Quebec/CMEDIA: A Quebec judge temporarily suspended a provision requiring English court documents to be translated into French.’s new language law causing a first defeat on Friday.
Siding with a group of lawyers’ argument that the translation requirement violates sections of the 1867 Constitution Act guaranteeing access to the courts in both official languages, Quebec Superior Court Justice Chantal Corriveau argued that sections of Bill 96 that require corporations to pay a certified translator to produce French versions of legal documents could prevent some English-speaking organizations from accessing justice.
In a written judgment released Friday, Corriveau said the rule could cause delays and costs that could particularly hurt small and medium-sized businesses.
“The evidence demonstrates a serious risk that, in these cases, certain legal persons will not be able to assert their rights before the courts in a timely manner, or will be forced to do so in a language other than the official language which they and their lawyers master the best and which they identify as their own,” she wrote.
The judge ordered that the two articles be allowed to stay until the case can be heard on its merits, likely in November.
The law, which was adopted earlier this year, also proactively invokes the notwithstanding clause of the Canadian Constitution to shield it from Charter challenges.
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