Superior Court of Quebec: Annual General Assembly – Judging in the new diversity 2018

Overview

This one and a half day program focused on the art of judging in a diverse society.

Objectives

The overall objective of the Court's annual assembly was to provide an opportunity to reflect on challenges facing the justice system and judges, which stem from different types of diversity: religious, cultural and social. More specifically, the gathering aimed at enhancing the substantive knowledge of judges in certain areas of the law in which issues of diversity are particularly prominent, increase their awareness of the social context relevant to these areas, and better equip them to deal with the practical challenges they face in their judicial activities.

Summary

The training was provided through presentations by experienced judges, legal academics, and experts in psychology and communication, and through more interactive learning techniques, including question and answer sessions by electronic voting. Individual sessions addressed the transformation of the judicial function in a diverse and contemporary society, implicit biases that can affect a person’s reasoning and how to guard against them, the current state of
substantive law related to religious issues, and the reform of rules of practice in criminal and penal law. A presentation on the different diagnoses of attention deficit disorder and hyperactivity was aimed at better equipping judges to rule on child custody and access in family law matters.