Prime Minister François Legault mentioned this week, as if nothing had happened, having “spoken” to “judges” about the decision of the Chief Judge of the Court of Quebec, Lucie Rondeau, to allow the 160 magistrates to the Criminal Chamber to sit every other day rather than two days out of three. ” [Ils] are a little embarrassed by the situation, ”he said in an interview broadcast on LCN Monday evening.
François Legault did not stop there. The seasoned politician added that the “pressure” from judges – who say to each other “well, let’s see, it doesn’t make sense what we’re doing now, we’re going to be hated by the people of Quebec”, he said — could force the Chief Justice to retreat.
More than one viewer remained indifferent. University of Montreal law professor Martine Valois saw it as an attack with “unprecedented pressure” against the principle of judicial independence, which she studied from every angle – or almost. “It’s worrying and it’s problematic,” she said in an interview with The duty. Here, the separation of powers is abused because the legislative power and the executive power, publicly, undermine the moral authority of the courts and undermine, in my opinion, the principle of judicial independence,” she continues.
And, the judges with whom Mr. Legault says he spoke should have retained their language, believes the former senior drafting advisor within the Commission of Inquiry into the Quebec Judicial Appointment Process (Bastarache Commission , 2010-2011). The Judicial Code of Ethics stipulates that “in his public behavior, the judge must show reserve, courtesy and serenity” (article 8), in addition to submitting “to the administrative directives of his chief judge” ( article 9) and “to preserve the integrity and uphold the independence of the judiciary, in the best interests of justice and society” (article 10). “Does this prevent judges from expressing their displeasure in private to people? This is a question that arises,” says Martine Valois. Before adding: “But that the Prime Minister repeats this to undermine the public’s confidence in the Court of Quebec… and that if there are delays in justice, it is because of the judge chief, it is very problematic, under constitutional principles. »
François Legault does not hesitate to break sugar on the back of Chief Justice Lucie Rondeau, even though the Superior Court of Quebec and the Court of Appeal of Quebec have both been called upon to determine whether she “can […] decide unilaterally […] to reduce the number of days on which the judges assigned to the Criminal and Penal Chamber sit, which will have the effect of lengthening judicial delays”.
“Bad decision” “It’s not acceptable” “The judges decide unilaterally to reduce by about 20-25% the number of days, the number of hours that they work… that they sit, without reducing their salary, ”lamented the head of government to journalist Paul Larocque on Monday.
So much for the rule of sub justice, which invites parliamentarians to “avoid placing themselves in a situation where they could hinder or influence a case pending before a court”. “This is a rule to which they voluntarily adhere in deference to the judiciary and in the name of fairness, which also reflects their respect for the separation of the powers of the State”, specifies theEncyclopedia of Quebec parliamentarism.
Mr. Legault was more circumspect during the opening speech of the 43e legislature Wednesday. He addressed the “challenge […] of access to justice” without mentioning the politico-legal standoff between his government and the Court of Quebec. “I see chief justices who are there,” he said, looking towards the stands overlooking the official opposition members in front of him. “We are open to discussing and improving certain jobs to be more attractive, to reviewing the organization of work, to better integrating digital technologies, because there is a lot of catching up to do on this side, to find practices to avoid judicialization”, he contented himself with saying.
The Chief Justice of Quebec, Manon Savard, was in the stands throughout her presentation of the general policy of the government. The Chief Justice of the Superior Court of Quebec, Marie-Anne Paquette, too. The chief judge of the Court of Quebec, Lucie Rondeau, was for her part retained elsewhere. “She had to decline the invitation given her commitments that she had to respect,” explained her executive assistant, Anne Latulippe, in an email exchange with The duty. “Any inference that there is a connection between the Chief Justice’s absence from the Blue Room on November 30 and ongoing litigation would mislead the public,” she added.
Still brandishing the “principle of the separation of powers”, Martine Valois does not see the “usefulness”, and even less the “necessity” of inviting the chief justices to the “political speeches of the government”, no matter what says the order of precedence of the authorities summoned individually in the public ceremonies organized by the government of Quebec.