CanLII

<h2 id="background">Background</h2>
CanLII offers free public access to over 2.4 million documents<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:2" href="#fn:2">2</a> across more than 300 case law and legislative databases.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3">3</a> The official websites of provincial governments, which provide access to primary legislative documents, are linked to CANLII online.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4">4</a> The CANLII database is one of the most comprehensive collections of Canadian federal, provincial and territorial legislation.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5">5</a> It is used by lawyers, legal professionals and the general public, with usage averaging over 30,000 visits per day.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6">6</a> The case law database is reportedly growing at a rate of approximately 120,000 new cases each year, 20% of which are historic cases which are included to enrich existing databases.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7">7</a>

<h2 id="history">History</h2>
In April 2014, CanLII launched CanLII Connects, a legal community sourced publication and discussion platform for case law summaries and commentaries.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8">8</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9">9</a>
In March 2018, CanLII launched a commentary program including law reviews, e-books, articles, public legal education materials, and reports.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10">10</a>
In June 2020, CanLII started actively promoting the CanLII guest writer program.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11">11</a> As of February 2024<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=CanLII&action=edit">[update]</a>, CanLII is piloting the use of a <a href="/facts/Large_language_model/WnogWVJY">large language model</a> to generate <a href="/facts/Artificial_intelligence/lJGauQwX">artificial intelligence</a> case summaries.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:12" href="#fn:12">12</a>
Other websites will often use CanLII as their primary source when referring to Canadian case law,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:13" href="#fn:13">13</a> and as of the 10th Edition of the <a href="/facts/Canadian_Guide_to_Uniform_Legal_Citation/Yp2Lejn3">Canadian Guide to Uniform Legal Citation</a>, is the designated preferred <a href="/facts/Case_citation/EGhw3TGz">citation</a>, in the absence of official court-issued <a href="/facts/Neutral_citation/EGhw3TGz">neutral citations</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:14" href="#fn:14">14</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:15" href="#fn:15">15</a>
In November 2024, CanLII filed a copyright lawsuit against an AI company called <a href="https://caseway.ai">Caseway</a>. <a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:16" href="#fn:16">16</a> <a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:17" href="#fn:17">17</a>

<h2 id="external-links">External links</h2>
<ul><li><a href="https://www.canlii.org/en/">Official website</a> </li></ul>

<h2 id="references">References</h2>

<ol>
<li id="fn:1">"Canadian Legal Information Institute (CanLII) acquires Lexum, a Montreal technology firm". canlii.org. 2018-02-28. Retrieved 2019-11-26. <a href="https://blog.canlii.org/2018/02/28/canadian-legal-information-institute-canlii-acquires-montreal-technology-firm-2/" target="_blank">https://blog.canlii.org/2018/02/28/canadian-legal-information-institute-canlii-acquires-montreal-technology-firm-2/</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:2">"CanLII - Search all CanLII Databases". Canlii.ca. Retrieved 2018-09-12. <a href="http://www.canlii.org/en/#search/" target="_blank">http://www.canlii.org/en/#search/</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:3">"CanLII - Scope of CanLII's Databases". Canlii.ca. Retrieved 2018-09-12. <a href="http://www.canlii.org/en/databases.html" target="_blank">http://www.canlii.org/en/databases.html</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:4">Dina, Yemisi (2015-04-10). Law Librarianship in Academic Libraries: Best Practices. Chandos Publishing. p. 30. ISBN 978-0-08-100179-0. <a href="978-0-08-100179-0" target="_blank">978-0-08-100179-0</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:5">Siu, Bobby (2020-04-21). "Appendix 2". Developing Public Policy, Second Edition: A Practical Guide. Canadian Scholars’ Press. ISBN 978-1-77338-175-6. <a href="978-1-77338-175-6" target="_blank">978-1-77338-175-6</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:6">"CanLII's Top Ten Accessed Cases from 2018 – Slaw". www.slaw.ca. 17 December 2018. Retrieved 2018-12-17. <a href="http://www.slaw.ca/2018/12/17/top-ten-accessed-cases-from-2018/" target="_blank">http://www.slaw.ca/2018/12/17/top-ten-accessed-cases-from-2018/</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:7">"Un million de décisions..." droit-inc.com. 2012-02-21. Retrieved 2012-02-26. <a href="http://www.droit-inc.com/article7076-Un-million-de-decisions" target="_blank">http://www.droit-inc.com/article7076-Un-million-de-decisions</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:8">"CanLII Connects!". National Magazine. Canadian Bar Association. Archived from the original on 2014-10-19. Retrieved 2014-10-10. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20141019092905/http://nationalmagazine.ca/Blog/April-2014/CanLII-Connects!.aspx" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20141019092905/http://nationalmagazine.ca/Blog/April-2014/CanLII-Connects!.aspx</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:9">Kowalski, Mitch (4 April 2014). "CanLII Connects website connects accessible law to Canadians". Financial Post. Retrieved 10 October 2014. <a href="http://business.financialpost.com/2014/04/04/canlii-connects-website-connects-accessible-law-to-canadians/" target="_blank">http://business.financialpost.com/2014/04/04/canlii-connects-website-connects-accessible-law-to-canadians/</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:10">"More commentary!". The CanLII Blog. 2018-04-20. Retrieved 2018-09-12. <a href="https://blog.canlii.org/2018/04/20/more-commentary/" target="_blank">https://blog.canlii.org/2018/04/20/more-commentary/</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:11">"CanLII | Common Law Marriage in British Columbia". commentary.canlii.org. Retrieved 2020-06-19. <a href="https://commentary.canlii.org/w/canlii/2020CanLIIDocs1606#!fragment//BQCwhgziBcwMYgK4DsDWszIQewE4BUBTADwBdoByCgSgBpltTCIBFRQ3AT0otokLC4EbDtyp8BQkAGU8pAELcASgFEAMioBqAQQByAYRW1SYAEbRS2ONWpA" target="_blank">https://commentary.canlii.org/w/canlii/2020CanLIIDocs1606#!fragment//BQCwhgziBcwMYgK4DsDWszIQewE4BUBTADwBdoByCgSgBpltTCIBFRQ3AT0otokLC4EbDtyp8BQkAGU8pAELcASgFEAMioBqAQQByAYRW1SYAEbRS2ONWpA</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:12">CanLII, Steinlauf v. Deol (AI Case Analysis), accessed 17 February 2024 <a href="https://canliiconnects.org/en/summaries/93556" target="_blank">https://canliiconnects.org/en/summaries/93556</a> <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:13">"Caselaw.ninja, retrieved 2021-06-17". Retrieved Dec 30, 2022. <a href="https://caselaw.ninja/index.php/Main_Page" target="_blank">https://caselaw.ninja/index.php/Main_Page</a> <a href="#fnref:13" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:14">Rosborough, Hannah (2023-10-17). "McGill Guide 10th Edition: Hierarchy of Sources". Slaw. Retrieved 2024-04-21. <a href="https://www.slaw.ca/2023/10/17/mcgill-guide-10th-edition-hierarchy-of-sources/" target="_blank">https://www.slaw.ca/2023/10/17/mcgill-guide-10th-edition-hierarchy-of-sources/</a> <a href="#fnref:14" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:15">"On CanLII's new place in the McGill Guide's hierarchy of sources". The CanLII Blog. 2023-11-15. Retrieved 2024-04-21. <a href="https://blog.canlii.org/2023/11/15/on-canliis-new-place-in-the-mcgill-guides-hierarchy-of-sources/" target="_blank">https://blog.canlii.org/2023/11/15/on-canliis-new-place-in-the-mcgill-guides-hierarchy-of-sources/</a> <a href="#fnref:15" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:16">Riehl, Alex (2024-11-08). "Online legal database CanLII sues Caseway AI for copyright infringement | BetaKit". Retrieved 2025-02-01. <a href="https://betakit.com/online-legal-database-canlii-sues-caseway-ai-for-alleged-copyright-infringement/" target="_blank">https://betakit.com/online-legal-database-canlii-sues-caseway-ai-for-alleged-copyright-infringement/</a> <a href="#fnref:16" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:17">"Major Canadian Legal Research Service Sues AI Startup Claiming Wrongful Use of Its Court Decisions | LawSites". www.lawnext.com. 2024-11-08. Retrieved 2025-02-01. <a href="https://www.lawnext.com/2024/11/major-canadian-legal-research-service-sues-ai-startup-claiming-wrongful-use-of-its-court-decisions.html" target="_blank">https://www.lawnext.com/2024/11/major-canadian-legal-research-service-sues-ai-startup-claiming-wrongful-use-of-its-court-decisions.html</a> <a href="#fnref:17" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
</ol>

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