Court of Queen's Bench of Manitoba Education Seminar - Spring 2022

Overview

This seminar explored judges’ ethical duties and responsibilities from a number of vantage points.  Sessions discussed the duty to learn, examined the Canadian Judicial Council’s Ethical Principles for Judges, and considered issues relating expert evidence and unconscious bias. A further session focused on judicial productivity and “what gets in the way” of optimal judicial performance.

Objective

The objectives of this seminar were to enhance participants’ understanding of the Ethical Principles for Judges in various contexts and their relationship to the effective administration of justice, to communicate critical updates on substantive legal issues, and provide judges with tools that promote judicial productivity.

Summary

The program was presented by an experienced multi-disciplinary faculty of judges, retired judges and academics. Participants explored the challenges of judging in a complex society where learning, unlearning, reflection and questioning are essential to the effective administration of justice, in accordance with aspirational goals of the Ethical Principles for Judges. Participants examined "automatic preferences", reflected on the importance of defining oneself in relation to core principles, and learned about a synthesized learning framework relevant to ethical dilemmas. Sessions on expert evidence allowed participants to apply this framework to questions relating among other things to the admissibility of evidence, unconscious bias in scientific evidence, and expertise.  A further session seminar focused on judicial productivity and emphasized practical tools to overcome “what gets in the way” of optimal judicial performance.