OTTAWA, June 1, 2011 – Nominations are being sought for the 12^th annual Justicia Awards for Excellence in Journalism.

The Justicia Awards celebrate outstanding broadcast and print or Web journalism that foster public awareness and understanding of the Canadian justice system. The criteria for judging entries are accuracy, originality, effectiveness in explaining issues to the public, informational value and insight. The Awards are sponsored by the Canadian Bar Association (CBA) and the Department of Justice Canada.

Two prize winners, one for excellence in broadcast and one for print or on-line publication, will be chosen by an independent judging panel selected by the CBA and the Department of Justice. The Awards will be presented at the CBA's Canadian Legal Conference in Halifax, Nova Scotia in August.

Last year, a team from the Victoria Times Colonist, including reporters Louise Dickson, Lindsay Kines and Rob Shaw, editorial writer Dave Obee, columnist Les Leyne, and city editor Stephanie Coombs, was the winner in the print category for a series on access to information in the B.C. courts, published in February 2010. A team from Radio-Canada's Enquête, including journalist Pasquale Turbide and producer Johanne Bonneau, was the winner in the broadcast category for a February 2010 show entitled "Délateurs en liberté" on the practice of paying informants.

The nomination deadline is June 20, 2011, for stories that were published or broadcast between May 15, 2010 and May 15, 2011.

Nomination forms and a full description of the judging criteria may be obtained on-line at http://www.cba.org/cba/awards/justicia/ or by contacting Alison Crone, Canadian Bar Association, at 1-800-267-8860 ext. 155 or alisonc@cba.org.

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