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Questioning Judges with a Questionable Process: An Analysis of Committee Appearances by Canadian Supreme Court Candidates

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 December 2015

Andrea Lawlor  and
Erin Crandall
Andrea Lawlor*
Affiliation:
King's University College, Western University
Erin Crandall*
Affiliation:
Acadia University
*
Department of Political Science, King's University College, Western University, 266 Epworth Ave., London ON N6A 2M3, Email: andrea.lawlor@uwo.ca
Department of Politics, Acadia University, 10 Highland Ave., Wolfville NS B4P 2R6, Email: erin.crandall@acadiau.ca
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Abstract

In 2006, the Canadian government introduced a new component to its process of selecting Supreme Court justices, a review committee composed of members of Parliament. Tasked with interviewing justices prior to their appointment to the bench, the committee met four times, interviewing only five of the eight judicial candidates appointed to the bench before the Conservative government announced the committee's termination in 2014. This study offers the first comprehensive analysis of the performance of this ad hoc judicial review committee. Using an original dataset, we find that MPs asked little by way of probing questions, such as those related to policy or a candidate's previous jurisprudence. However, we do find some evidence that the hearing process was used to further the political aims of the participating political parties.

Résumé

En 2006, le gouvernement canadien a introduit un nouvel élément dans le processus de sélection des juges de la Cour suprême du Canada. En effet, un comité de suivi composé de membres du Parlement fait maintenant partie de la procédure de sélection. Ce comité a la responsabilité d'interviewer les candidats à la Cour avant que la nomination soit confirmée. Entre l'ajout de cette procédure et son abolition par le gouvernement conservateur en 2014, seulement cinq des huit nominations ont été étudiées par le comité. Cet article propose une première analyse exhaustive de la performance de ce comité. À l'aide d'une base de données originale, nous concluons que les membres du comité parlementaire sont peu enclins à poser des questions touchant les politiques publiques ou encore la jurisprudence des candidats. Nous remarquons par contre que les activités du comité ont été instrumentalisées par les partis ayant des représentants sur ce comité.

Type
Research Article
Information
Canadian Journal of Political Science/Revue canadienne de science politique , Volume 48 , Issue 4 , December 2015 , pp. 863 - 883
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Political Science Association (l'Association canadienne de science politique) and/et la Société québécoise de science politique 2015 

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