Bijuralism in Canada: Harmonization and Terminology

APPENDIX II

Mandate of the Civil Code Section

The mandate of the Civil Code Section is to implement the Program for the Harmonization Federal Legislation with the civil law of the Province of Quebec. It is made up of four components.

Harmonization of statutes and regulations
  • harmonize federal legislation that refers to provincial private law with Quebec civil law, in a manner that respects common law and the two official languages;
  • achieve this harmonization in cooperation with the Legislative Services Branch and in conjunction with departmental legal services units, and Crown agencies and corporations served by the Department of Justice.
Bilingual documentation and terminology
  • maintain a documentation centre and a computerized databank specialized in civil law, comparative law (civil and common) and in bijural terminology;
  • develop bijural terminological records and make them available to legal counsel translators and other interested persons.
Consultative services in civil law and harmonization
  • provide specialized civil law legal opinions to departments, agencies and Crown corporations served by the Department of Justice;
  • provide consulting services in the area of policy development.
Development and sharing of harmonization  expertise
  • disseminate work tools developed by the Civil Code Section relating to the process and methodology of harmonization;
  • publish studies and bijural vocabularies on the harmonization of federal legislation with Quebec civil law;
  • provide training on the harmonization of federal legislation with Quebec civil law;
  • share expertise in the harmonization of federal legislation with Quebec civil law through activities designed to promote Canadian bijuralism.