Lawyers’ concern is about integrity of our laws

Lawsuit targets major problem that could be solved with the help of jurilinguistes, Michael N. Bergman and Kristen A. Petitclerc say.

The Barreau du Québec and the Barreau de Montréal have commenced a lawsuit to ensure the integrity, un-impeachability and correctness of the laws of Quebec. This lawsuit is now being disputed by certain members of the Barreau du Québec. They have required a special meeting of the members of the Barreau for May 24 in Montreal; their aim is to bring about the withdrawal of the lawsuit. The opponents of the proceedings claim that this is a political and linguistic matter. We, the authors of this piece, say that nothing can be further from the truth.

Since 1867, the laws of Quebec have been required to be enacted and published in both French and English. Our Charter of the French Language (Bill 101) upholds this requirement.

Similarly, the Interpretation Act of Quebec, which applies to all Quebec laws, says that each version of a Quebec law is equally authoritative and both must be interpreted together. Both the Charter of the French Language, the Quebec Interpretation Act and the resulting decisions of the courts confirm certain fundamental long-standing values of Quebec society, namely, the integrity of our laws, the rule of law, the enactment of our laws by way of democratic processes and the assurance that all Quebec citizens can avail themselves of access to justice.

These values make Quebec a unique society and place us in the avant-garde of many of the world’s legal systems.

We in Quebec have given the world an example of both a bilingual and a bi-juridical system that functions in more than one language, and therefore our laws are not only accessible to our fellow citizens, but also internationally, upholding the vital commercial concerns that fuel our economy. This assures Quebec’s role as an international centre.

In 1867, an important political pact was made to ensure, by the standards of that era, that the majority French language was protected in the legislature of Quebec together with the minority English language. The federal Parliament, as well as the legislatures of Manitoba and New Brunswick, also use both languages.

Section 133 of the Constitution Act of 1867 reflects this protection. One of the cornerstones of the civil law of Quebec is its consistent use of principles through intelligently thought-out terminology.

That terminology must be reflected consistently throughout the law. If one of the language versions uses corruptive or inaccurate terminology, then the other text of the law is adversely affected and the integrity of the law is violated. The lawsuit of the Barreau du Québec points exactly to this concern.

A glaring example of this problem is our Code of civil procedure that came into effect on Jan. 1, 2016. By one estimate, some 60 per cent of the terminology and corresponding sentences in the Code of civil procedure are disjointed and inaccurate. Consequently, correct interpretation in either language is challenging.

This should not be. The problem can be easily resolved by the addition to the drafting team of jurilinguistes who are experts in civil law principles, terminology and language nuances in both languages to ensure a clear, precise and concise text of the law.

Jurilinguistes could ensure that both language versions would be voted on by MNAs at each stage of the process. The cost to taxpayers would be minimal, but the benefits to the citizens and litigants of Quebec, enormous.

None of the Barreau’s attempts to settle this matter have succeeded. Therefore, given its mission to protect the public, the Barreau had no choice but to commence the proceedings. Lawyers are sworn to uphold the integrity of our laws and the rights of the citizens of Quebec. We can only do so when our laws are impeccable and unimpeachable.

We call upon the government of Quebec to rapidly settle this issue and ensure the constitutionality of our laws and their faithfulness to our legal values.