To bring this project to fruition, Professor Campagnolo has received a grant of $93,524 from the Access to Justice in Both Official Languages Support Fund, an initiative of the Department of Justice Canada. The Fund supports the creation of tools, resources, and activities aimed at improving access to justice in both official languages while fostering the development and vitality of linguistic minority communities.
Common law en bref will be published by Éditions Yvon Blais / Thomson Reuters as a series of approximately 20 volumes, each exploring a different area of Canadian common law in a concise and accessible manner. The collection will cover a wide range of topics, including the history and philosophy of common law, language rights, constitutional law, and criminal law, among many others. Each volume will be written in plain language by subject matter experts. Each book will be available in both print and electronic formats, and the goal is to make the publications affordable and easily accessible. Professor Campagnolo’s overall aim is to narrow the gap in the range of French-language legal resources available in Canada.
The inspiration for Common law en bref is the renowned “Que sais-je?” collection, published by the Presses universitaires de France. Like its French counterpart, this new series will bridge the gap between specialized legal scholarship and everyday understanding of law. The series will also follow in the footsteps of the “Common law en poche” collection, which was launched in the 1990s by Professor Jacques Vanderlinden of the University of Moncton Faculty of Law, but went out of print some 15 years ago. The title of the series is also a nod to the “Cases in Brief / La cause en bref” summaries that the Supreme Court of Canada publishes to make its decisions more understandable. To acknowledge this connection, and indeed the broader mission of the series, the Chief Justice of Canada, the Right Honourable Richard Wagner, has graciously agreed to write the preface for the series.
As a leading authority on Canadian constitutional and administrative law, Professor Campagnolo is ideally suited to lead this project. Throughout his scholarship, he tackles complex subjects with an energy and attention to detail that make his work both deeply informative and highly readable. Most recently, he has co-edited a new edition of a seminal two-volume set that introduces Canadian common law and Quebec civil law from a comparative law perspective. Working alongside Louise Bélanger-Hardy and Aline Grenon, he has updated Elements of Quebec Civil Law: A Comparison with the Common Law of Canada and Éléments de common law canadienne: comparaison avec le droit civil québécois to ensure that these groundbreaking works reflect the latest legal developments. Their publication was also supported by the Access to Justice in Both Official Languages Support Fund.
The Common law en bref initiative reflects a commitment to bridging linguistic and educational gaps in the legal field, ensuring that Canadian common law becomes truly accessible to French-speaking communities and legal enthusiasts across the country.
The Common Law Section congratulates Professor Campagnolo and extends its sincere gratitude to the Department of Justice.