
President
The Lord Reading Law Society
A Special Announcement from the Society
Irwin Rudick
The Executive, Directors and Members of The Lord Reading Law Society are proud to announce the issuance of Letters Patent under Part III of the Quebec Companies Act by the Registraire des entreprises du Québec on August 31st, 2009. Congratulations are in order to all who worked on this project, and most particularly to our Immediate Past President, Ronald H. Levy, who, with his usual irresistible mixture of determination and sense of humour, marshalled the support for this project and also to our Executive Director (and Past President), Morris Chaikelson, who so skilfully handled the incorporation process.
You are invited to view the front page of the Letters Patent.
La notion de justice participative presentée a la societé par la ministre de la justice
Dorith Toledano
“You have in me an open mind and most of all a friend” nous dit la Ministre de la Justice en toute simplicité.
Au delà de sa reconnaissance envers ceux qui ont marque sa carrière, ces professeurs et ces juges, ces comités qui l’ont forme alors qu’elle poursuit une vie de famille entière et pleine, la Ministre de la justice annonce et rappelle son mandat, la cause qu’elle défend et qui nous préoccupe tous: celui ‘accroitre l’accessibilité du justiciable au système de justice.
Perturbée par une réalité qui apparait dans des articles tel celui écrit par un journaliste dans le Devoir en Mars 2008 et qui insiste sur la perte de confiance des justiciables dans notre système judiciaire, la Ministre cherche comment redonner a ladite Justice ses lettres de noblesse. A quoi donc sert la justice si on ne peut y avoir accès demande t-elle?
Sa proposition a l’Assemblée Nationale est une véritable Reforme qui mettrait a jour le Code de Procédure civil, qui simplifierait les procédures judiciaires afin qu’elles soient plus accessibles au commun des mortels. Citant Voltaire, elle nous rappelle avec conviction que “le mieux est l’ennemi du bien”.
Une fois ce nouveau code en devenir d’accepte et dans le cadre d’une justice sociale, la ministre aimerait voir se développer des centres de justice communautaires en matière civil et plus précisément en droit de la famille , des centres équipes de services de médiation et autre services « pratiques” tel une aide locale pour remplir des formulaires..
Ce projet pilote réunissant des efforts conjoints des villes de Montréal, de Rimouski et de Québec devrait nous permettre de développer une Justice plus conviviable et plus humaine nous explique la Ministre avec conviction. Négociation, médiation et conciliation entre autres, nous mènent vers une Justice participative plus humaine pouvant développer de nouvelles opportunités intéressantes en droit.
Continuing Legal Education Events
Allen Mendelsohn
As a service to our members, we are pleased to list certain CLE events which may be of interest.
1. The English-Speaking Section of the Montreal Bar is putting on a programme “Trial Practice Do’s and Don’ts: Hot Tips from the Experts” on November 10th at 4:00 PM. The programme is accredited for formation continue (CLE) purposes (2.00 hrs), and Past President Ian Solloway is moderating the panel. For more information, please contact the Montreal Bar or visit their website.
2. The Section of Family Law of the American Bar Association will be holding its Fall CLE in Montreal at the Bonaventure Hilton Hotel from October 7 – 10. Formation continue (CLE) credit for Quebec lawyers who attend is presently pending. For more information about the conference and for registration, visit: www.abanet.org/family.
Society Humour
News from the Mishpauchah
Mazel Tov
- To former McGill Dean of Law and Society member Nicholas Kasirer, who was named to the Quebec Court of Appeal
- To l’honorable Guy Gagnon, former Chief Judge of la Cour du Quebec who was named to the Quebec Court of Appeal
- To Society Executive member Mara Greenstone on her wedding
