A Bench in Disarray : The Quebec Judiciary and The Federal Department of Justice, 1867-1878

Abstract

The poor state of the Quebec judiciary following Confederation was widely recognized although there was no consensus as to the nature of the problems or possible solutions. At issue was not only the quality of the administration of justice but also the philosophical assumptions underlaying George-Etienne Cartier's judicial decentralization act of 1857. Thus despite the efforts of reformers committed to the modernization of Quebec through a rational legal structure, the subsequent relationship between the judiciary and the Department of Justice suggests that intrigue, manipulation, obstruction, and opportunism did more to shape the quality of Quebec's bench prior to 1878.

Résumé

Après la Confédération, on reconnaissait bien l'état lacunaire de la magistrature québécoise, mais il n'y avait pas de consensus quant aux causes et aux solutions. Non seulement la qualité de l’administration de la justice, mais également les postulats philosophiques de la loi de décentralisation, adoptée en 1857 à l'instigation de George-Etienne Cartier, étaient en cause. Malgré les efforts des réformateurs, qui cherchaient à rationaliser l'administration de la justice, les rapports subséquents entre le judiciaire et le ministère de la Justice laissent entrevoir que les intrigues, les entraves et l’opportunisme influèrent davantage sur la qualité de la magistrature québécoise d'avant 1878.