Law’s Erik Knutsen on $1M-team tracking true costs of civil justice 

Photo by Aimee Burtch

Professor Erik Knutsen

Critics of Canada’s justice system, including no less an authority than Supreme Court of Canada Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin, insist that legal representation is beyond the reach of most Canadians. In response, a research project that includes Queen’s Professor Erik Knutsen will try to determine “The Cost of Justice: Weighing the Costs of Fair and Effective Resolution to Legal Problems.” 

The research group Canadian Forum on Civil Justice (housed at York University) has received a $1-million Community-University Research Alliances (CURA) grant from the national Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) for the project. 

The group is mobilizing 11 scholars from Canada, Australia, the U.S and the U.K. for multidisciplinary studies that will have direct implications for access-to-justice policy and socio-legal scholarship throughout Canada and other peer jurisdictions. The intent is to provide an evidence-based assessment of the existing civil justice system and recommendations for its improvement.

Knutsen says surprisingly little is known about how much the current system costs and whether it meets the needs of users. However, the costs resulting from the lack of access to justice are legal, economic and social – meaning they affect the well-being of all Canadians.  

“There are all kinds of conjecture and hunches about what’s going on in the legal world because of costs,” Knutsen says, “but we have no data. The system just doesn’t track this sort of thing. And if data proves that the current model isn’t working, we have no solutions as to what to do about it.”

Knutsen’s task will be to study the costs of traditional litigation. “How do we measure it and what do we do about it?” he asks. “We may have to look at the provision of legal-expenses insurance, at the business model for lawyers’ fees and at the culture of litigation—why people sue.”

Alberta Motor Association Insurance has already promised Knutsen access to its database, which tracks litigation arising out of auto accidents. He hopes such co-operation will encourage physicians’ and hospitals’ insurance groups to share their data, too. 

Knutsen suspects lawyers will also cooperate because “they realize they’re stuck with a system that is so complicated and has so many steps that it doesn’t allow an ordinary person to participate on an affordable basis.” The study could lead to a re-visioning of legal costs that could result in a variety of opportunities for lawyers and their clients.

The project has a five-year timeline. The knowledge gained from it, Knutsen says, is likely to play a significant role in policy reform.