Developments at the Ottawa Law Review since 2009.

• Author: Power, Mark C.

The Ottawa Law Review (the "Review") is pleased to be publishing this third issue and would like to take this opportunity to share some information about a number of significant developments that have taken place in 2009-2010, (1) 2010-2011 (2) and 2011-2012. (3)

The Review is a bilingual academic journal that has published scholarly articles and other submissions that encourage the expression of diverse opinions on a broad range of topics since 1966. Its Editorial Board is composed of students in the English and French Common Law programs of the University of Ottawa's Faculty of Law. The Editorial Board manages and edits the Review under the supervision of a faculty adviser from each program. (4) Former members of the Editorial Board have achieved great success after completing their studies, and together they form an important network of leading figures in the legal community (both in Ontario and elsewhere), in the judiciary and in the academic community.

There have been developments at the Review of which the public is not aware, but that are nevertheless important. In the winter of 2010, the Review expanded its mandate to include publication of scholarly submissions whether or not they relate to Canadian topics. This new focus reflects the globalization of the law and legal research, the global reach of the Review, and it is also part of an effort to forge links with French-speaking legal communities elsewhere. As well, the Review is endeavouring to improve the quality of the content it publishes; all submissions that pass the internal preliminary evaluation stage are then reviewed by at least two external reviewers. The Review is now publishing three issues per volume, and has seen growth in both the number of pages published and the number of submissions received.

In the winter of 2011, a clear majority of the student body of the Common Law Section decided that all students would now be required to pay an annual set fee to ensure the Review's financial stability. The Review also undertook initiatives to locate its former members and renew contact with them by organizing an annual event to which they would be invited, and also to cement relations among current members by organizing more social activities. There have also been a number of administrative developments since 2009 (5) that enable editors to devote more time to the Review's scholarly contributions. First year students now participate in the process of verifying the sources of submissions accepted for publication. The French Common Law Program is fully represented on the Review. Furthermore, starting in 2012-2013, also for the first time, all members of the Editorial Board of the Review will be required to write a legal note, (6) the best of which will be published in the Review, and to attend a weekly three-hour seminar.

The results have been tremendous, and the number of scholarly contributions to the Review's has increased.

For two years now, as one of its new initiatives, the Review has organized an annual nation-wide symposium to commemorate the 25th anniversary of a decision of the Supreme Court of Canada. This unprecedented initiative on the part of a student-run scholarly review resulted in the very successful events held in recognition of the decisions in R v Oakes, [1986] 1 SCR 103 (7) and Re BC Motor Vehicle Act, [1985] 2 SCR 486. (8)

In another initiative, the Faculty of Law has adopted the practice of welcoming judges who are newly appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada. The Review publishes not only the speeches made by the new judges, but also the introductory remarks by the Right Honourable Chief Justice of Canada and the Deans of the Faculty of Law. These give the legal community one of their...