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/lotis/index.cfm
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Louise Otis
Quebec Court of Appeal
Edifice Ernest-Cormier
100 Notre-Dame Street East
Montreal,
QB H2Y 4B6
Phone: 514-393-2017
Fax: 514-873-0376
Email: lotis@judex.qc.ca
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Madam Justice Louise Otis was appointed to the Quebec Court of Appeal in 1993, after having served at the Superior Court of Quebec since 1990.
During her career as a lawyer, Louise Otis practiced labour law and administrative law. While practising law, Louise Otis taught Civil Procedure at Laval Universitys Faculty of Law. She also lectured in Civil Procedure, Administrative Law and Labour law at the Quebec Bar School. From 1981 1985, Louise Otis was a member of the Quebec Justice Advisory Council, advising the Quebec Minister of Justice on all matters relating to the administration of justice, particularly with regards to legislative reforms.
In 1997, while a Judge at the Quebec Court of Appeal, Louise Otis developed one of the worlds first judicial mediation systems. She later helped establish judicial mediation programs in a number of jurisdictions with the support of institutional actors including diplomats and Ministers of Justice.
At the international level, Louise Otis has been involved in the reform of Justice in different countries. In 2001 and 2006, she was mandated by the Government of Canada to establish strategic priorities for the development of justice in Mali.
In 2004, she participated in the creation of the Interim Cooperation Framework (ICF) for the Republic of Haiti. She also produced, on behalf of the Government of Canada, a blue-print for judicial reform in Haiti. In 2005 and 2006, she was asked, by the Canadian Judicial Commissioner, to participate in judicial linkages projects in China and Russia to enhance systems for case flow management with emphasis on pre-trial proceedings.
In 2005, she was asked by the Council of Europe to prepare and facilitate a 5 day seminar on judicial mediation to judges and judicial administrator of 19 European countries.
In 2006, she was appointed, as an expert on dispute resolution, by the Secretary-General Kofi Annan to a 5-member panel of international experts charged with redesigning the system of administration of justice in the United Nations, including the creation of an effective system for handling staff complaints that involves alternative form of dispute resolution such as mediation, conciliation, arbitration and ombudsman.
Louise Otis created and facilitated intensive mediation training courses in different countries and specifically for the Governments of France, Belgium, Russia, Mali and Australia. These courses focussed on developing skills in mediation, facilitation, communication, causes and responses to conflict and especially how to break impasses in difficult and complex mediations. These were generic skills adapted to the concerns of practitioners in the justice sector with judges, lawyers and paralegals but the content would be equally applicable to participants from other sectors, whether elected representatives, political advisors, defence, development or other officials, community members, etc.
Lectures and seminars
Louise Otis has given extensive public speaking and seminars on labour law, administrative law and mediation : The Council of Europe; The Harvard Fellows; Harvard University - Weatherhead Center for International Affairs; The International Academy of Mediators; The American Bar Association, Section of dispute resolution; The Conference of State and Federal ministers of Justice of Australia; the Masters Forum of Mediators at Pepperdine University, California; The Australian Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies; The European Conference of Judges and various national courts and tribunals.
She has presided in person over 400 mediations. Drawing on this experience, she has published many articles on Mediation and Negotiation in various journals. In March 2007, she presented in the Virginia International Journal of Law a system called Front-Line Justice proposing a model for the rapid re establishment of a functional justice system in societies in crisis due to warfare, ethnic conflicts, political instability, or natural disasters.
Academic recognition
In 2000, Louise Otis received an Honorary doctorate (doctorate honoris causa ) from the University of Sherbrooke in recognition for her work in developing judicial mediation program in North America.
In 2002, she received the Distinguished Service Award from the Strauss Institute For Dispute Resolution ( Pepperdine University) for her commitment to the resolution of conflicts by peaceful ways.
In 2003, Louise Otis has been the recipient of the National Order of Quebec for her exceptional contribution to the development of mediation.
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