McLachlin: challenges are opportunity to improve justice system

Challenges faced by courts as they advance into the 21st Century provide “opportunities to improve our justice system”, according to the Rt Hon. , Chief Justice of Canada .

Chief Justice McLachlin made the remarks in the fifth Macfadyen Lecture, titled Maintaining Public Confidence in the Court in the 21st Century.

It was delivered in the Wolfson Theatre, Royal Society of Edinburgh last month at a special by-invitation-only event hosted by the Scottish Council of Law Reporting (SCLR).

The text of her speech has now been published online.

In the speech, she explored how courts navigate their relationship with the public and the other branches of government through the media, when it may be appropriate for courts to respond to criticism, and how courts may foster greater transparency through electronic media.

In the conclusion of her lecture, Chief Justice McLachlin said: “Every generation faces its own unique challenges. Our generation is no exception. Our special challenges include the imperatives of meeting the threat of terrorism, dealing with the digital revolution and managing globalization in all its forms. These are issues that define the temper of our times.

“Our task as judges, faced with these challenges and the changes they are bringing, is dual ― one substantive, the other procedural.

“First, we must respond to the legal issues spawned by new 21st century concerns with wisdom and the resolve to preserve the values of liberty, the rule of law and democratic governance which define our societies.

“Second, we must ensure that the judicial system and the judges who work in it make the adaptations necessary to provide effective justice in the technologically driven, fast-paced and pluralistic world we live in.

“The challenges the courts face as they advance into the heart of the 21st century are numerous and grave, the right response too often elusive. We should see these challenges, not as problems, but as opportunities ― opportunities to improve our justice system, to revisit our sense of purpose, and revitalize our commitment to the rule of law.”