Following the chaos of the American presidential election in 2000, Russia offered to help the US avoid future problems by sending election monitors (as did the government of Robert Mugabe). By today’s standards, it was a piece of good-humoured trolling. The schadenfreude had greater piquancy due to the assumption that America, of all places, would not experience such systematic failures (who even knew before 2000 that a “hanging chad” was a thing?).
We tend to assume that some political systems are immune to corruption and incompetence — that they have always been robust and always will be. That confidence may be misplaced.
Which brings me to a common theme: the importance of judicial independence, and the need for vigilance in defending it.
The International Association of Judges (IAJ), of which JANZ is a member, recently issued a statement stressing:
Pressuring or intimidating judges over their judicial decisions is unacceptable. The role of judges is to ensure justice and protect citizens' rights. Disagreement with court decisions should be pursued through legal channels, not through public attacks. The IAJ stands firmly against efforts to weaken the judiciary or turn it into a political instrument. Such intimidations must end.
Following this, the European Association of Judges — one of the constituent groups within the IAJ — sent a message of solidarity with judges in the USA, as their independence comes under growing pressure. That letter concluded:
We hereby express our solidarity with the judges in the USA. The role of judges is vital to uphold the rule of law. There is no democracy without a strong and independent judiciary.
This support has been deeply appreciated by the American judiciary. And it should not be dismissed as merely words. Our own Judge Hastings, while serving as Chief Justice of Kiribati, was subjected to political pressure that ultimately forced him out of office. He too was supported by the IAJ. As he can attest, that support matters when your judicial independence is being assailed by the very state you are trying to serve.
Recent articles, including in The Guardian, have drawn attention to a small but significant provision buried in the so-called “Big Beautiful Bill” — ostensibly a financial package for wealth redistribution. This provision seeks to remove from federal courts the power to enforce sanctions for contempt if their orders are ignored by the executive. Such a move would risk neutering judicial oversight of executive overreach. The unacceptable political and media pressure on the US judiciary is now being compounded by a fundamental attack on judges’ powers to enforce their decisions. That is a mortal wound to judicial independence.
Ironically, in 2000 — the year of the American electoral debacle — Russia held an election widely regarded as free and fair, ushering Vladimir Putin into power.
It is dangerous to assume that all will be well simply because it always has been. It is important that JANZ is a member of the IAJ and continues to support its work. The IAJ has the collective weight needed to resist the erosion of judicial independence.
In that regard — and on a more positive note — I would first like to thank Judge Noel Cocurullo and Justice Paul Radich, who, at an ungodly hour, represented us at a meeting between the IAJ and the United Nations Special Rapporteur. The meeting focused on a report to be presented to the UN General Assembly on the promise and pitfalls of artificial intelligence in justice systems.
Secondly, I want to thank Judge Bill Hastings for giving up some of his recent leave to attend, on our behalf, the regional meeting in Toronto of the Asian, North American and Oceanian Regional Group of the IAJ. If his report isn’t in this newsletter, it will be included in the next.
We’re hoping to encourage more involvement from our members in these international activities.
On behalf of Bill — and with a nod to our neighbours — let us wish the King of Canada a happy birthday. Have a restful long weekend.