About Us
What is the HLI?
The Health Law Institute was founded in 1977 by Madam Justice Ellen Picard (Alberta Court of Appeal) who was a Professor in the Faculty of Law, University of Alberta with a passionate interest in health law. The Institute began as a resource centre.
Over the past 10 years, it has developed into an international centre for health law providing public legal education and undertaking research on current issues.
As a non-profit organization, the HLI acknowledges the generous support of the Alberta Law Foundation.
Additional funding is received through grants and projects.
What can the HLI do for you?
Education: The Institute provides legal education to health care professionals, students and any interested community groups in the area of health law. See "What is Health Law?" below for an idea of some of the issues we have dealt with in the past. However, we are prepared to direct lectures toward any interests in this area expressed by members of your community and welcome any suggestions you might have in this regard.
Research: The Institute conducts research on current issues in health law, and in response to significant developments in legislation, case law, provincial and federal policy.
Other Activities: We do consulting for both public and private stakeholders. The Institute has a number of information resources available to health care providers, practicing lawyers, students and members of the public. We have had the opportunity to be involved in a number of policy initiatives. We have extensive experience organizing a variety of workshops and major conferences. We have representatives on numerous regional, national and international health policy and research ethics committees. The Institute publishes the Health Law Journal on an annual basis. This is a peer reviewed publication of interest to the legal and health care professions, and the academic community. The Health Law Review is published 3 times per year and meets the needs of a more general audience in covering developments in health care.
What is health law?
In legal practice, “health law” is often thought of as being synonymous with personal injury and medical-legal litigation. In reality, health law is much more comprehensive and varied than that; it is an interdisciplinary and continually expanding area. As a result of its interdisciplinary nature, health law considers issues at the intersection of science, ethics, economics and the law. The topics researched by Institute personnel are extremely varied, including such topics as ethical and legal issues pertaining to the new genetics, questions of health care policy/reform, assisted suicide and euthanasia, personal directives, confidentiality and the handling of health information, consent to medical treatment, the legal status of the fetus, the fiduciary obligations of health care providers, and HIV/AIDS and the law.
