An exciting new initiative in open access to law debuted today with the publication of the first issue of the Journal of Open Access to Law. A peer-reviewed academic journal, the journal is pretty much as advertised in the title, as its ambit “is to promote international research on the topic of open access to law” by providing a forum for academics as well as open-access legal publishers to discuss the issues and challenges that surround what is likely to be a significant change in the dissemination of legal information in the years to come. True to the ideology inherent in the journal’s mandate, it is available on an open-access basis.
For those on the lookout for Canadian content, the first issue includes an extensive article on Canadian case law citation analysis. While it is perhaps a bit dry, it is interesting to see the durability of Canadian Supreme Court decisions vs. other jurisdictions.