Current Projects

Civil Appeal Rules

ALRI has prepared a draft set of rules for civil appeals to the Alberta Court of Appeal.  The draft rules are under review by the Court of Appeal.

Arbitration Act: Stay and Appeal Issues

A modern Arbitration Act became law in Alberta in 1991. In the two decades since then, three notable procedural issues have arisen in Alberta case law which affect the ideal functioning of the arbitration system. The first issue concerns partial stays of court proceedings under section 7(5). The second and third issues both concern appeals to the Queen’s Bench under section 44.

ALRI has published Report for Discussion 24 - Arbitration: Stay and Appeal Issues which examines all these issues in detail and seeks input. Following the consultation period, ALRI will devise its recommendations for reform and publish them in a Final Report in 2013.

Report for Discussion 24 - Arbitration: Stay and Appeal Issues can be downloaded from our website at http://www.law.ualberta.ca/alri/docs/RFD24.pdf.

Estate Administration

The purpose of the project is to review and make recommendations for reform of the substantive law of Alberta relating to estate administration. The law of estate administration in Alberta is long overdue for review and reform. If implemented, the recommendations from this project will serve to update and simplify estate administration within a consolidated succession statute. This will benefit Albertans who take the time to plan their estates as well as Alberta families dealing with estate administration for a deceased family member or friend. Report for Discussion 22 was published in September 2011 with a deadline of input of November 30th.

ALRI is working closely with Alberta Justice, and building on the consultation data available to both entities.

Posthumously Conceived Children and Succession

It is now possible for a child to be conceived after the death of one or both of its parents through the use of artificial reproductive technologies. The law has not kept pace with these advances in medical science. This project examines the legal position of posthumously conceived children with respect to inheritance under a will or on intestacy. In addition, the status of these children under the Dependants Relief Act and the Perpetuities Act is discussed. Should the law be changed to provide succession rights for a posthumously conceived child?

This Report for Discussion reviews the current law and the options for reform and is available for download here.

Not-For-Profits

The Alberta Law Reform Institute is undertaking a project to reform Alberta’s non-profit incorporation legislation.  ALRI conducted a preliminary assessment which concluded that non-profit incorporation legislation in Alberta had not kept pace with the needs of non-profit organizations in the province or with reforms in other Canadian jurisdictions. In the next phase, ALRI will meet with an expert group and prepare materials for external consultation.