Canadian Lawyer

"Our mantra is that we are judge-led and judge-focused. We work with judges on an agreed project with agreed objectives. Our contacts are always judges and courts; not governments." Brian lennOX, national Judicial institute to tell that in our system, many people are unrepresented or under-represented," he says. "It is an extremely expensive system and it's highly dependent on guilty pleas. And plea bargaining can lead to mistakes." During a project for the Judicial Studies Centre of the Americas, Rosenberg recalls shocking an audience of South American judges by revealing, notwithstanding its highly evolved adversarial system, Canada has a sorry experience in wrongful convictions. He told them faulty eyewitness testimony, inadequate expert witnesses, and false confessions have all led to unjust convictions, and innocent people have pleaded guilty rather than expose themselves to the uncertain consequences of a criminal trial. "For some of them, this is news," says Rosenberg. "So, before they buy into our system, they have to make sure that they know what they are getting into." Some of the most successful aid projects involve visits to Canada by judges from the host country. In the case of the Chinese project, a group of visiting judges were treated to a mock criminal trial. Actual judges, prosecutors, and defence DROP THE SUIT. REVIVE THE PASSION. EXPAND THE LAW. counsel played starring roles, and the visiting judges were encouraged to interrupt with questions. NOTHING'S PERFECT Kent, who specializes in judicial ethics, says what Canadian judges see abroad can be every bit as revealing as what they teach their hosts. In one South American country, for example, she recalls a young judge approaching her after she led a talk about the evils of accepting bribes. "He said: 'I have a family and I have to move a lot from place to place — how am I supposed to support my family?'" The dangerous circumstances foreign judges operate in can also be sobering. Many are underpaid, lack true judicial independence, or may face danger. While Canadian aid administrators take pains to avoid any situation that could present danger to Canadian judges, "our judges can obviously be high-risk targets." Less dramatically, there are diseases and even chaotic traffic conditions to worry about. For example, two judges working on the Philippines project contracted Do you need a break from routine to refuel your intellectual creativity? Become an International Law Research Fellow at The Centre for International Governance Innovation. Canada's premier international relations think tank invites leading practitioners, industry professionals and senior researchers in law to join its new International Law Research Program. Located in Waterloo, Ontario, CIGI offers deep collaboration on issues critical to the international legal landscape, public policy and global governance. www.cigionline.org/careers Untitled-3 1 www.CANADIAN L a w ye r m a g . c o m 14-01-13 4:24 PM F e b r uary 2014 33

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