The National Self-Represented Litigants Project (NSRLP) is committed to advancing understanding of the challenges and hard choices facing the very large numbers of Canadians who now come to court without counsel.
The NSRLP works to promote dialogue and collaboration among all those affected by the self-represented litigant phenomenon, both justice system professionals and litigants themselves. We regularly publish resources designed specifically for SRLs, as well as research reports that examine the implications for the justice system.
Submissions from 2024
Virtual Justice: A Complex Portrait of Canadian Self-Represented Litigant Experiences with Virtual Hearings, Jennifer Leitch, Dayna Cornwall, and David Lundgren
Tracking the Trends of the Self-Represented Litigant Phenomenon: Data from the National Self-Represented Litigants Project, 2021-2023, Keerthi Chintapalli
Submissions from 2023
Voices and Visions of the Future: The Stories of Self-Represented Litigants who are Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence, Madhurie Dhanrajh
Submissions from 2021
Struggling for Accommodation: Barriers to Accessibility faced by Cognitively Disabled Self-Represented Litigants, Shannon Meikle; Silvia Battaglia,; and Julie Macfarlane
Tracking the Trends of the Self-Represented Litigant Phenomenon: Data from the National Self-Represented Litigants Project, 2019-2021, Julie Macfarlane and Charlotte Sullivan
Pintea v Johns: An Updated Commentary, Anjanee Naidu and Julie Macfarlane
Submissions from 2020
Tracking the Trends of the Self-Represented Litigant Phenomenon: Data from the National Self-Represented Litigants Project, 2018/2019, Kaila Scarrow, Brandon Fragomeni, and Julie Macfarlane
Submissions from 2019
Self-Represented Litigants & Legal Doctrines of “Vexatiousness” - An Interim Report from The National Self-Represented Litigants Project, Julie Macfarlane and Megan Campbell
Access to Justice Annotated Bibliography: February 2019 V.6, Megan Campbell
Submissions from 2018
Continuing the Dialogue, Julie Macfarlane, Moya McAlister, and Rebecca Flynn
Pintea v Johns: 18 Months Later, Kaila Scarrow and Julie Macfarlane
Substantial & Punitive Costs Awards Against Self-Represented Litigants, Julie Macfarlane and Ashley Haines
Is Access to Court Transcripts in Canada an A2J Issue?, Julie Macfarlane, Kaila Scarrow, and Becky Robinet
When Judges See SRLs, Do They See Gender? Observations on Gendered Characterizations in Judgment, Julie Macfarlane and Sandra Shushani
Tracking the Trends of the Self-Represented Litigant Phenomenon: Data from the National Self-Represented Litigants Project, 2017, Kaila Scarrow, Julie Macfarlane, and Becky Robinet
Submissions from 2017
Introducing the Self-Represented Litigant Case Law Database, Lidia Imbrogno, Julie Macfarlane, and Sandra Shushani
Family Legal Services Review Submission on Paralegal Practice, Julie Macfarlane
Family Legal Services Review Submission on Unbundling & Legal Coaching, Nikki Gershbain
Access to Justice Annotated Bibliography: May 2017 V.5, Joanna Pawlowski
Tracking the Continuing Trends of the Self-Represented Litigants Phenomenon: Data from the National Self-Represented Litigants Project, 2015-2016, Julie Macfarlane, Gurleen Gill, and Piper Riley Thompson
Submissions from 2015
The Use of Summary Judgment Procedures Against Self-Represented Litigants: Efficient Case Management or Denial of Access to Justice?, Julie Macfarlane, Katrina Trask, and Erin Chesney
Tracking the Continuing Trends of the Self-Represented Litigant Phenomenon, Julie Macfarlane, Erin Chesney, and Susan Rice
Submissions from 2013
Opening the Dialogue: The SRL Phenomenon - Final Event Report, Julie Macfarlane
The National Self-Represented Litigants Project: Identifying and Meeting the Needs of Self-Represented Litigants Final Report, Julie Macfarlane
The National Self-Represented Litigants Project: Identifying and Meeting the Needs of Self-Represented Litigants Final Report, Julie Macfarlane
Submissions from 2012
What Court Staff Told Us: A Summary from the National Self-Represented Litigants Study 2011-2012, Julie Macfarlane and Hannah Bahmanpour