If you think the costs of delivering an effective civil justice system are high, imagine the costs of not doing so.

Access to justice is a basic right of economic citizenship, but there are concerns that unmet legal needs in Canada’s justice system are reaching a crisis. The Justice Crisis: The Cost and Value of Accessing Law is a collection of insights by 24 Canadian and U.S. scholars that explores many elements of the access to justice crises.

“Our particular focus is on reporting groundbreaking empirical research to address two main research questions: what does it cost to deliver an effective civil justice system, and what does it cost – economically and socially – if we fail to do so,” noted Lesley Jacobs, who co-edited the book along with fellow York University professor Trevor Farrow.

The book provides empirical research on what is working, and what is not, in civil and family justice in Canada. Topics addressed by authors in individual chapters include: the extent and cost of unmet legal needs, the role of public funding, connections between legal and social exclusion among vulnerable populations, the value of new legal pathways, legal fee structures, the provision of justice services that go beyond courts and lawyers, and the need for a culture change within the justice system.

Most of the contributors are members of the Canadian Forum on Civil Justice (CFCJ) Cost of Justice project research alliance. The book is published through UBC Press.