On 13 August 2010, two days before the National Acadian day, the Faculty of Law at the Université de Moncton hosted the fourth Jurilinguistics Summer Institute. The Institute was organized by the Quebec Research Centre of Private and Comparative Law (now known as the Paul-André Crépeau Centre for Private and Comparative Law), McGill University, in collaboration with the other members of the Network of Jurilinguistic Centres. It gathered over 40 participants from various backgrounds related to jurilinguistics. Among the participants were representatives from government, private practice and the academy. This year, the scholarly program of the day was divided into plenary sessions and workshops. The former took a more theory-based approach. On the other hand, the workshops, more than one of which coincided in time, took a more empirical approach, encouraging dialogue in small groups.
The day opened with words of welcome from Vice-Rector (Academic) Neil Boucher, followed by opening remarks from Prof. Lionel Smith, Director of the Centre. The first plenary session, presided over by Prof. Smith, focussed on analysis of the role of juriliguistic dictionaries. In particular, it was the occasion to launch a brand new dictionary: La common law de A à Z.
First, Prof. Olivier Moréteau, from Louisiana State University (Baton Rouge), shared an interesting stroll by a comparative lawyer, stepping nimbly from letter to letter through the alphabet. To listen to Prof. Moréteau’s presentation, click here: Moreteau . Then, Prof. Moréteau read aloud a message from Prof. Jacques Vanderlinden, who was unable to attend yet still wished to share a few remarks with the audience. To listen to the reading of this message, click here: Vanderlinden .
The second part of that morning’s plenary session was given by Mr Gérard Snow, Director of the Centre de traduction et de terminologie juridiques (CTTJ) at the Faculty of Law, Université de Moncton. Mr Snow presented the origins and preparation of the dictionary La common law de A à Z. To listen to Mr Snow’s presentation, click here: Snow .
Then the plenary session concluded with the launch of the dictionary. First to present this work was Me Louis Bossé, Product Development Manager at Yvon Blais, followed by Me Andrée Duchesne, Senior Counsel and Manager, Francophonie, Justice in Official Languages and Legal Dualism, with Justice Canada.
After a short break, during which participants continued to engage in lively discussion, two workshops were held. The first one, presided over by Me Jean-Frédérick Ménard, concerned the use of jurilinguistic dictionaries. Another new dictionary was launched during this workshop: Dictionnaire juridique de la propriété au Canada. The presentation was given by Me Anne Des Ormeaux and Mr Jean-Marie Lessard, the authors of this work. Then, Me Christian C.-Després spoke about the Supreme Court of Canada’s participation in the development of legal terminology in Canada. Last, Me Louis Fortier presented a set of tools for the legal professional/translator.
The second of the morning workshops, presided over by Ms Jimena Andino Dorato, concerned legislative drafting. Ms Judith Keating presented the electronic version of the Statues of New Brunswick. Then, from Quebec, Me Edmund Coates spoke about an extensive revision to the English text of the Civil Code of Québec, and the history leading-up to this project. Last, Ms Josée Baril analyzed the role of Jurilinguistics in legal drafting.
In the afternoon, the plenary session was presided over by Prof. Carmen Roberge, from the Collège universitaire de Saint-Boniface. During this session, Prof. Jean-Claude Gémar, from the Université de Montréal, analysed the knowledge and skills necessary to a jurilinguist. To listen to Prof. Gémar’s presentation, click here: Gemar .
Following this, a pair of workshops took place. One was presided over by Me Ménard. Its subject was the teaching of Jurilinguistics. Prof. Patrick Forget, from the Université de Moncton, and Prof. Iliana Auverana, from the University of Ottawa, shared their recent experiences with this. The other afternoon workshop, presided over by Ms Sylvette Savoie-Thomas, reflected on recent events regarding access to justice. On this occasion, Mr Donald Legal from the Centre canadien de français juridique inc. presented the “Programme pancanadien de formation en terminologie juridique” (the Transcanada Programme for Training in Legal Terminology). Then, Me Lionel Levert reflected on access to the law as an everyday challenge.
The last plenary session, presided over by Mr Snow, featured the Hon. Michel Bastarache. The latter’s presentation on bijuridism at the Supreme Court of Canada was a remarkable close to the day. To hear the Hon. Bastarache’s presentation, click here: Bastarache .
The 2010 edition of the Jurilinguistics Summer Institute fulfilled the wish to hold this day in Moncton, leading anew to a resounding success for this scholarly event which stands as an exemplar in its field. The organizers, the officers of the four centres which form the Network of Jurilinguistics Centres, as well as the other participants, expressed great satisfaction with respect to this gathering.
