12^th ANNUAL JUSTICIA AWARDS PRESENTED FOR LEGAL REPORTING

HALIFAX, August 12, 2011 - Freelance journalist Dominique Forget and a Canadian-led team from the British Broadcasting Corporation's (BBC) World Service are the winners of the 12^th annual Justicia Awards for Excellence in Journalism.

Certificates of merit were also awarded to Kirk Makin of the Globe and Mail and Jon Woodward of CTV News British Columbia.

The Justicia Awards are sponsored by the Canadian Bar Association (CBA) and the Department of Justice Canada. The Awards recognize outstanding broadcast and print or Web journalism that fosters public awareness and understanding of any aspect of the Canadian justice system and the roles played by institutions and participants in the legal system.

Print

Freelance journalist Dominique Forget is the winner in the print category for her May 1, 2011 article "Une justice pour happy few" in L'actualité. The article examined the state of Quebec's civil justice system, which it described as dominated by the wealthy, businesses and non-governmental organizations. It describes the system as "too expensive, too complicated and too long" and discusses alternatives such as mediation, plain language and participatory justice. The Justicia jury said "This article provides information about several aspects of the justice system that, according to polls, few taxpayers know about."

A certificate of merit was awarded to Globe and Mail justice reporter Kirk Makin for a continuing series of stories on the mentally ill in conflict with the criminal justice system. Kirk Makin's continuing coverage aims to shed light on the urgency of assisting the mentally ill in the justice system, as well as to show readers what is genuinely being done and where more help is needed. The judges said the stories were "well-executed and insightful" and offered alternate approaches to dealing with the problem.

Kirk Makin is a two-time winner of the Justicia Awards.

Broadcast

A team from the BBC, led by Canadian journalist Laura Lynch, is the winner in the broadcast category for a two-part documentary entitled "Power and the Judges." The December 2010 documentary examined the power that judges hold, whether their independence and impartiality can be ensured and whether they should ever have the authority to overrule laws.

Looking at judges in Russia, Colombia and Turkey, it features interviews with a Canadian expert and helps set Canada's justice system in context. Lucy Bailey was the producer and Jeremy Skeet the senior documentary editor at the BBC's World Service News and Current Affairs. The Justicia jury said the worldwide comparison of the role of judges and courts was "thought provoking, insightful and informative. It was an analysis of such depth and breadth that few journalists could possibly match."

A certificate of merit was awarded to Jon Woodward of CTV British Columbia's investigative team for "The Tamil Troubles." The four reports examined the legal situation of the Tamil refugee claimants who arrived on the shores of British Columbia last year. The Justicia judges said the reports fostered an "atmosphere of accountability" by questioning government policy and strategies.

The Justicia Awards, which take the form of bronze statuettes, will be presented at the CBA Awards Lunch on Saturday, August 13, 2011, at the Marriott Halifax Harbourfront Hotel in the Halifax ABC Room, from 12:30 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. The event is open to accredited media. Please contact Hannah Bernstein for accreditation.

The entries were judged by Blair Fraser, a lawyer with Cox & Palmer in Moncton, Antoine Hacault of Thompson Dorfman Sweatman LLP in Winnipeg, and Lisa Taylor, a former practicing lawyer who is currently a journalism instructor at Ryerson University.

Last year, a team from the Victoria Times Colonist, including reporters Louise Dickson, Lindsay Kines and Rob Shaw, editorial writer Dave Obee, columnist Les Leyne, and city editor Stephanie Coombs, was the winner in the print category for a series on access to information in the British Columbia courts, published in February 2010. A team from Radio-Canada's Enquête, including journalist Pasquale Turbide and producer Johanne Bonneau, was the winner in the broadcast category for a February 2010 show entitled "Délateurs en liberté" on the practice of paying informants.

The criteria for judging entries are accuracy, effectiveness in explaining legal issues to the public, informational value, insight and originality. This year's submissions were published or broadcast between May 16, 2010 and May 15, 2011.

-30-

Ref.:

Hannah Bernstein
The Canadian Bar Association
Aug. 12-16: 902-492-7889
E-mail: hannahb@cba.org