Top Queen's Bench judge wants more say in changes to courts
The province's top Court of Queen's Bench judge says he and his colleagues need to be more involved in the way courts operate after several controversial cuts to the court system were announced in March's provincial budget.
Justice David Smith, the chief justice of the Court of Queen's Bench, spoke candidly about recent changes to the New Brunswick judicial system during a speech at the Moncton Rotary Club on Monday.
The Liberal budget eliminated the small claims court, forcing all of those cases to the Court of Queen's Bench, dismissed 14 family court social workers and mediators and made cuts to legal aid.
Those changes are going to have a significant impact on the court system and Smith said he's left with many unanswered questions by the government's decisions.
"Is this the result that informed and responsible people wish to see in their community and their province [and] how does [the] collectivity of these decisions affect the public view of the administration of justice?" Smith said.
Small claims adjudicators were adopted in the province in 1999. The small claims court handles civil suits for debt and property where damages are less than 6,000 and the Law Society of New Brunswick has estimated in the past that the cut of this service could see 2,000 more cases kicked up to the Court of Queen's Bench.
During his speech, the judge admitted he had difficulty giving voice to his problems with the recent decisions, fearing that his commentary would be construed as politically motivated.
"How do I express real concerns that the effectiveness of the court in fulfilling its essential function is being undermined without appearing to be taking a politically partisan approach?" Smith said.
Judge eyes Irish model
Smith said right now the province dictates how the courts function. And the judge said he'd like to see the province consider adopting the Irish Court Service model, which he believes would give judges more say when reforms are being made to the system by the government.
"It would certainly be a system that could work here in New Brunswick," said Smith, who visited Ireland in November.
"[The system] works, it has transparency, gives ownership back to the community."
The Irish Court Service has a board of 17 members, nine of whom hold judicial positions. The board sets policies for court administration and a chief executive officer leads the process. According to Smith, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Norway are also looking to adopt the Irish model.
Smith said the success of the Irish model speaks for itself, the real question is whether New Brunswick's politicians have the political will to make those changes.