#106 | Episode 2: In the Blind Spot – The Judiciary, A Giant with Feet of Clay? (in French)
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Episode 2 | In the Blind Spot – The Judiciary, A Giant with Feet of Clay? (in French)
Broadcast Date: August 28, 2025
EPISODE SUMMARY | CONFERENCE | SERIES OVERVIEW | BIOGRAPHIES | PREVIOUS SERIES
EPISODE SUMMARY
Protected by the Constitution yet vulnerable to political, media, and social pressures, the judiciary sometimes resembles a “giant with feet of clay.” In this second episode of the series In the Blind Spot, the Honourable Justice Simon Ruel speaks with Shana Chaffai-Parent, Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Law, Université de Montréal, and Jacques Chamberland, retired Justice of the Quebec Court of Appeal. Together, they explore the historical and constitutional foundations of judicial independence in Canada and beyond, its very purpose—protecting fundamental rights, upholding the rule of law, and maintaining public confidence—as well as contemporary threats ranging from political populism to smear campaigns. The conversation also addresses the role of the media and the legitimacy—or excess—of criticism directed at judges. A thought-provoking look at the challenges facing an independent judiciary in today’s democracies.
This episode is available in French only.
Guests
- Shana Chaffai-Parent, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Law, Université de Montréal
- Jacques Chamberland, Retired Justice of the Quebec Court of Appeal
Host
- The Honourable Justice Simon Ruel, Court of Appeal of Quebec
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BIOGRAPHIES
Shana Chaffai-Parent
Shana Chaffai-Parent is a professor at the Faculty of Law of the Université de Montréal. She teaches civil procedure and the foundations of private law at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.
Her research focuses on civil procedure, the law of evidence, access to justice, and the relationship between justice and social media.
Her dissertation, entitled Deconstructing the Principle of Adversarial Proceedings in Civil Litigation, won the 2025 Henri Capitant Prize and will be published by Yvon Blais in 2026.
Jacques Chamberland
Jacques Chamberland served as a Justice of the Quebec Court of Appeal for over 28 years, from June 1993 to October 2021.
In addition to practising privately, he held key positions within the Quebec government. Most notably, he served as Quebec’s Deputy Minister of Justice under the Bourassa government from April 1988 to June 1993, under two ministers—Herbert Marx and Gil Rémillard.
He chaired the Commission of Inquiry on the Protection of the Confidentiality of Journalistic Sources, which tabled its report in 2018 and recommended reforms to provide stronger protection for journalistic sources, particularly in the context of police investigations.
The Honourable Simon Ruel
The Honourable Simon Ruel was elevated to the Court of Appeal of Quebec on June 21, 2017, after having sat on the Quebec Superior Court from 2014 to 2017. Justice Ruel studied law at the Université de Montréal’s Faculty of Law. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry and has completed a certificate in Russian studies at Université Laval’s Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.
As a lawyer, Justice Ruel practised mainly in public and administrative law and in government affairs. He was a member of the Quebec Bar (1995) and of the Law Society of Ontario (2007). After beginning his career with the firm of Grey Casgrain in Montreal, he subsequently became a litigator and counsel to the federal Department of Justice, the Privy Council Office, and the federal Department of Finance in Ottawa. Before his appointment to the Superior Court, he was a partner at the firm of BCF Business Law in Quebec City and, prior to that, at the national Canadian firm Heenan Blaikie
Justice Ruel participated as counsel in numerous federal and provincial public inquiries and investigations. These included the Commission of Inquiry into the Sponsorship Program and Advertising Activities, the Cornwall Public Inquiry, and the Commission of Inquiry on the Process for Appointing Judges presided by the Honourable Michel Bastarache. He also appeared before the Manitoba Court of Appeal to represent the Manitoba Commission of Inquiry into the Circumstances Surrounding the Death of Phoenix Sinclair.
In addition to practising law, Justice Ruel taught public and administrative law at the Quebec Bar School and lectured on civil and commercial evidence at the University of Ottawa. He has authored or co-authored numerous legal publications, articles, and commentaries on public and administrative law and on inquiries. He has also participated as a speaker, host, or moderator in a number of legal events on topics covering judicial ethics, public and administrative law, public inquiries and investigations, criminal and penal law, the use of technology in the justice system, and judgment writing. Justice Ruel has served as chair of the Quebec Judicial Committee on Information Security (“COMSI”) and chair of the Judges Section of the Canadian Bar Association.
He is currently a puisne member of the Judicial Independence Committee of the Canadian Judicial Council and co-chair of the Council’s social media subcommittee. As counsel, he advised the Council on reforms to the disciplinary process for federally appointed judges and, subsequently, as a member of the Council’s Judicial Independence Committee, he participated in revising the Ethical Principles for Judges, which were updated in 2021, and in the drafting of the Guidelines on the Use of Social Media by Federally Appointed Judges, which were released in October 2024.
Justice Ruel also has an interest in international law. In 2014, in preparation for the review of Haiti’s implementation of the United Nations Convention against Corruption, he participated, on behalf of Transparency International/Haiti, in an international mission to assess anti-corruption measures taken by the Republic of Haiti.
Over the course of his study leave during the 2023-2024 judicial year, Justice Ruel focused on the law of war, international humanitarian law and international criminal law. He was a visiting professor at Université Laval’s Faculty of Law in Quebec City and took part in a number of teaching activities and seminars on these topics. He collaborated with the Faculty’s International Criminal and Humanitarian Law Clinic and with Lawyers Without Borders, including on issues relating to the prevention of corruption. He also made three visits to the International Criminal Court in The Hague as a visiting professional to observe all facets of international criminal justice in an active case involving the Central African Republic.
PREVIOUS SERIES
“Under Fire” is a series of french podcasts produced by the Canadian Institute for the Administration of Justice and hosted by the Honorable Judge Simon Ruel of the Quebec Court of Appeal in 2024. The interviews feature experts in international law, the law of war, humanitarian law, and international criminal law. The series aims to examine and understand the rules and legal consequences arising from international conflicts.
The right to wage war (jus ad bellum) and international humanitarian law (jus in bello) concern, respectively, the right of states to use armed force against other states and the regulation of armed conflict once it has begun, with the aim, in particular, of limiting suffering and protecting civilian populations. International criminal law deals with the individual criminal responsibility of actors in armed conflicts for crimes constituting serious violations of humanitarian law, such as genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. The International Criminal Court is a permanent international criminal court with universal jurisdiction and a mandate to rule on the responsibility of such actors. In addition, certain issues relating to armed conflict may also be brought before the International Court of Justice, the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, particularly with regard to the use of force in international law and the application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
The “Under Fire” podcast series explores these topics with experts in an accessible and educational manner, with the aim of demystifying these important concepts for the Canadian legal community and enabling it to better understand the current global flashpoints and their consequences.
List of episodes (in French):
- Le droit international humanitaire (ou droit des conflits armés – jus in bello)
- La justice pénale internationale sous toutes ses coutures
- La défense en justice pénale internationale
- Les victimes et la justice pénale internationale
- Le recours à la force en droit international et la Cour internationale de justice
In All Fairness is a Canadian Institute for the Administration of Justice podcast channel welcoming representatives from the legal community and exploring how we can all contribute to improving the administration of justice in Canada. Legal professionals will benefit from informed discussions on key issues, essential knowledge and insights to strengthen their practice.
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