Canadian Lawyer

unnecessary adjournments and focusing attention on the relevant material in each case. "I think there' administrative issues. "There's not any all about the convenience of the parties, and not the timeliness," he says. "Judges have to be prepared to manage their courtrooms so that they are dealing with cases in a way that' s a degree to which it's to the case, and ensuring cases don't turn into huge inquiries into issues that aren't particularly germane to the case. s fair and appropriate be driven from leaders in the judiciary, according to Plant, which may mean alter- ing criteria for judicial appointments. "It' Part of that culture change needs to " ambitious to expect it to change quickly, partly because one way to change the cul- ture over time is by appointing judges who appear to have more interest or aptitude around their responsibilities as manag- ers, and not just as adjudicators," he says. "I really don't think we're going to get, or deserve, public confidence in the justice system until we get all of the players par- ticipating constructively in joint problem solving. s a well-defined system has developed around disputes over judicial compen- sation, independent commissions that can be overridden by provincial governments. However, a large proportion of those have resulted in litigation between provincial judges associations and provincial gov- ernments. B.C.' involving recommendations by are currently awaiting a decision in an application for judicial review of the gov- ernment' s provincial court judges sion's recommendation of a six-per-cent s decision to ignore a commis- wage rise, in line with its wage freeze for civil servants. At the same time, a Manitoba Court of Queen' recently ordered the province to pay the provincial judges' association costs on a solicitor-client basis after finding the government showed "demonstrable bad faith" in its dealings over salaries and benefits. Such cases contribute to an "erosion of mutual trust" between the parties when it comes to administrative issues, says Sossin. But he says he hopes Cowper' s Bench judge Since the provincial judges' reference, " obvious roadmap as to how courts and government are supposed to collaborate with one another in the current model. I think this is an experiment in a different way to approach that," he says. "Because we focus more on judicial salaries, we tend to forget about the role of courts in our society and how they ought to be made accountable in a way that also sup- ports independence and the rule of law. If this puts our attention in this area, that's got to be a good thing." leagues have been active in Cowper's review since issuing their statements. "It is a reflection of the fact that we want to be open, we want to enter the debate. We welcome discussion, and we welcome the opportunity to explain ourselves to public. That' Bauman says he and his judicial col- job of in the past," he says. s something we haven't done a good review and the judges' reaction could represent a new model for discussion on judicial independence, particularly on s Osgoode_CL_Aug_12.indd 1 www.CANADIAN Lawyermag.com A U GUST 2012 4512-07-16 11:06 AM

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