The objective of the Justice Review Task Force is to identify a wide range of reform ideas and initiatives that may help us make the justice system more responsive, accessible and cost-effective. To this end, the Task Force provides a forum for its participants to exchange information, engage in mutual consultation respecting proposed administrative, procedural or program changes, and coordinate initiatives where appropriate.

As a first step, the Task Force has developed a list of potential justice system reforms that may be worthy of further exploration, and has released it publicly as "Exploring Fundamental Change: A Compendium of Potential Justice System Reforms". The list is drawn from numerous reports and studies published from around the world over the last 5 or 10 years respecting problems in the civil and criminal justice systems.¹

In circulating the document, the Task Force hopes to generate a discussion among people with an interest in the justice system about the reforms on the list. The feedback we receive from the public and the profession will help us to select and prioritize reforms for further exploration. As a result of the responses to the paper, certain items may come off the list. And, of course, the list is not exhaustive and we hope that individuals and organizations will suggest additions.

As it proceeds to explore certain reforms in more detail, the Task Force will be mindful of the importance of benefiting from the expertise and gaining the support of all those who participate in the justice system, not just those represented on the committee. To that end, the following principles will guide our work:

• Those with a significant interest in the issue being explored should be involved in the process.

• Involvement should be meaningful. Those who are interested in being involved in the discussions should have access to relevant information and the opportunity to participate effectively throughout the further development and implementation of any reform initiative.

• The process for development of the reforms should be flexible. How a plan is developed may vary with each initiative.

• The people involved in designing the plan may be as important as the design itself. Plans for the development of a particular reform idea should be designed with, not for, those who use or are affected by them.

1 The main reports are: Access to Justice: The Report of the Justice Reform Committee, BC, 1988; Civil Justice Review, Ontario, 1996; Systems of Civil Justice Task Force Report, Canadian Bar Association, 1996; Lord Woolf’s Report on Access to Justice, England, 1996 (www.lcd.gov.uk/civil/finalfr.htm); Managing Justice: A Review of the Federal Civil Justice System, Australian Law Reform Commission, 1999 (www.austlii.edu.au/au/other/alrc/publications/reports/89/index.html).