The Advocates' Society Condemns Hiring of PI for Surveillance of Chief Justice Glenn Joyal

Posted on July 13, 2021

The Advocates' Society condemns the hiring of a private investigator to conduct surveillance of Chief Justice Glenn Joyal of the Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench and the threat this action poses to the principle of judicial independence. Read more  

The Advocates' Society condemns the actions of a party to litigation to hire a private investigator to conduct surveillance of Chief Justice Glenn Joyal of the Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench while he was deciding its case. Judicial independence is fundamental to our democracy, and requires that judges be free to decide cases exclusively on the basis of the law and the evidence tendered in the courtroom. Judges must not be intimidated, externally pressured, or improperly influenced by any other considerations in their decision-making. This attempt to embarrass Chief Justice Joyal not only threatened the principle of judicial independence, but also the privacy and safety of the judiciary, and the integrity of the administration of justice.

An essential part of The Advocates' Society’s mission is to safeguard and promote judicial independence in Canada. To that end, The Advocates' Society has published a statement on judicial independence, entitled Judicial Independence: Defending an Honoured Principle in a New Age. Please find the statement here.