Quebec passes law creating a court for sexual and spousal violence

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The Quebec National Assembly launched 12 days against violence against women with a major change in its justice system.

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Members of the four parties unanimously adopted Thursday Bill 92 , “A law to create a court specialized in sexual violence and domestic violence.”

The law arises from a collaboration between the parties and the Minister of Justice, Simon Jolin-Barrette, who said that Quebec is “the first state in the world” to have such a court.

“We listen to you,” he told victims of spousal and sexual violence, saying there was a “culture change in the justice system” with a “very fast” implementation of five to ten pilot projects.

“They will accompany you from start to finish, and whenever you want, and your particular needs will be considered as victims and we will respond equally to every step of the judicial process and even beyond,” said Jolin-Barrette.

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Christine Labrie, Québec’s solidarity MNA, said the bill was written “always keeping in mind what the victims told us, that they felt re-victimized through the justice system.”

Parti Québécois MNA Véronique Hivon said the bill was “really a direct consequence of #MeToo. … We have to thank the victims who had the power, the courage to speak out because without them we would not be here ”.

Liberal MNA Isabelle Melançon praised the cooperation between the parties to get the bill passed.

Jolin-Barrette said the court’s goal is not to see more convictions, but with only five percent of sexual assaults reported for various reasons, he expects more people to report the violence and “the volume of files (at the prosecutor’s office ) will probably increase. “

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How the court will react to this law remains an open question. In a rare public statement, the Chief Justice of the Quebec Court, Lucie Rondeau, said the court saw the creation of this court as an unacceptable political intrusion into the judicial system.

The Quebec Court had already created a new division, which would begin early next year, related to spousal and sexual violence. Rondeau even criticized the name of the proposed court, concerned that it would violate the right to the presumption of innocence that all defendants have.

Jolin-Barrette did not seem overly concerned about a possible challenge to the creation of the court.

“We managed to eliminate some irritants that I had and I am very confident that with the passage of the bill today we will move forward successfully. The channels are open and all parts of justice have to contribute, but certainly the irritants who were there are no longer, “he said, reiterating that the defendants still benefit from their rights, including the presumption of innocence until proven culpability. .

He said that discussions continue between his ministry and the magistrate. “I’m in a collaborative approach to make it work,” he said.