POLS 303 Lecture Notes - Obiter Dictum, Canadian Judicial Council, Judicial Independence
12 Oct 2012
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Are judges in any way accountable for their decisions? o. Constitution act, 1867. o: 100: the salaries, allowances, and pensions of the judges in cases where the judges thereof are for the time being by salary, shall be fixed and provide by the parliament of canada. S. 11: any person charged with an offence has the right (d) to be presumed innocent until proven guilty according to law in a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal . The primary concern for the contemporary questions of judicial independence is: o. Because courts are an institution of the state, judges and courts are dependent on the government for their existence: o o o o. We can generally divide the question into two areas: o. Formal institutional protections for judges (individually and collectively) from others (government and non-government). Behavioural concept: actual judicial behaviour and whether it displays autonomous decision-making. o.
