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Access to Justice in Both Official Languages : Improving the Bilingual Capacity of the Superior Court Judiciary
Author/contributor
Title
Access to Justice in Both Official Languages : Improving the Bilingual Capacity of the Superior Court Judiciary
Abstract
For Canadians who are members of official
language minority communities to feel
comfortable using the official language of
their choice before the superior courts, it is
crucial for these courts to be able to offer
all their services and to function in English
and in French. In this regard, the bilingual
capacity of the judiciary for superior courts
is a sine qua non condition for access to
the Canadian justice system in both official
languages and ensuring the rights of litigants
are not prejudiced by their language choice.
For superior courts and courts of appeal
to be able to respect the language rights
of litigants, it is therefore essential for the
federal Minister of Justice to appoint an
appropriate number of bilingual judges with
the language skills necessary to preside
over cases in the minority official language.
Currently, the institutional bilingual capacity
of the superior courts remains a challenge
in a number of provinces and territories.
Another challenge lies in judges’ ability to
maintain their language skills at a level that
is sufficient to preside over a hearing in their
second official language.
The Commissioner of Official Languages of
Canada, in partnership with François Boileau,
the French Language Services Commissioner
of Ontario and Michel Carrier, the Commissioner
of Official Languages for New Brunswick,
decided in 2012 to conduct an in-depth
study on two issues that have an impact
on the bilingual capacity of superior court
judges: the judicial appointment process
and the language training available to
judges appointed to superior courts.
Date
2013
Pages
52
Language
en
Rights
You are not authorized to use or reproduce this work for any commercial purpose or to further distribute, perform, or alter works in any way without express permission of the owner of the copyright or proxy.
Citation
Canada. Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages. Access to Justice in Both Official Languages : Improving the Bilingual Capacity of the Superior Court Judiciary, 2013.
Subject
- Government and Law
- Language and Language Use
Geographical area
- Canada
Type
- Report
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