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Announcing the Guide canadien de la référence juridique en accès libre (RJAL) on CanLII

We are pleased to announce the publication of the Guide canadien de la référence juridique en accès libre (RJAL) on CanLII. The RJAL is the French version of the previously released Canadian Open Access Legal (COAL) Citation Guide, and it is now available to support legal writing and citation in French across Canada.

The RJAL reflects our ongoing commitment to accessibility, linguistic duality, and the development of high-quality open legal resources. By making this guide available in French, we aim to better serve jurists, academics, students, librarians, editors, and legal professionals working in French-language contexts.

How to Access the RJAL

You can consult the RJAL in three ways:

• By visiting the COAL Guide’s page on CanLII and clicking “French Version”
• By searching for Guide canadien de la référence juridique en accès libre or RJAL directly in the CanLII search engine while the French language toggle is on.
• By manually searching the ‘Books’ category of the CanLII commentary section while the French language toggle is on. The guide is fully integrated into our platform, making it easy to navigate and reference alongside other legal materials.

What Makes the RJAL Distinct

While the RJAL is based on the COAL Guide and shares its commitment to clear, consistent, and open-access citation standards, it is not simply a one-to-one translation. The RJAL has been thoughtfully adapted to reflect the linguistic and legal realities of French in Canada.

Notably, the RJAL:

• Incorporates terminology and stylistic recommendations from the Office québécois de la langue française and the Language Portal of Canada, ensuring alignment with recognized French-language standards in Canada.
• Introduces a new section on multilingual legal sources, addressing the practical and increasingly important task of citing materials that exist in more than one language.
• Includes separate rules for referencing legal encyclopedias and additional guidelines for citing multi-volume books and other similar resources These additions make the RJAL a practical and authoritative resource for citing legislation, jurisprudence, and secondary sources in French, while also acknowledging Canada’s multilingual legal environment.

Supporting Open, Accessible Legal Scholarship

The release of the RJAL marks another important step in strengthening Canada’s open legal infrastructure. By providing a freely accessible, bilingual citation guide, we hope to promote clarity, consistency, and inclusiveness in legal writing across both Anglophone and Francophone jurisdictions and communities.

We encourage members of the legal community to explore the RJAL, integrate it into their research and writing practices, and share it with colleagues and students.

We extend our sincere thanks to the COAL–RJAL Editorial Team for their dedication, expertise, and collaborative spirit in bringing this important project to completion.

COAL–RJAL Editorial Team

• Editor-in-chief, COAL/RJAL
  • James Bachmann, University of British Columbia
• Senior editor, RJAL
  • Michèle LeBlanc, University of Moncton
• Editors
  • Simon Blais Longtin, Université de Montréal
  • Jacinthe Deschatelets, Université du Québec à Montréal
  • Amy Kaufman, Queen’s University
  • Nathalie Léonard, University of Ottawa
  • Alexia Loumankis, University of Toronto
  • Luc Marceau, Université du Québec à Montréal
  • Ann Marie Melvie, Court of Appeal, Saskatchewan
  • David Michels, Dalhousie University
  • Michelle Terriss, Thompson Rivers University
• Contributors
  • Meris Bray, University of Windsor
  • Margot Cittone, Université de Sherbrooke
  • Mary Hemmings, Thompson Rivers University
  • Daniel Perlin, York University
  • Doris Wagner, University of Alberta

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- 2026-02-20
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