Appointment of Canadian Judges

Some major recommendations to make judicial independence and accountability more fair are:

The role of judges depends, to some extent, upon the particular bench on which he or she sits. The courts in the various jurisdictions are all governed by different enabling statutes. These statutes set out the judge’s power and the nature of the matters over which the judge has jurisdiction. Thus, the role of one judge may be somewhat different than that of another (however, these differences are minor). Generally speaking, the role of the judge within the Canadian system may be defined as that of an arbiter in resolving particular disputes. Regardless of jurisdiction, judges perform the same function: listen to evidence, hear from lawyers, think about what they have been presented with, and make a decision in an impartial manner. Any attempt at providing a more detailed description of the role of the judge in the Canadian legal system must take into account that judges themselves do not share the same belief as to their role.

econd shot at something, and every one of us will from time to time cry out against some particular decision we find wrongheaded. The process of appointing judges has not proven to be a severe threat to the final outcome of the decisions made, however, an amendment to this process will give Canadians complete satisfaction that they are being governed democratically as well as eliminating the judicial infallibility currently in place.

Where democracy is defined and our rights as Canadian citizens are stated, we are obviously not entitled to select our judges. To target the Supreme Court and magnify our attention on it excessively, the Supreme Court is a purely national institution within a federal system. Its members are appointed by the government of Canada as an exercise of pure executive fiat; there is no way of blocking an objectionable appointment, not even a leverage point from where the public can negotiate compromises. The provincial premiers find out about the new Supreme Court appointments at the same time and in the same way that the rest of us do – they hear it on the news. There is no reason to suggest that prime ministers in general have shown a tendency to stack the Court, but the point is that a prime minister could do so at any time, without any formal constraints. But to argue that Canada should begin electing its judges as its neighbours in the United States do, would be asking for only another controversial burden that would lead to even more political ties to the judiciary. Of course in Canada, it would be ridiculous to deny the fact that the process of appointment is highly political and, to put it lightly, is about “connections”. But electing judges to the bench is a process with a result that is just as politically stained as the process by which our judges are appointed in Canada. Focusing completely on the United States (judges are not elected in all the states ), those candidates wishing to be elected by the people are essentially politicians to begin with. Their campaigns follow trends identical to that of any other politician; making promises to the public that may support the values of certain groups and trample on the values of others. The campaigning ploys to win the vote, without a doubt, will turn these candidates into “law makers”. Once in office, these individuals will make an effort to change existing laws into statutes they promised their faithful electors. For example, a candidate in his or her campaign may promise being stricter on criminals, perhaps instituting the death penalty in a state that has never in the past had one, or promising certain duration of sentencing for rapists. The role of judges evolves along with society, but judges must also retain their special position of independence and public trust. Judges are expected to maintain a measured distance from governments and others in order to be able to make

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