Canadian judges share their experience of the international projects

The Honourable Ted Scanlan,
Supreme Court of Nova Scotia

In recent years, ICJ Canada has made it possible for more than 100 Canadian judges to work with jurists throughout the Balkan States. I had the privilege of working in Croatia as part of this project and, more recently, I traveled to Serbia. I wish to share some of my experiences and observations.

Historically, the Balkans have played a key role in the stability of Europe or perhaps more accurately, in the instability of Central Europe. For centuries, major powers in the area have vied for control of the Balkan region. More recently, the Tito regime ruled the former Yugoslavia with an iron fist, followed by the Miloševic era, which witnessed a civil war and almost complete isolation of the Balkan States from the rest of the world. These events form the backdrop to the ICJ Project in the Balkans. The extended period of isolation, combined with political interference in the judicial system, the civil war, and NATO efforts to increase stability in the area, contributed profoundly to the context in which judges currently work.

In my most recent mission to Serbia, the Canadian judges focused on pre-trial procedures and processes and, to a greater extent, on mediation skills and techniques. There were many things that impressed my colleagues and me as we worked with the Serbian judges. During the skills presentation, Serbian colleagues repeatedly referred to the difficulties they were encountering in their efforts to implement court-based ADR, such as lack of resources, restrictive laws, and resistance by parties and/or the Bar to the ADR process. Many of these obstacles probably have a ring of familiarity to Canadian judges who have attempted to implement new ideas such as court-based mediation. There is, however, an important distinction between the Serbian situation and the obstacles judges face in Canada, where independence of the judiciary and rule of law are embedded in our society and our laws.

A tour of the Municipal Court in Belgrade opened the eyes of the Canadian judges to the hardships under which these jurists operate on a daily basis. Judges are all forced to share office accommodation with three judges in each office, the office being a space only about one-third of what individual Canadian judges may well be used to. Record keeping and file control involved a manual system that was likely developed hundreds of years ago. Judges who take initiatives to improve court processes continue to be potential targets for political interference, and many have been forced to resign for making attempts to improve the process and make access more available to litigants.

In spite of the difficulties which I have described, Serbian judges that we worked with can be described only as some of the most capable, hardworking, and determined jurists anywhere in the world. I witnessed their pride in their efforts, together with an unwavering determination to make things better for their courts, their litigants, and their country. Judges involved in the litigation project worked eight-hour days before starting their evening mediation conferences. In the skills presentation put on by Canadian judges, there was an obvious thirst for knowledge by the Serbian judges. The Canadian judges were asked to shorten or even eliminate lunch breaks so they could continue with seminar presentations. I doubt that many of our colleagues in Canada have ever witnessed such enthusiasm and commitment.

Many of the Balkan States have great potential, but that potential will not be realized if the rule of law, human rights and judicial independence cannot be established and maintained. Judges in Serbia and elsewhere in the region are not asking for cheerleaders or judicial tourists from Canada or anywhere else in the world. They have a thirst for knowledge and are committed to reform. ICJ Canada has played the leading role in the many stages of reform, but there is much still to be done. For the first time in many decades, jurists from the Balkans are able to see outside their world and are expressing a desire to see things done differently.

As a Canadian judge, I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to walk a few steps with them in their most difficult journey. I feel certain that all Canadian jurists who have shared in these efforts at judicial reform are in awe when they look at the size of the obstacles confronting our Balkan colleagues. I am equally certain that all who participate are enriched by this experience.

The Honourable Kathryn Neilson,
Supreme Court of British Columbia

In September 2003, ICJ Canada presented the first of three planned seminars to a group of 25 judges in each of Croatia and Serbia, in order to discuss the role of human rights in the context of their judicial duties, with a focus on sexual equality and minority rights.

Given that most of the news from this region in the last decade has dealt with war and tragedy, I was unprepared for the charm and beauty of Croatia. The first seminar took place in Motovun, a tiny hill town that is reached by a spiralling and narrow cobbled road to its summit. All of the participants stayed in the one old hotel at the top, which provided the advantage of getting to know each other better through shared meals and extended discussions after each day’s presentations.

In Belgrade, the effects of the war were much more in evidence, and the sites of the NATO bombing and the assassination of Prime Minister Djinjic are treated as tourist sites. While it was difficult not to be impressed by the precision of the bombers, the devastation was all too clear.

In both countries, I was impressed by the polished presentations of local academics and public servants who dealt with concepts of human rights in their regional context, and with the role of the European Conventions and the European Court of Human Rights. Michèle Rivet, René Dussault, and I spoke about the Canadian perspective on equality rights, protection of national minorities, and equality based on sex, respectively.

Some of the judges who attended had had no previous human rights training. The views of many of them were understandably influenced by recent events in the region. The diversity of opinion and backgrounds led to many questions and lively discussions on a range of topics, including the recent decisions on same-sex marriage in Canada.

The judges were quick and enthusiastic participants. For me, the most instructive and gratifying part of the sessions was their ability by the end of the seminar to handle a case study based on a decision from the European Court. Working in small groups that were assigned to act as either counsel or judges, they were quick to pick up and develop the same themes and nuances as those that had guided the European Court in its decision.

The trip was too brief for me to develop well-formed views on the considerable difficulties faced by the judges of both countries. It is always hard to measure the tangible effect of such programs, but the ongoing benefits of this ICJ initiative and the hard work of Michèle and her assistants were clear from the warm reception we received, particularly from those judges who had previously participated in other aspects of the program. I hope our session added to this in some small way and provided a useful platform from which the following workshops on human rights could proceed.

One of the most enjoyable parts of the week for me was the congeniality of my travelling companions, René and Marielle Dussault, Michèle Rivet, and her assistants, Caroline Meilleur and Manon Montpetit, who made certain that each step was executed with ease and precision. I couldn’t have asked for better company with whom to share this unique experience.

The Honourable Ginette Piché,
Superior Court of Quebec

ICJ Canada has been involved in projects in the Balkans since 1999, and I feel very privileged to have been a part of this remarkable endeavour. It has been an exceptional and immeasurably rich experience for me.

I want to say at the outset that I’ve been especially moved by the untiring efforts of Judge Michèle Rivet in maintaining the Project’s momentum and establishing real connections with Slavic judges eager to make reforms to their judicial systems. Having seen her in action, I have been very impressed by her enthusiasm, determination, and competence. All who have been involved with the Project agree that, without her and her unique and highly successful “judge-to-judge” approach, the Project would not exist.

In the course of my own involvement, I have met young Slavic colleagues filled with hope and committed to effecting change in their country. I have been struck by their energy and their keen interest in human rights and in a reformed, more efficient judicial process. In this war-torn region, the sword of Damocles is always suspended over the heads of the people, and nothing is ever easy in Serbia, Bosnia, and Croatia. My Canadian colleagues and I have been made very much aware of the privileged conditions under which we operate in Canada, not only the material conditions, but also the condition of freedom that we take for granted.

By contrast, I saw with dismay the extremely difficult physical conditions under which our Balkan colleagues operate on a daily basis. Imagine two or three judges sharing a single office, a single courtroom. Imagine decrepit, cold, and dirty courthouses that broadcast the lack of financial resources. Imagine huge dockets with weekly quotas, to which are added dozens of mandatory administrative tasks. Wages are low, vacations are few and far between, and computers and books are rare. Judges are appointed one day and recalled the next, without justification. Fear and a sense of impending doom are in the air.

But there is also a genuine interest in our presence, our work, and our seminars, and a very real desire to effect change, to improve the image of justice. Our judge-to-judge approach, I believe, has inspired many and continues to bring hope.

Dialogue is not only important, but it is also our most efficient tool. Through it, we are able to express and nurture the hope and the desire of our Serbian, Croatian, and Bosnian colleagues to change things, to stir up the courts, to experiment with new processes,
new ways of looking at and administering justice, pre-trial conferences, and settlement conferences. These are exciting prospects that hold out the possibility of real change. When I attended the same seminars, at six-month intervals, in Zrenjanin and Belgrade, I observed with satisfaction the progress, the improvements, and the projects implemented by young judges who were motivated, encouraged, and enriched by their work with the ICJ team.

In my work with the Project, I have witnessed exceptional solidarity and a real commitment to the improvement of human rights and efficiency in the courts. I wish that all judges could have the opportunity to benefit from such an experience, one that so poignantly allows us to rethink our values and priorities.