MONTREAL -- The verdict on the judicial system is in.
Quebec's superior court announced Friday that it was suspending activities until further notice, and on Sunday the ministry of justice announced that courthouses would be closed to the public. Only lawyers
A complete closure of courthouses is difficult to imagine. The Charter of Rights and Freedoms provides that "everyone arrested or detained must be promptly brought before a competent court or released," generally within 24 hours.
Urgent activities, however, are ongoing.
Montreal's courthouse was quiet on Monday as cases were postponed.
Some law firms were unable to continue their operations because their employees couldn't find child care and schools have suspended classes.
As for the impact of a stay of proceedings in various cases, inmates won't be able to use the suspension to obtain a stay of proceedings on the grounds of an unreasonable delay. The Jordan decision of the Supreme Court, rendered in July 2016, which limits the duration of procedures to 18 or 30 months, depending on whether it is a case in the Court of Quebec or the Superior Court, plans to add to this limits the time required in "exceptional circumstances."
In its decision, the Supreme Court clarified that "exceptional circumstances are circumstances beyond the control of the Crown, that is (1) that they are reasonably unforeseen or reasonably inevitable, and (2) that the lawyer of the public prosecutor cannot reasonably remedy the delays when they occur."
