Valente v. The Queen
| Valente v R | |
|---|---|
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| Hearing: October 9–10, 1984 Judgment: December 19, 1985 |
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| Full case name | Walter Valente v Her Majesty The Queen |
| Citations | [1985] 2 SCR 673 |
| Docket No. | 17583 |
| Prior history | Judgment for the Crown in the Court of Appeal for Ontario. |
| Holding | |
| Judges in the Provincial Court of Ontario are independent for purposes of section 11(d) of the Canadian Charter of Rights. | |
| Court Membership | |
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Chief Justice: Brian Dickson Puisne Justices: Roland Ritchie, Jean Beetz, Willard Estey, William McIntyre, Julien Chouinard, Antonio Lamer, Bertha Wilson, Gerald Le Dain |
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| Reasons given | |
| Unanimous reasons by | Le Dain J. |
| Ritchie and Wilson JJ. took no part in the consideration or decision of the case. | |
Valente v R, [1985] 2 S.C.R. 673 is a leading Supreme Court of Canada decision on protection of judicial independence under section 11(d) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
A Provincial Court of Ontario judge held that he could not decide a sentence appeal for a conviction of careless driving under the Ontario Highway Traffic Act because he was not in a position to judge whether he was independent, and a person charged with an offense has a right to an independent tribunal under section 11(d) of the Charter. (Upon review, appellate courts chose to interpret the judge's decision as holding that he was not sitting as an independent judge under the meaning of section 11(d) of the Charter). Section 11(d) had come into effect in 1982; until then, only higher-level judges were independent under the Constitution. The concern was that the judiciary was vulnerable to the influence of the executive of the government. Among the listed specific concerns were that the executive set the salaries, the manner in which the executive can appoint and re-appoint judges, and the fact that judges are referred to as mere "civil servants" and receive the same sick leave and insurance plans, and the fact that the legislature does not need to approve a judge being removed from the bench. (Under the Constitution Act, 1867, the removal of higher-level judges must be approved by the Parliament of Canada.)
The Court of Appeal for Ontario held that the provincial court was an independent tribunal and so did have jurisdiction.
The issue before the Supreme Court was whether a provincial court judge is sufficiently independent given their salaries and tenure.
The Court held that provincial court judges had sufficient independence. The Court stated that a judge needs to be impartial and independent. Impartiality is "a state of mind" while independence is the quality of the relationship the judge has with the executive. The Court went on to say that even if a court acts as if it is independent, if its "objective status" does not match that of an independent court section 11(d) is triggered. Thus, section 11(d) can be considered through a test in which one asks whether it seems reasonable to believe a court is independent. This thus ensures the court has "respect and acceptance."
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