Overview
The Criminal Section of the Uniform Law Conference of Canada (ULCC) is comprised of jurisdictional delegations of prosecutors, defence lawyers, criminal law policy experts, judges, and academics who study, discuss and debate evolving criminal law issues. As the criminal justice system in Canada is a matter of shared constitutional responsibility between the federal, provincial and territorial governments, the Criminal Section provides a unique opportunity for delegates to identify legal and operational issues and make recommendations on possible legislative reform involving the Criminal Code and related statutes such as the Youth Criminal Justice Act and the Canada Evidence Act.
At the annual meeting, the Criminal Section considers a number of resolutions from delegates proposing specific criminal law reforms, as well as reports from Criminal Section working groups on a variety of current criminal law issues. As the Criminal Section includes criminal law experts with wide-ranging experience in the criminal justice system, and across all jurisdictions, the Section also provides delegates with the opportunity to proactively consult on other issues. The Criminal Section is also provided with a yearly update on criminal law reform at the federal level. Finally, the Criminal Section works together with the Civil Section to study legal issues which involve both civil and criminal law.
A number of Criminal Section documents, including minutes, recommendations and working group reports can be found in this section of the ULCC website, as well as joint civil/criminal reports.