The Canadian Judicial System

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Judges has various roles and2 duties in the constitutional democracy of Canada. They interpret the law, assess the evidence presented, and control how hearings and trials unfold in their courtrooms. Most important of all, judges are impartial decision-makers in the pursuit of justice. (Canadian Superior Courts Judges Association, n.d.). The Canadian Judiciary is an adversarial system of justice and the legal cases are challenged between opposing sides, which assures that evidences and legal disputes will be completely and forcefully presented. The judge, however, remains above the all these problems, providing a totally independent and unbias assessment of the facts and how the law can be implemented to these facts. The system is such that …show more content…

It is independent of the legislative and executive branches. Judges are public officers appointed to preside in a court of justice, to interpret and apply the laws of Canada (The Canadian Encyclopedia, n.d.). Talking about the qualities required by a judge, they are required to have the highest standards of integrity in both their professional and personal lives. They should be highly knowledgeable about the law, willing to undertake in-depth legal research, and able to write decisions that are fair and convincing. Their judgment should be clear, and they should be able to make informed decisions that will stand up to close scrutiny and issues arising from the disputes. Judges should be open-minded and fair, and should appear and represent themselves to be fair and open-minded. They should be good listeners but should be able, when required, to ask questions that get to the heart of the issue before the court. They should be respectful in the courtroom but strong whenever it is necessary to overpower a rambling lawyer, a disrespectful litigant or an ill-mannered …show more content…

Furthermore, the commissioner of Federal Judicial Affairs administers the advisory committees and they represent each province and territory, which examines the qualifications of the lawyers who apply for federal judicial positions. The law states that a candidate for a federal judiciary must have been a lawyer for a minimum of ten years and must be qualified and eligible to practice law in the respective jurisdiction the person has applied for. Judges to the provincial and territorial courts are appointed by the provincial and territorial governments respectively. The eligibility criteria for selection of judges to the judiciary panel are similar for the both provincial and territorial governments. All federally appointed judges are appointed by the Governor in Council. This consists of the Governor General acting on the advice of the Prime Minister for judges of the Supreme Court of Canada and chief and associate chief justices in the provinces; and on the advice of the Minister of Justice for all other superior court judges. (Justice.gc.ca,

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