So, you want to become a Canadian Supreme Court Justice and get a sweet set of those
famous Santa Claus robes.
How do you do it?
Well, according to the Supreme Court Act there are 5 requirements:
1.
Be bilingual in both French and English, 2.
Be under 75 years old, 3.
Have been a judge or barrister for at least 10 years,
4.
Be from the correct region in Canada, and 5.
Be chosen by the Governor in Council If you possess all five of those things, then
congratulations, you are the newest Supreme Court Justice, also called a puisne judge.
Puisne?
*clicks* “Puny” “I am a Judge!”
“Puny Judge.”
Anyway, while the first two requirements are straightforward enough, the last three require
a little explanation.
Let’s start off with becoming a judge or barrister.
To become either you’ll first have to graduate high school and then get an undergraduate
degree.
Once you have your degree you can then write the Law School Admissions Test, or LSAT.
If your LSAT score is high enough and your undergraduate grades are good enough and you
write a good application then congratulations - you may attend law school!
However, even once you graduate you are not yet a lawyer.
First, you must “article,” meaning, to work under the supervision of an experienced
lawyer.
How long you have to article for varies by province, but in general it’s a year or
slightly less.
After you’re finished articling you then have to pass the bar.
If you pass the bar then congratulations, you’re now a lawyer!
But what about becoming a barrister?
Well, a barrister is the type of lawyer who works in a courtroom, as opposed to a solicitor
who might work in real estate or business.
So to become a barrister you should take a job as a lawyer where you’ll be working
in court, such as a defense lawyer or a prosecutor, among others.
At this point you can choose to build up your experience as a lawyer and apply to the Supreme
Court from there; however, if you choose to become a judge instead then there are some
extra steps involved.
The specific type of judge you need to become is a Provincial Superior Court Judge.
To become such a judge you’ll need 10 years work experience as a lawyer bare minimum.
Once you have the requisite work experience you can then apply to the Commissioner for
Federal Judicial Affairs.
Your application must then be reviewed by a Judicial Advisory Committee, and if they
like you then they may recommend your application to the federal Minister of Justice.
The Minister will in turn make their recommendations to the federal Cabinet, who will choose who
will be made a Superior Court Judge.
So now you’ve become either a Barrister, or a Judge, or both, it’s time to play the
waiting game until one of the current Supreme Court Justices retires.
Let’s say one of them does retire and you have the required 10 years legal experience
– can you apply to be a Supreme Court Justice then?
Well, maybe, depending on where you live.
You see, Quebec uses a Civil Law system, similar to France, whereas the rest of Canada uses
a Common Law system, like the U.S. or U.K.
Because of Quebec’s special legal system, the Supreme Court Act mandates that at least
three of the justices have practiced law in Quebec.
Furthermore, while it’s not an official rule, it’s tradition that there are always
two justices from the western provinces, one from the eastern provinces, and three from
Ontario to ensure strong representation from all regions of Canada.
So whoever fills the vacancy left by the retiring judge must be from the same region.
If you’re from the same region of Canada as the retiring judge, then you can finally
apply to be a Supreme Court Justice!
But, just because you CAN apply doesn’t mean you SHOULD.
While you might meet the minimum legal requirements to be a Supreme Court Justice, to have a reasonable
shot at getting the job you should be a very well-respected lawyer or judge who has made
significant contributions in your field.
But let’s say you are incredibly accomplished – what next?
Supreme Court Justices are chosen by the Governor in Council, which means the Governor General
acting on the advice of the federal Cabinet, which is fancy Canadian political talk for
“the Prime Minister gets the final say.”
However, Prime Ministers are politicians, and politicians are apt to appoint judges
with similar political leanings and ideologies to them.
While this might be beneficial to the politicians doing the appointing, it is not good for the
health of the judicial system.
So, to combat this, before arriving on the Prime Minister’s desk your application must
first be reviewed by The Independent Advisory Board for Supreme Court of Canada Judicial
Appointments.
This seven-person board is made up of one retired judge, two lawyers, a legal scholar,
and three other members nominated by the Minister of Justice.
Interesting side-note: the most recent chair of this board was former Conservative Prime
Minister Kim Campbell, which I think is a pretty interesting way to balance out current
Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s political leanings from the appointment process.
The board creates a shortlist of 3-5 candidates.
Once the shortlist is finalized, the Minister of Justice consults with the current Chief
Justice of the Supreme Court, relevant provincial & territorial attorneys general, relevant
cabinet ministers, opposition Justice Critics, and members of relevant House of Commons standing
committees.
Once all those consultations are completed, the shortlist is presented to the Prime Minister,
who gets the final say.
Or, if he doesn’t like any of the candidates, he can veto the list and tell the board to
start over.
So, to recap: you must first get an undergraduate degree, then attend law school, then become
a licensed lawyer, and then build up 10 years experience as a barrister or judge.
And if you’re bilingual, under 75, and from the same region as a retiring justice you
can submit your application to The Independent Advisory Board for Supreme Court of Canada
Judicial Appointments.
If the board likes you, and the Prime Minister likes you, then congratulations – you are
the latest puisne judge on Canada’s Supreme Court and you can finally claim that awesome
set of Santa Claus robes.
Wait, why do Canadian Supreme Court Justices dress like that anyway?
Click here to find out!