Judicial Independence in Canada

Abstract

Reseña:This paper is submitted to the World Conference on Constitutional Justice on behalf ofthe Supreme Court of Canada in anticipation of its Second Congress to be held in Rio de JaneiroJanuary 16-18, 2011. The topic of the Congress is “Separation of Powers and Independence ofConstitutional Courts and Equivalent Bodies.” The Venice Commission has identified a numberof issues that will be addressed at the Congress, namely the independence of the constitutionalcourt as an institution, the constitutional independence of individual judges, and the operatingprocedures of courts. This submission addresses each of issues from the Canadian perspectiveand in particular that of the Supreme Court of Canada.This paper is submitted to the World Conference on Constitutional Justice on behalf ofthe Supreme Court of Canada in anticipation of its Second Congress to be held in Rio de Janeiro,January 16-18, 2011. The topic of the Congress is “Separation of Powers and Independence ofConstitutional Courts and Equivalent Bodies.” The Venice Commission has identified a numberof issues that will be addressed at the Congress, namely the independence of the constitutionalcourt as an institution, the constitutional independence of individual judges, and the operatingprocedures of courts. This submission addresses each of issues from the Canadian perspectiveand in particular that of the Supreme Court of Canada.The Supreme Court’s independence as an institution and that of its judges is undoubtedand has lead to strong public confidence in the administration of justice. We recognize that thepurpose of judicial independence is to serve the public, not the judges. In the following pages, we provide some background information on the Canadian court system and the relationship between Canada’s highest Court and the other branches ofgovernment...Concerning the second topic, the courts have full autonomy with respect to theirprocedures; all adjudicative functions are controlled by the judges....Supreme Court judges enjoy immunity from civil liability stemming from actions takenin the execution of their office.