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Ottawa – while Canada is not a superpower in the traditional sense of the word, it is “of course, the democratic superpower”, the chief judge Richard Wagner said on Monday at the ceremony to open the judicial year of the Supreme Court.
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Wagner told senior persons gathered in the courtroom that the country's legal community was united in deep conviction that the rule of law and the independence of litigation are not abstract concepts.
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“This is the best protection against tyranny and autocracy,” Wagner said.
“But for most Canadians, the independence of litigation is theoretical. Its implementation requires effective and effective access to justice, delivered by fairly well -trained judges. ”
The ceremony, part of the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the court, was the first such event to take place at the beginning of the judicial year since September 1986.
The Minister of Justice Sean Fraser, lawyers, scientists and students joined former court members and his employees on this occasion.
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When the Supreme Court looked back at its beginning in 1875, Wagner called on participants to confirm the principles of the rule of law, an independent judicial system and equal access to justice.
“For 150 years, these principles have formed our jurisprudence, strengthened our institutions and gained the trust of Canadians. They are the basis of our democracy and the highest measure of our integrity, ”he said.
“Let these principles always direct the court to his service to justice and our great nation, and let each of us always support them firmly, correctly and fearlessly.”
The judges of the Supreme Court debuted on Monday new ceremonial black robes focused on Red, which replace more familiar red clothes with white decoration of fur – a tradition that was imported from England.
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Wagner said that new robes “have a modern and simple design that repeats our commitment to openness and accessibility in such a way that it is clearly Canadian”.
Wagner also announced the creation of the Historical Society of the Supreme Court to help to honor and maintain his heritage through research, education and public participation.
Fraser told the participants that the survival of democracy is never confident, and preserving this means more hard to work on the protection of Canada, its institutions – including the Supreme Court – and the law as a whole.
“We see that trade relations wear out, which we perceived for granted too often,” he said. “We see members of the United Nations Security Council in the open disobedience of some norms that we have accepted as the primary: territorial integrity, sovereignty of nations, self -determination of peoples.”
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Fraser said that the antidote from a democratic decrease can be found in the laws “guided by values that we have most expensive.”
“If we expect someone else to do this work for us, we would make a huge mistake,” he added.
He called on elected officials, judges and all Canadians to “stand up and take responsibility for our democracy.”
“I am afraid that one day we will give in to erosion of our rights.
“Having done hard work to ensure that the Supreme Court is here in 150 years, we will at the same time ensure the guarantee of Canada remains a real northern, strong and free 150 years later.”
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