Ontario Judicial Council should open up proceedings: Editorial

Since the days of the Star Chamber, transparency in judicial proceedings has been seen as a pillar of democratic rights. Justice must not only be done, as the old saying goes, it must be seen to be done.

It is astonishing, then, that the organization that investigates complaints against judges, the Ontario Judicial Council, operates almost entirely in secret.

Worse, the council is refusing to change. Last week, in response to an application the Star made over a year ago asking it to open up proceedings, it reiterated that it will continue do its work behind closed doors. It would “not be appropriate” to open up the complaints process, the council argued.

This couldn’t be more wrong. As it stands, with the exception of very rare occurrences of public discipline hearings, the council holds all its proceedings in secret. That prevents the media from reporting on the vast majority of complaints against judges, and the public from knowing about them.

As the Star argued, that “represents a severe restriction on the public’s right to know and harms public confidence in the administration of justice.” Added defence lawyer James Lockyer: “It just looks as if they are trying to protect a judicial colleague.”

The council’s secretive practices were highlighted more than a year ago. That’s when the Star’s Rachel Mendleson reported on documents from an unknown source about a Toronto judge who had been previously chastised by Superior Court judges for recycling “boilerplate” decisions, making legal errors and for the appearance of bias. Yet he was spared a formal disciplinary hearing.

In an interview, Ontario Court Justice Judge John Ritchie confirmed he had been the subject of a complaint by the Criminal Lawyers’ Association.

In the end, though, this is about more than one judge. It’s about having trust in all judges. That is why the hearings should not continue to be held in secret.

Anthony Moustacalis, president of the Criminal Lawyers’ Association, has called for legislation that would put an end to the secrecy.

He is right. The government should take the necessary steps to make the council’s proceedings more transparent. We must be able to hold our judges to account.