13th Annual Regional Socio-Legal Conference, Centre of Criminology, University of Toronto
Prof. Condon writes:
The 13th annual Ontario/New York Regional Sociolegal Studies conference was held at University of Toronto Centre of Criminology’s wonderful new premises in the Canadiana Building at Queen’s Park on May 8, 2008. There were approximately 30 participants from University of Toronto, York, Carleton, University at Buffalo and the Baldy Center for Law and Social Policy. Apart from opportunities for informal exchanges among participants, there were two main thematic roundtables. One concerned social movements and anti-discrimination and the other dealt with the interaction between risk knowledges and legal policy and decisionmaking. A remarkable feature of the presentations throughout the day was the wide range of casestudies canvassed: European anti-racism, LGBT social movements, history of civil rights activism, mental illness advocacy, citizenship and discourses of terrorism, energy and biotechnology policy, aboriginal justice processes, foster care funding, pension plan governance.
A central theme of the morning discussion was the idea of “framing” an issue and the factors that contributed to certain kinds of frames. For example, who is an “acceptable” citizen, what is a legitimate definition of “racism”, how do some kinds of activism get validated and others do not? Read the rest of this entry »
featuring a replica journal made of icing sugar was enjoyed by all. I attended a session organized by the Law Commission in which they sought feedback on research they are conducting into the extension of tort liability of public authorities prior to the completion of a consultation paper. Discussion centred on the plurality of legal and quasi-legal mechanisms through which public authorities might be held accountable. There was strong support for the idea that the role of ombudsman schemes should be considered alongside tortious liability. There was also discussion of the role of insurers both in promoting and impeding accountability through liability. Next year’s conference will be held in Leicester and will be organised by De Montfort University, 7-9 April 2009. 
