The Minister of Justice, Simon Jolin-Barrette, announced Wednesday the appointment of Henri Richard to the position of chief judge of the Court of Quebec. The magistrate will succeed, as of October 26, Judge Lucie Rondeau, whose seven-year, non-renewable mandate expired.
Judge Richard was selected following a process launched in March 2023. In addition to occupying the highest position of the Court of Quebec, he will automatically become the president of the Conseil de la magistrature du Québec.
He previously served as Deputy Chief Justice of the Civil Division. He resigned from this position in July 2019 following a “disagreement” over a competition to select candidates for the position of judge.
At the time, Judge Rondeau announced the resumption of the selection process, not without mentioning that Judge Richard had agreed to ensure “a harmonious transition of the files for which he is responsible”.
An “advisory” committee
Judge Richard’s appointment was made after an advisory committee met with candidates for the position. This same committee then submitted an assessment report to the Minister of Justice.
In the case of Judge Richard, the advisory committee was notably made up of Ms.e Catherine Cartier, general director of the Montérégie Crime Victim Assistance Center. The Deputy Minister of Justice, Yan Paquette, the former director of criminal and penal prosecutions Annick Murphy and the former president of the Legal Services Commission Yvan Niquette were also part of the committee.
Please note: the members were selected by Minister Jolin-Barrette. This committee is different from the selection committees, the composition of which has recently been criticized, among others by the Court of Quebec and the Judicial Council.
The arrival of Judge Richard also marks the end of Judge Rondeau’s notable stint at the Court of Quebec. The magistrate and Minister Jolin-Barrette had several disagreements, on the reorganization of the work of judges, on the creation of a court specializing in sexual and domestic violence and on the bilingualism of judges, in particular.
Henri Richard, for his part, was appointed associate chief judge of the Court of Quebec in 2017, by former Minister of Justice Stéphanie Vallée. He previously sat in the Civil Division of the Court of Quebec from 2006.