Ordinary people standing up for their right to have an independent judiciary is ultimately the best guarantee for preserving the rule of law and judicial independence, Canada’s retiring top judge says.
Speaking at a press conference in Ottawa, outgoing Supreme Court Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin said there has been a decline of what was continual expansion of civil liberties, human rights, the growth of independent judiciary and rule of law throughout the world following the Second World War.
“And now the world finds itself, we can point to countries, where the rule of law seems to be being undermined, where judges are no longer as independent as we might wish, where they are constrained, or where their orders are not enforced and where generally the judicial branch is playing a less important role,” McLachlin said.
McLachlin, 75, is stepping down after 28 years on Canada’s highest court, including 17 years as chief justice.
She has heard more than 2,000 cases on everything from assisted dying to interprovincial trade.
At her farewell news conference on Friday, McLachlin spoke about what she sees as a decline in human rights around the world, and the diminished role of the judiciary in some countries.
“What we can do about it? We can hope it won’t happen in Canada,” McLachlin said. “I suppose there can be subtle erosions anywhere, we have some wonderful constitutional safeguards in our constitution, which creates an independent judiciary.”
Canadians also have deep respect for the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, she said.
“We have a public that values an independent judiciary, which is the best defence in the final analysis,” McLachlin said. “If the people stand up and say, ‘You can’t attack our judiciary, we want an independent judiciary,’ then that is in a democracy such as ours, the best way to preserve the rule of law and judicial independence.”
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