Droit des langues et langues du droit, au Canada - ch. I - p. 150-219 (original) (raw)

Language and Law (co-authored with Fernand de Varennes)

Francis Hult and D Johnson (eds.), Research Methods in Language Policy and Planning, London: Wiley Blackwell, 2015, pp. 56–66.

This elementary introduction into the difficult relationship between language and law written for non-lawyers outlines some key steps in the development of the legal approaches towards allowing people to speak their own language and outlines several key trends in the recent developments relevant in this field: a shift from the culture of authority to the culture of justification and the acceptance of the ethos of rights in approaching the relationship between law and language as opposed to the ethos of duties prevalent in the past.

L'égalité des langues officielles au Canada.FINAL.2019.07.01.EN

overriding value of de jure and de facto equality of the two official languages and the two legal systems in Canada was constitutionalized in 1982 with the coming into force of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, particularly section 18. The Constitution Act, 1982 redefined the Canadian legal landscape. It guarantees the rights and freedoms of all persons and, in matters of language, it protects the right of English and French linguistic minorities to receive instruction in their language and the right of citizens to use either of Canada’s two official languages before the federal and New Brunswick courts. However, there is no obligation on judges to render their decisions in the language of the person appearing before them or on the courts to publish their judgments in both official languages

The language of the court

Research Handbook on Jurilinguistics, 2023

This chapter examines the relationship between language and courts of justice. The discussion is set against a backdrop of fundamental texts which underscore the need for those appearing before courts to understand the proceedings, evidence and witnesses and conversely for these same persons to be understood by the courts. This involves judges and all officers of the court from both procedural and deontological perspectives. Various jurisdictional contexts are discussed with an emphasis on plurilingual, multicultural and plurijural settings. Examples are mainly drawn from Canada since it represents concomitant jurisdictions having these characteristics. Overlapping languages and jurisdictions represent a significant challenge in the equitable administration of justice. This overriding issue informs the discussion of problems encountered in similar contexts including conflicts, confusion and competing jurisdictions. Notwithstanding the discordant nature which often affects access to justice, harmonization is presented as a means to protect fundamental language rights. Key words: Deontology, harmonization of laws, language policy, language rights, linguistic competence, plurilingualism.

Prescribed by Law/Une Règle De Droit

In Multani, the Supreme Court of Canada's kirpan case, judges disagree over the proper approach to reviewing administrative action under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The concurring judges questioned the leading judgment, Slaight Communications, on the basis that it is inconsistent with the French text of section 1. This disagreement stimulates reflections on language and culture in Canadian constitutional and administrative law. A reading of both language versions of section 1, Slaight, and the critical scholarship reveals a linguistic dualism in which scholars read one version of the Charter and of the judgment and write about them in that language. The separate streams undermine the idea of a shared, bilingual public law. Yet the differences exceed language. The article identifies a legal culture of droit administratif quýbýcois: that is, administrative law, practiced in French, within Quebec. That civilians working in French within Quebec approach public law differently than do others troubles the assumption that Canadian public law derives uniformly from British law.

Legislating Language Use in Alberta: A Century of Incidental Provisions for a Fundamental Matter

Alberta Law Review

Language law deals with a matter of fundamental importance, and language rights haw been wide recognized as fundamental human rights. Yet very little is known about Alberta's legislative provisions for language use. This article examines those provisions that have had the greatest impact over the past century and places them in their historical context. It also presents a comprehensive overview of the many unheralded provisions and organizes them according to their thematic significance. During Alberta's early decades these language provisions commonly imposed English and repressed minority languages. In more recent years they have promoted a greater tolerance for French and other languages.

The Spirit of the Language of Law – The Canadian Experience

Confluências | Revista Interdisciplinar de Sociologia e Direito

In bilingual countries like Canada, bijuralism and official bilingualism represent considerable challenges for translators and lawyers. Legal systems and the languages in which they are expressed are inextricably linked to the culture, history, and social system. Law is intimately bound to the language that expresses it. Translating the law means taking hold of the legal system in its role as cultural bonding. In conclusion, translators must also be sensitive to the structural and cultural differences between the coexisting legal systems and languages.