A judicial reform based on the needs of citizen : Réforme judiciaire axée sur le citoyen

The current cost of judicial administration, the obvious need to make the system more effective, and the needless complexity arising from the presence of so many different authorities all argue for the integration of the Superior Court, the Court of Québec and the municipal courts using an approach based on the true needs of citizens. [...] INSTANCE IN QUÉBEC FOREWORD 9 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND 11 The British Model 11 The Canadian Model 12 The Expansion of the Provincial Courts in Québec 12 The Court of Québec Today 13 STATUS OF THE COURTS 14 The Superior Court 14 The Court of Québec 14 The Municipal Courts 14 Presiding Justices of the Peace 15 Features Common to Courts of First Instance 15 PROBLEMS INHERENT IN THE CURRENT JUDICIAL STRU [...] This bill nonetheless triggered reflection of the Administrative Tribunal of on what impact its adoption would have Quebec, the reform of the Code of had and encouraged discussion amongst the judges of the Court of Québec on the need to Civil Procedure in the wake of the rethink the current organization of the judicial overhaul of the Civil Code and the system of the courts of first instance. [...] As a result of these developments, the mission of the Court THE COURT OF QUÉBEC TODAY of Québec and that of the Superior Court have Over the past 17 years, the Court of Québec has become fundamentally the same, namely, undergone significant developments. [...] An example of irrationality might be, for instance, in criminal matters, the offence of murder which The current duality of jurisdiction between the is excluded from the jurisdiction of the Court Superior Court and the Court of Québec, of Québec whereas one of its judges may declare especially in light of the compartmentalization a person to be a “dangerous offender”, thereby and overlapping of ju