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    Valente V The Queen

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    Jennifer Ashraf
    Valente v the Queen dealt with whether provincial judges in the Provincial Court of Ontario were independent tribunals as guaranteed by Section 11(d) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The Supreme Court of Canada established three criteria for judicial independence: security of tenure, financial security, and institutional independence from the executive. The Court found that provincial judges met these criteria and were therefore independent tribunals under Section 11(d). This case set an important precedent for judicial independence in Canada.

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    Valente V The Queen

    Uploaded by

    Jennifer Ashraf
    106 views2 pages
    Valente v the Queen dealt with whether provincial judges in the Provincial Court of Ontario were independent tribunals as guaranteed by Section 11(d) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The Supreme Court of Canada established three criteria for judicial independence: security of tenure, financial security, and institutional independence from the executive. The Court found that provincial judges met these criteria and were therefore independent tribunals under Section 11(d). This case set an important precedent for judicial independence in Canada.

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    Valente v the queen

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    Valente v the Queen dealt with whether provincial judges in the Provincial Court of Ontario were independent tribunals as guaranteed by Section 11(d) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The Supreme Court of Canada established three criteria for judicial independence: security of tenure, financial security, and institutional independence from the executive. The Court found that provincial judges met these criteria and were therefore independent tribunals under Section 11(d). This case set an important precedent for judicial independence in Canada.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    106 views2 pages

    Valente V The Queen

    Uploaded by

    Jennifer Ashraf
    Valente v the Queen dealt with whether provincial judges in the Provincial Court of Ontario were independent tribunals as guaranteed by Section 11(d) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The Supreme Court of Canada established three criteria for judicial independence: security of tenure, financial security, and institutional independence from the executive. The Court found that provincial judges met these criteria and were therefore independent tribunals under Section 11(d). This case set an important precedent for judicial independence in Canada.

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    Valente v the queen

    The case of valente and the queen deals mainly with the issue of judicial independence.
    Valente Considers the meaning of an "independent and impartial tribunal" guaranteed
    in section 11 (d) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

    The focus in Valente was on the relationship of the judges and the Provincial Court to
    the executive government of Ontario, through the Ministry of the Attorney General.

    Court was clear that independence and impartiality were separate considerations.

    Facts: A judge of the Provincial Court (Criminal Division) declined to hear an appeal
    concerning a driving offence, pending determination by a superior court as to whether
    the Provincial Court was an independent tribunal

    Issue: Is a provincial judge sitting as the Provincial Court (Criminal Division) in Ontario in
    December 1982 an independent tribunal within the meaning of s. 11(d)?

    Section 11 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is the section of


    the Canadian Constitution that protects a person's legal rights in criminal and penal
    matters.

    Section 11(d) provides that:


    Any person charged with an offence has the right ...
    (d) to be presumed innocent until proven guilty according to law in a fair and
    public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal;

    Holding: Yes

    It is a landmark case of the SCC and this case went on to set out three principle criteria
    for determining whether a tribunal in independent or not.

    These three criteria (also sometimes referred to as the Valente principles) are:
    a) Security of tenure: most important aspect of Judicial Independence (securing against
    interference by executive)

    b) Financial Security: right to salary and pension should be established by law ( once
    again, this should not be subject to arbitrary interference by the executive branch in any
    matter or form that could affect judicial independence; and

    c) Institutional independence of the tribunal with respect to admin decisions bearing


    directly on exercise of its judicial functions

    Court’s Analysis:

    security of tenure - The regime of the Provincial Courts Act under which Sharpe J.
    operated provided sufficient security of tenure : judge only removed for cause, which
    was subject to an independent review.

    salaries - Furthermore, salaries were not fixed by legislature, and therefore sufficient for
    independence – no way the Executive could interfere with the right to affect
    independence of an individual judge.

    Judicial independence - Finally, judicial control over the administrative decisions


    denotes institutional independence

    Court’s Observations/ Comments:

    Although it would include financial security, security of tenure and some


    administrative independence, the Court found the standards enjoyed by higher-
    level judges was too high for the many tribunals covered by section 11(d).

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