Looking Back, Looking Forward: Judicial Independence in Canada and the World

Thursday November 29 and Friday November 30, 2007
University of Toronto

Background Material

Speaker Biographies

Hard Copy Registration Form

Online registration form

Poster

Sponsors

September 2007 marks the tenth anniversary of the Supreme Court of Canada's landmark decision in the Provincial Judges Reference [1997] 3 S.C.R. 3. In this case, the Supreme Court recognized judicial independence as a fundamental norm in our constitutional order. But judicial independence is a concept that is frequently mentioned but rarely discussed let alone analyzed in any sort of systematic way. This conference brings together scholars in different disciplines from Canada and around the world as well as public policy makers to discuss the important connection between judicial independence and democracy and link the discussion of the issue in Canada to broader events around the world.

Conference Programme

Thursday, November 29, 2007
Donald Lamont Learning Centre
Osgoode Hall, 130 Queen Street West
Directions

4:00	Opening (Adam Dodek, Faculty of Law, University of Toronto)
4:05	Welcome and Greetings Webcast - Windows Media or Real Player
	Mayo Moran Dean, Faculty of Law, University of Toronto Mark Stabile Director, School of Public Policy and Governance, University of Toronto Gavin MacKenzie Treasurer, Law Society of Upper Canada
4:10	Introduction of Justice Richard J. Goldstone (Lorne Sossin, Faculty of Law, University of Toronto)
4:15	Justice Richard J. Goldstone "The Challenge of Judicial Independence"
5:00	Panel Discussion: Judicial Independence and Democracy
	Patrick Monahan Dean, Osgoode Hall Law School (Moderator) John Honderich Past Publisher, The Toronto Star Janice Gross Stein Director, Munk Centre, University of Toronto Lorraine E. Weinrib Faculty of Law, University of Toronto
6:00	Reception

Friday, November 30, 2007
Bennet Lecture Hall
Faculty of Law, University of Toronto
78 Queen's Park
Directions

8:30	Breakfast / Coffee
9:00	Welcome
9:05	Opening Plenary: The Provincial Judges Reference Ten Years Later Webcast - Windows Media or Real Player
	Martin Friedland University Professor Emeritus, Faculty of Law, University of Toronto (Moderator) Jamie Cameron Osgoode Hall Law School After the Remuneration Reference: Unwritten Principles, Judicial Independence , and the Constitution Peter Hogg Professor Emeritus, Osgoode Hall Law School and Scholar in Residence, Blakes The Bad Idea of Unwritten Constitutional Principles Lori Sterling Assistant Deputy Attorney General of Ontario Revisiting the Financial Security Component of Judicial Independence
10:30	Break
10:45	Current Issues in Judicial Independence Webcast - Windows Media or Real Player
	J. Parker MacCarthy Immediate Past President, Canadian Bar Association (Moderator) The Hon. R.A. Blair Court of Appeal of Ontario and Past President, Superior Court Judges Association The Second Pillar of Judicial Independence : Financial Security --The Need for an Independent, Objective and Effective Process to Establish Judicial Remuneration Andrew Green and Ben Alarie Faculty of Law, University of Toronto Policy Preference Change and Appointments to the Supreme Court of Canada Karen Selick Barrister and Solicitor Red Herrings in the Judicial Independence Ocean
12:15	Lunch
1:15	New Frontiers in Judicial Independence Webcast - Windows Media or Real Player
	The Hon. Pierre Dalphond Quebec Court of Appeal (Moderator) Fabien Gélinas Faculty of Law, McGill University Independence and Impartiality Beyond the State Carol Rogerson, Faculty of Law, University of Toronto and Rollie Thompson, Faculty of Law, Dalhousie University Advisory Guidelines: A New Policy Tool and Its Implications for Judicial Independence Peter Russell University Professor Emeritus, Department of Political Science, University of Toronto and Jacob Ziegel Professor Emeritus, University of Toronto A Potpourri of Issues that Might be Missed: Promotion, Evaluation and International Courts
2:45	Break
3:00	Challenges to Judicial Independence Around the World Webcast - Windows Media or Real Player
	The Hon. Robert Sharpe Court of Appeal of Ontario (Moderator) Penelope Andrews CUNY School of Law , New York The Judiciary in South Africa : Independence or Illusion? Graham Gee Oxford University The Politics of Judicial Independence in a British-style Constitution Amnon Reichman Faculty of Law, University of Haifa 'Internal" and 'External' Judicial Independence : An Israeli Snapshot
4:30	Conclusion of the Conference (Adam Dodek and Lorne Sossin)

	Co-sponsored by the University of Toronto Faculty of Law, the School for Public Policy and Governance, the Law Foundation of Ontario, the Law Society of Upper Canada and the Province of Ontario

[Bora Laskin Law Library] [University of Toronto Faculty of Law] [ School of Public Policy and Governance ] [ Law Society of Upper Canada ]