Canadian Judicial Council releases 2001-02 annual report
The Canadian Judicial Council today released its 2001-02 annual report, marking the 30th anniversary of its creation in December 1971.
The report provides brief highlights of the Council's major undertakings since its creation, and discusses a current review of its mandate, structure and operations by the Special Committee on Future Directions. The Special Committee brought major reports and recommendations to plenary meetings of the Council in September 2001 and March 2002.
The Council had planned to celebrate its 30th anniversary by a number of events in conjunction with its 2001-02 annual meeting, which began the day after the terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C. The events were cancelled and Council members attended a ceremony on Parliament Hill honouring the memory of the victims of the tragedy.
In her preface to the annual report, the Right Honourable Beverley McLachlin, Chairperson of the Council and Chief Justice of Canada, quotes from a letter of condolence she wrote to her counterpart, the Honourable William H. Rehnquist, Chief Justice of the United States. She wrote that the events of September 11th underline the importance of choosing the rule of law rather than the path of violence to resolve conflict in our society and the world. The letter continued:
Our task, as judges, is to do all we can to ensure that our citizens continue to choose this road. It is to that end that we strive to enhance the independence of the courts, and work to ensure that our justice system remains among the best in the world. This work is important, indeed vital, to the continued peace and stability of our society.
Under the Judges Act, the Canadian Judicial Council has the responsibility to assess alleged breaches of conduct by federally appointed judges. The annual report notes that over the 10 years to 2001-02, the number of complaints annually fluctuated within a range of about 125 to 200 and averaged 167. In 2001-02, 180 complaint files were opened, compared with 150 the previous year. The Council closed 174 files, compared with 155 in 2000-01.
The text of the report may be found on the Council's Web site at http://www.cjc-ccm.gc.ca
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