I happened to be in North America just before the 2025 meeting of the Asian, North American, and Oceanian Regional Group of the International Association of Judges, so I extended my stay to attend. The meeting was held in Toronto, the city of my birth, and was attended by judges representing judicial associations across our vast “region.”
Judges came from Canada (both English-speaking common law judges and French-speaking civil law judges from Quebec), the United States (including Judge Michelle Childs of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, who narrowly missed appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court), Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Australia, and Taiwan, as well as Giacomo Oberto, the President of the IAJ from Italy.
The meeting took place at the Royal Canadian Yacht Club, accessible only by water taxi across Toronto Harbour. It was a mixed business and educational event. The educational component included a presentation by Marc Giroux, the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs, on the appointment and remuneration of federally-appointed judges. Every candidate must complete a comprehensive questionnaire, after which recommendations are made by an independent commission to the federal Attorney-General and Minister of Justice. Similarly, the Judicial Compensation and Benefits Commission reviews remuneration and benefits every four years (with automatic annual cost-of-living adjustments). Judges appointed by provincial Attorneys-General are subject to parallel independent commissions.
We also heard from Senator Pierre Moreau, who has sponsored a significant piece of legislation—the Judicial Independence Day Bill—through its first reading in the Senate. Once passed by both the Senate and House of Commons, it will establish 11 January as “Judicial Independence Day” in Canada. That date was chosen to commemorate the 11 January 2020 “1,000 Robes March” in Warsaw, where hundreds of judges from 22 European countries protested attacks on judicial independence in Poland. Senator Moreau underscored the bill’s importance as a demonstration of the legislative branch's support for judicial independence.
Giacomo Oberto presented a paper reviewing European strategies for addressing court backlogs and delays. Unsurprisingly, almost every legal system struggles with backlogs, and most have converged on similar strategies to manage them.
The business sessions were equally insightful. We discussed proposed topics for the upcoming Baku meeting, which Judge Sainsbury will attend. Our principal recommendation is to address how the judiciary should respond to attacks on judicial independence by the executive and legislative branches. Several examples of such responses were shared. Notably, U.S. Chief Justice Roberts made a pointed statement about the importance of judicial independence—a subtle yet significant reminder to those concerned with preserving democracy and the separation of powers. In Ontario, the three heads of bench issued a joint press release responding to criticism from the Premier. In the U.S., individual judges have begun teaching civics in schools to help students understand why each branch must respect its constitutional boundaries.
Closer to home, I formally thanked the IAJ for its support following the situation in Kiribati. When the President of Kiribati criticised and then suspended me as Chief Justice, as well as another High Court judge and the entire Court of Appeal for upholding the constitutional limit on retrospective tenure changes, the IAJ’s backing was invaluable. This situation illustrates the growing global concern about the erosion of judicial independence and the rule of law, and the vital role played by international judicial associations in monitoring and supporting judicial integrity.
We now await Noel’s report from the Baku meeting — it promises to be fascinating.