Canadian Judicial Council Launches Review of Ethical Principles for Judges

Patricia Hughes, the former Executive Director of the Law Commission of Ontario, published an article yesterday on Slaw.ca on the proposed revision by the Canadian Judicial Council of its ethical guidelines for federally-appointed judges in Canada:

"It has been 20 years since the current Principles have been in force; the CJC describes them as 'relatively unchanged since [then]'. As the CJC recognizes, much else has changed since 1998, including expectations about judges’ behaviour, use of technology and social issues. This has affected the nature of appointments, the background of appointees and the nature of contributions potential judicial candidates bring to the judicial process."

As part of its mandate, the Council reviews complaints or allegations against such judges.

It is chaired by the Chief Justice of Canada, currently the Right Honourable Richard Wagner.

As part of the revision process, the Council has issued a Background Paper as well as an online survey.