A controversial decision that ruled that a provision of the French language charter that calls for the “immediate and simultaneous” filing of English rulings into French cannot apply to criminal proceedings in the province was overturned by the Quebec Court of Appeal after concluding that the provincial court judge exceeded the limits of his jurisdiction.
The ruling, a second clear-cut and related missive over the past year aimed at provincial court judges, reaffirms that Court of Quebec judges may declare a provision of a statute inoperative on constitutional grounds but only in proceedings before them, said legal experts. The Appeal Court also castigated in obiter Court of Quebec Judge Dennis Galiatsatos for “relying on pure hypotheticals and adjudicating with a flawed procedural framework.” But the decision does not delve into substantive issues that may be elicited from the constitutionality of section 10 of the Charter of the French Language (C.F.L), added pundits.
“The Appeal Court could have been much more scathing of the judge but was careful not to go too far because otherwise it would tarnish the reputation of the judge,” noted Stéphane Beaulac, constitutional law professor at the Université de Montréal, specializing in language law, and of counsel at Dentons Canada in Montreal. “The case was really decided on the basis of the question of jurisdiction. Court of Quebec judges can make declarations, but not formal declarations of a general nature.”