''Re Therrien'',
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2 S.C.R. 3, 2001 SCC 35, is a leading decision of the
Supreme Court of Canada
The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; french: Cour suprême du Canada, CSC) is the highest court in the judicial system of Canada. It comprises nine justices, whose decisions are the ultimate application of Canadian law, and grants permission to ...
on
judicial independence.
Background
In the 1970s, Richard Therrien was convicted of assisting four members of the
Front de libération du Québec
The (FLQ) was a Marxist–Leninist and Quebec separatist guerrilla group. Founded in the early 1960s with the aim of establishing an independent and socialist Quebec through violent means, the FLQ was considered a terrorist group by the Cana ...
during the
October Crisis
The October Crisis (french: Crise d'Octobre) refers to a chain of events that started in October 1970 when members of the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) kidnapped the provincial Labour Minister Pierre Laporte and British diplomat James Cr ...
. Once he was released he studied law and was eventually given a pardon. Years later he applied for a position on the Quebec bench as a judge. As part of his application he disclosed his criminal record and his pardon. He was rejected based on this history. Later he applied again, this time he did not reveal his criminal history and was accepted. Once the committee discovered the existence of a criminal history they got the
Minister of Justice
A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a Ministry (government department), ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of ju ...
to issue a complaint to the Quebec Conseil de la magistrature. The Conseil found the complaint to be justified and recommended that he be removed from the bench.
Therrien applied to have the decision of the Conseil to be judicially reviewed and challenged the constitutionality of the removal process under the ''Courts of Justice Act''. The Minister of Justice applied to have Therrien's applications dismissed. The
Quebec Court of Appeal
The Court of Appeal of Quebec (sometimes referred to as Quebec Court of Appeal or QCA) (in French: ''la Cour d'appel du Québec'') is the highest judicial court in Quebec, Canada. It hears cases in Quebec City and Montreal.
History
The Court wa ...
dismissed Therrien's application for review.
Opinion of the Court
Justice Gonthier, writing for a unanimous Court, dismissed Therrien's appeal.
Gonthier dismissed the first argument by Therrien that the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court did not have jurisdiction over the matter. Section 95 of the ''Courts of Justice Act'' clearly granted the right to the courts to review the decisions of the inquiry panel.
Gonthier considered whether section 95 of the ''Courts of Justice Act'', which established the requirements to remove a judge, violated the constitutional principle of judicial independence guaranteed under the
preamble
A preamble is an introductory and expressionary statement in a document that explains the document's purpose and underlying philosophy. When applied to the opening paragraphs of a statute, it may recite historical facts pertinent to the subj ...
of the ''
Constitution Act, 1867
The ''Constitution Act, 1867'' (french: Loi constitutionnelle de 1867),''The Constitution Act, 1867'', 30 & 31 Victoria (U.K.), c. 3, http://canlii.ca/t/ldsw retrieved on 2019-03-14. originally enacted as the ''British North America Act, 186 ...
''. He found that judicial independence did not extend so far as to require that any removal of a judge must involve an address to the legislature and so section 95 was constitutional.
See also
*
Valente v R
''Valente v R'', 9852 S.C.R. 673 is a leading Supreme Court of Canada decision on protection of judicial independence under section 11(d) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Background
A Provincial Court of Ontario judge held that h ...
*
Beauregard v Canada
*
Mackeigan v Hickman ''Mackeigan v Hickman'', 9892 S.C.R. 796 is a leading Supreme Court of Canada decision on judicial independence. The Court unanimously held that to require a federal judge to explain his or her decisions would violate the principle of judicial ind ...
*
R v Généreux ''R v Généreux'', 9921 S.C.R. 259 is a leading Supreme Court of Canada decision where the Court ruled that that the military court martial system must comply with the constitutional requirements for judicial independence under section 11(d) of t ...
*
Provincial Judges Reference
The ''Reference re Remuneration of Judges of the Provincial Court (P.E.I.)'' 9973 S.C.R. 3 is a leading opinion of the Supreme Court of Canada in response to a reference question regarding remuneration and the independence and impartiality of ...
*
External links
*
case summary at mapleleafweb.com
Canadian constitutional case law
Supreme Court of Canada cases
October Crisis
2001 in Canadian case law
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