Beverley McLachlin, chief justice of Canada, will deliver the second annual Francis Forbes Law Lecture on Memorial’s St. John’s campus.

She will speak on the topic Canada’s Criminal Justice System in the 21st Century: Addressing the Challenges on Oct. 19.

Canada has achieved a justice system that is the envy of many countries.

However, ensuring that all Canadians — be they rich or poor, privileged or marginalized — have proper access to a system and are treated fairly in that system requires ongoing work. The criminal justice system faces especially daunting challenges.

The lecture will underscore the importance of access to justice for maintaining confidence in the justice system and in the rule of law. It will also propose ways to address the challenges that currently affect Canada’s criminal justice system.

Legal issues of public concern

The lecture series is co-sponsored by Memorial University’s Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, the Law Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador and the Law Society of Newfoundland and Labrador.

It was initiated in 2016 to address legal issues of public concern and to unite Memorial University and the provincial legal community in a venture seeking to examine the public interest.

The Francis Forbes Law Lecture takes place Thursday, Oct. 19, at 7:30 p.m. in IIC-2001, Bruneau Centre for Research and Innovation. A reception will follow the lecture.

Sir Francis Forbes was appointed Chief Justice in the Supreme Court of Judicature in Newfoundland in 1816 and was to serve in this position until 1822. Thereafter he served as an advisor in the colonial office in London, followed by a distinguished career as the chief justice of the Supreme Court in New South Wales. Forbes was powerfully influential in furthering constitutionalism and the rule of law in Newfoundland.