{"id":10420,"date":"2025-05-01T16:16:13","date_gmt":"2025-05-01T20:16:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ontariocourts.ca\/coa\/?page_id=10420"},"modified":"2025-05-02T09:49:00","modified_gmt":"2025-05-02T13:49:00","slug":"public-statement-by-ontarios-three-chief-justices-regarding-judicial-independence-april-30-2025","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.ontariocourts.ca\/coa\/public-statement-by-ontarios-three-chief-justices-regarding-judicial-independence-april-30-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Public Statement by Ontario\u2019s three Chief Justices regarding Judicial Independence"},"content":{"rendered":"

We are very proud of the work of the judicial officials who preside in the Ontario Courts. Judicial independence is a cornerstone of our constitutional democracy. An independent judiciary protects the public, not just judicial officials. It means a society governed by the rule of law. In Canada, this means, as is set out in section 52 of the Constitution Act, 1982, that the Constitution is the supreme law of the country. Our constitutional democracy is comprised of three branches of government \u2014 the executive, the legislative and the judicial \u2014 and all three branches of government must exercise their power and authority in accordance with the Constitution. While it is the legislature that enacts legislation, it is the role of a judicial official to interpret and apply the law. To fulfill this role, judiciary must be distinct from, and operate independently of, all other justice system participants, including the other two branches of government.<\/p>\n

The principle of judicial independence is generally recognized as having two dimensions. The first applies to individual judicial officials and embodies the fundamental principle that a judicial official must be, and must be seen to be, free to decide each case on its own merits, without interference or influence of any kind from any source, including politicians. The second applies to the Court as an institution. It requires the Court, as a whole to be, and appear to be independent of the legislative and executive branches of government. Together, both dimensions safeguard the judicial decision-making process and, in turn, the public that the Court serves.<\/p>\n

Every Canadian has the constitutional right to have their legal issues decided by fair and impartial judiciary. Our justice system is founded on public confidence that decisions, whether popular or not, are fully heard and fairly made. It is crucial that judiciary are both actually independent and appear to be independent so the public can be confident that judicial decisions are made without bias.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Michael H. Tulloch
\nChief Justice of Ontario<\/em>
\nCourt of Appeal for Ontario<\/em><\/td>\n		Geoffrey Morawetz
\nChief Justice<\/em>
\nSuperior Court of Justice<\/em><\/td>\n		Sharon Nicklas
\nChief Justice<\/em>
\nOntario Court of Justice<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"We are very proud of the work of the judicial officials who preside in the Ontario Courts. 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