The Government of Canada is committed to ensuring that the process for appointing judges to superior courts is transparent and accountable to Canadians, identifies excellent candidates and promotes greater diversity on the bench.
Today, the Honourable Arif Virani, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, announced measures aimed at making the federal judicial appointments process more efficient.
The measures include:
- Newly appointed Judicial Advisory Committees will now serve three-year terms instead of two; and
- As of August 1st, 2023, Judicial Advisory Committee assessments of judicial appointment candidates will be valid for three rather than two years.
Extending the terms of these committees to three years ensures that members can serve for longer, which will decrease time spent selecting new committee members and allow each committee to evaluate more candidate files, comparatively, over an extended period. In order to ensure that the same Judicial Advisory Committee does not assess judicial candidates twice, the validity of judicial candidate assessments will now be for three years as well.
Judicial Advisory Committees play a fundamental role in evaluating judicial applications. These committees are responsible for screening and assessing the qualifications of candidates applying for federal judicial appointments.
Streamlining the approach to judicial appointments, while maintaining a robust and thorough evaluation of candidates, will enhance the ability to make timely appointments with the aim of reducing judicial vacancies arising from elevations, retirements, resignations and members of the bench electing supernumerary status.
