Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-dsjbd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-20T21:50:58.927Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

New Questions about an Old Concept: The Supreme Court of Canada's Judicial Independence Decisions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 August 2005

Peter McCormick
Peter McCormick
Affiliation:
University of Lethbridge
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Abstract. In the age of the Charter, courts are an important part of the policy process, and judicial independence is the concept that structures the interactions between courts and other institutions. Historically, judicial independence in Canada was modelled on (and little different from) that of England; but politically-led reforms in the 1970s, and a string of more than a dozen Supreme Court decisions centred on the 1997 Remuneration Reference, are transforming the concept. At the same time, a parallel string of cases extends more limited but essentially similar guarantees to some other administrative bodies. Together, these developments represent an important and enduring change in the Canadian political landscape.

Résumé. À l'ère de la Charte, les tribunaux sont un élément important de l'élaboration des politiques publiques, et l'indépendance judiciaire est le fondement des interactions entre les tribunaux et les autres institutions. Par le passé, l'indépendance judiciaire au Canada épousait le modèle britannique (et s'en éloignait assez peu); cependant, des réformes politiquement inspirées dans les années 1970 et une série de plus d'une douzaine de jugements de la Cour suprême centrés sur le renvoi de 1997 relatif à la rémunération sont en train de transformer ce concept. En même temps, une série de cas parallèles accorde des garanties plus limitées mais très similaires à d'autres corps administratifs. Ces changements se conjuguent pour modifier considérablement et de façon permanente le paysage politique canadien.

Type
Research Article
Information
Canadian Journal of Political Science/Revue canadienne de science politique , Volume 37 , Issue 4 , December 2004 , pp. 839 - 862
Copyright
© 2004 Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abraham, Henry J. 2001. “The Pillars and Politics of Judicial Independence in the United States.” In Judicial Independence in the Age of Democracy: Critical Perspectives from Around the World, eds. Peter H. Russell and David M. O'Brien. Charlottesville and London: University Press of Virginia.
Barak, Aharon. 2002. “A Judge on Judging: The Role of a Supreme Court in a Democracy.” 116 Harvard Law Review 16,Google Scholar
Chunn, Dorothy E. 1992. From Punishment to Doing Good: Family Courts and Socialized Justice in Ontario, 1880–1940. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
Epp, Charles. 1998. The Rights Revolution: Lawyers, Activists and Supreme Courts in Comparative Perspective. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Fallon, Richard H. 2000. “Stare Decisis and the Constitution: An Essay on Constitutional Methodology.” 76 New York University Law Review 570Google Scholar
Ferejohn, John. 1999. “Independent Judges, Dependent Judiciary: Explaining Judicial Independence.” 72 Southern California Law Review 353.Google Scholar
Ferejohn, John. 2002. “Judicializing Politics, Politicizing Law.” 65 Law and Contemporary Problems 41.Google Scholar
Ferejohn, John A., and Larry D. Kramer. 2002. “Independent Judges, Dependent Judiciary: Institutionalizing Judicial Restraint.” 77 New York University Law Review 962.Google Scholar
Fiss, Owen. 1993. “The Limits of Judicial Independence.” 25 Inter-American Law Review, 57.Google Scholar
Goldsworthy, Jeffrey. 2000. “The Preamble, Judicial Independence and Judicial Integrity.” 11 Constitutional Forum, 60.Google Scholar
Guarnieri, Carlo, and Patrizia Pederzoli. 2002. The Power of Judges: A Comparative Study of Courts and Democracy. New York: Oxford University Press.
Gunther, Gerald. 1984. “Congressional Power To Curtail Federal Court Jurisdiction: An Opinionated Guide To the Ongoing Debate.” 36 Stanford Law Review 895Google Scholar
Hirschl, Ran. 2004. Towards Juristocracy: The Origins and Consequences of the New Constitutionalism. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Lederman, William R. 1956a. “The Independence of the Judiciary.” Canadian Bar Review 34: 769–809.Google Scholar
Lederman, William R. 1956b. “The Independence of the Judiciary.” Canadian Bar Review 34: 1139–1179.Google Scholar
Malleson, Kate. 1999. The New Judiciary: The effects of expansion and activism. Aldershot, Hants., England; Ashgate Publishing.
McKinnon, J. Bruce. 2001. Administrative Agencies and the Charter. Background paper prepared for the Administrative Justice Project, British Columbia Attorney General. Available online at http://www.gov.bc.ca/ajp/down/ajp_rpts/charter.pdf; site last accessed 15 December 2003.
McCormick, Peter. 1986. “Judicial Councils for Provincial Judges in Canada.” 6 Windsor Yearbook of Access to Justice 160Google Scholar
McCormick, Peter. 1995. “Provincial Political Party Systems 1945–1993.” In Canadian Parties in Transition (2nd ed.), eds. Brian Tanguay and Alain Gagnon. Scarborough, ON: Nelson Canada.
Paulsen, Michael Stokes. 2000. “Abrogating Stare Decisis by Statute.” 109 Yale Law Journal 1535Google Scholar
Ramseyer, J. Mark, and Eric B. Rasmusen. 2003. Measuring Judicial Independence: The Political Economy of Judging in Japan. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
Rose-Ackerman, Susan. 1992. “Judicial Review and the Power of the Purse.” 12 International Review of Law and Economics 191Google Scholar
Russell, Peter H. 1987. The Judiciary in Canada: The Third Branch of Government. Toronto and Montreal: McGraw-Hill Ryerson.
Salzberger, Eli, and Paul Fenn. 1999. “Judicial Independence: Some Evidence from the English Court of Appeal.” 42 Journal of Law & Economics 831Google Scholar
Schauer, Frederick. 1988. “Formalism.” 97 Yale Law Journal 509.Google Scholar
Schmeiser, Douglas A., and W. Howard McConnell. 1996. “The Independence of Provincial Court Judges: A Matter of Trust.” 20 Provincial Judges Journal 1Google Scholar
Shapiro, Martin. 1981. Courts: A Comparative and Political Analysis. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
Shapiro, Martin. 2002. “The Success of Judicial Review and Democracy.” In On Law, Politics and Judicialization, eds. Martin Shapiro and Alec Stone-Sweet. New York: Oxford University Press.
Snell, James G., and Frederick Vaughan. 1985. The Supreme Court of Canada: History of the Institution. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
Spigelman, Hon. J.J. 2000. “Seen to Be Done: The Principle of Open Justice—Part II.” 74 Australian Law Journal 378Google Scholar
Spigelman, J.J., Hon. 2001. “Judicial Accountability and Performance Indicators.” Paper presented at the 1701 Conference: The 300th Anniversary of the Act of Settlement, Vancouver, BC, 10 May 2001. Available online at, site last accessed 10 December 2003.
Stevens, Robert. 2001. “Judicial Independence in England: A Loss of Innocence.” In Judicial Independence in the Age of Democracy: Critical Perspectives from Around the World, eds. Peter H. Russell and David M. O'Brien. Charlottesville and London: University Press of Virginia.
Stone-Sweet, Alec. 2000. Governing with Judges: Constitutional Politics in Europe. New York: Oxford University Press.
Tate, C. Neal, and Torbjorn Vallinder. 1995. The Global Expansion of Judicial Power. New York: New York University Press.
Toma, Eugenia A. 1996. “A Contractual Model of the Voting Behavior of the Supreme Court: The Role of the Chief Justice.” 16 International Review of Law and Economics 433Google Scholar
Volcansek, Mary. 1996. Judicial Misconduct: A Cross-National Comparison. Gainesville, Tallahassee, Tampa, Boca Raton, Pensacola, Orlando, Miami and Jacksonville: University Press of Florida.
Weiler, Paul. 1974. In the Last Resort: A Critical Study of The Supreme Court of Canada. Toronto: Carswell-Methuen.
Williams, John M. 2001. “Judicial Independence in Australia.” In Judicial Independence in the Age of Democracy: Critical Perspectives from Around the World, eds. Peter H. Russell and David M. O'Brien. Charlottesville and London: University Press of Virginia.
Ziegel, Jacob. 1987. “Federal Judicial Appointments in Canada: The Time is Ripe for Change.” 31 University of Toronto Law Journal 1Google Scholar