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even to grant leave to appeal from a unanimous Court of Ap- peal sitting five judges — a normal panel is three — let alone to overrule its decision. Second, the facts and legal arguments were complex. At the 28-day trial, there were thousands of exhibits, tens of thousands of pages of affidavits and other documents, over 1,000 pages of written arguments, and 25 volumes of au- thorities. How could the Supreme Court possibly make sense of all that in the time available? Thirdly, the Supreme Court is not a strong commercial court. Only one or two of the justices has knowledge and experience in the area. The temptation to duck must have been strong. And, finally, summer is coming and judges want to go to their cottages as much as anybody else. Immediately following the Quebec Court of Appeal's deci- sion, BCE sought leave to appeal to the Supreme Court. A few days later, the court gave the parties until May 30 to file the application for a hearing and responses, and said it would hear the case on June 17 if leave were granted. On June 2, leave was given; the appellant was instructed to file its papers by June 6; the respondent, by June 10. The hearing was on June 17, and judgement was given on June 20, with "reasons to follow." Contrary to what I expected, the Supreme Court moved de- cisively and with unprecedented speed. Was it right to do so? Most think the court had to give leave, notwithstanding the 5-0 decision of the appeal court; after all, the hubbub created by the decision below presumably meant that the legal issues were important. And, because of the deal's timetable, granting leave to appeal would be meaningless unless the court was ready to dispose of the matter on its merits by the end of June. Hats off to the Supreme Court, many said; it understands the real world! One senior corporate lawyer e-mailed me: "They did everything that could have been asked of them in responding under impossible timelines, and then getting it right." But wait a minute. Another way of looking at it is that judges who don't know much about corporate law gave a final answer to a crucial and complex question without having had enough time to carefully consider the matter — and did it to meet the timetable of leveraged buyout artists and hedge fund manag- ers. Is that a responsible approach for a final court of appeal? There is unease about the Supreme Court's role in business law. Some suggest we need a separate commercial court system, filled to the brim with corporate and commercial expertise, that enjoys the complete confidence of the business community. Or should business law issues be shifted into the world of arbitra- tion, perhaps finding a home at the International Chamber of Commerce's International Court of Arbitration? The court has a vacancy at the moment. Instead of fussing about whether the new judge should be completely bilingual, shouldn't we be concerned about whether he or she under- stands the commercial world and business law? Philip Slayton has been dean of a law school and senior partner of a major Canadian law firm. Visit www.philipslayton.com www. Law ye rmag.com A UGUST 2008 25