SOQUIJ: Databases dedicated to Quebec law Alexandre Di Giacobbe Client services advisor October 25, 2012

PART I - PARTNERS IN THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE IN QUEBEC SOQUIJs mandate Reception and publication of judgments Services for the general public

PART II – VALUE-ADDED SERVICES FOR PROFESSIONALS Case law in Juris.doc Express newsletters Collections

PART III - PLUMITIFS: A HISTORY Court house ledgers Municipal court ledgers

PART I SOQUIJ: AN OVERVIEW Semipublic corporation since 1976 Incorporating statute (R.S.Q., c. S-20) OBJECTS Promote research Process legal data Improve quality and accessibility

RECEPTION AND PUBLICATION OF JUDGMENTS Collection of decisions rendered by courts and by other bodies and administrative tribunals

COURTS The transmission and reception of judgments is a joint effort by the Quebec Department of Justice, the judiciary and SOQUIJ. More than 30,000 judgments a year. Over time, the procedure for transmitting and receiving judgments has been simplified and automated.

ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNALS AND OTHER BODIES Individual agreements with each body. Over 50,000 judgments a year. Transmission and reception procedures similar to those for the courts.

SERVICES FOR THE GENERAL PUBLIC

PART II: VALUE-ADDED SERVICES FOR PROFESSIONALS

SELECTION RULES Our team applies the following criteria when selecting judgments: A new point of law A new departure in case law Unusual facts Substantial documentary information A discussion of a specific social problems From the By-law respecting the collection and selection of judicial decisions (c. S-20, r.0.1).

CASE LAW RESEARCH IN JURIS.DOC Judgments are selected, classified, summarized and published in the Juris.doc databases. Juris.doc databases are the first choice for precise and efficient legal documentation searches.

ANNOTATED CLASSIFICATION SCHEME All of the databases feature a classification scheme. Most of the documentation SOQUIJ publishes is categorized into subject headings. The classification scheme is a valuable tool for launching a search.

INDEX FIELDS Refine the scope of your queries to obtain results relevant to your issue. Developing search skills allows researchers to take full advantage of the features.

INDEX FIELDS (List of results)

EXPRESS NEWSLETTERS 20 specialized subjects Product tailored to your needs Daily or weekly notices

COLLECTIONS: In partnership with Wilson & Lafleur Code civil du Québec annoté Baudouin Renaud Alter Ego – Code de procédure civile du Québec

COLLECTIONS: In collaboration with the AAPI (Quebec freedom of information and privacy association) A practical guide to information access and protection – an essential tool for information access professionals

PART III: PLUMITIFS: A HISTORY

How did users get information about cases?

COURT HOUSE LEDGERS Civil Criminal Statutory Finance and Income Searches by name, case number, or occurrence reports.

COURT HOUSE LEDGERS

PLUMITIFS: Municipal Courts Over 80 municipalities throughout Quebec. Information on prosecutions instituted in municipal courts (for example, under the Criminal Code, the Highway Safety Code, and municipal by-laws)

CONCLUSION

SOQUIJ fulfills its mandate as a distributor of legal information to the general public by collecting the decisions of courts and tribunals and providing access to them through jugements.qc.ca. It fulfills its mandate as a publisher serving legal professionals by providing access to its databases and value-added services through AZIMUT.

SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE es.twitter.com/SOQUIJ

THANK YOU! Have a great conference!