Justices Mary T. Moreau, Richard Wagner, and Malcolm Rowe (left-to-right) from the Supreme Court of Canada delivering a public lecture on Monday afternoon (2/2/2026) in the delegation room. Photo by MKRI/Panji.

---

JAKARTA (MKRI) — After participating in a judicial dialogue with representatives of constitutional justices, three delegates from the Supreme Court of Canada—Chief Justice Richard Wagner, Justice Malcolm Rowe, and Lady Justice Mary T. Moreau—delivered a public lecture titled “Courts, Constitution, and the Rule of Law: The Canadian Experience” on Monday afternoon, February 2, 2026 at the Constitutional Court’s Delegation Room. The event, with 600 online attendees from the Court’s partner universities and institutions across Indonesia and 50 offline attendees from several universities as well as Constitutional Court officials, was moderated by Pan Mohamad Faiz Kusuma Wijaya, Head of the Public Relations and Protocol Bureau.

Also read: Judicial Dialogue: Legal System Practices of Canadian Supreme Court and Indonesian Constitutional Court

Justice Mary T. Moreau explained that the judicial structure in Canada includes federal, military, and provincial appellate courts. The highest and final court of appeal, the Supreme Court of Canada, resolves all cases from across Canada, subject to specific provisions and processes, including leave of appeals, appeals as of right, and references.

“In implementing the legal system in the judiciary, the Supreme Court of Canada also faces its own challenges, such as the interplay between artificial intelligence (AI) and the judicial system,” she explained.

History of Supreme Court of Canada

Meanwhile, Justice Malcolm Rowe introduced the long history and evolution of the formation of the Supreme Court of Canada. Simply put, the change in the Supreme Court of Canada’s history occurred in 1982 with the adoption of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Based on this document, the role of the Canadian Supreme Court is not merely to safeguard the division of federal-provincial authority, but also to serve as the primary guardian of human rights and constitutional supremacy.

“What was granted in the Constitution Act 1982 was… one, the authority of the courts to invalidate any law which is inconsistent with the Constitution including the Charter of Rights and Freedoms—that’s the invalidation of a constitutionally infringing law and also the authority for the courts,” he explained.

Judicial Independence

In his next presentation, Chief Justice Richard Wagner discussed the rule of law and judicial independence in Canada, which are grounded in guaranteed rights, freedoms, and stability. Based on the 2025 Rule of Law Index, Canada ranks 13th out of 143 countries with strong and resilient democratic institutions and courts capable of acting as guardians of citizens’ rights.

“Since becoming Chief Justice of Canada in 2017, it has been a priority to connect with Canadians and reveal the human face of the court. … Since 2018, our court staff have produced the cases in brief for each decision--a one-page summary of our judgments intended for the general public. … And each year, I hold a press conference to address broad questions about the court's role and the administration of justice… engaging openly on topics that affect the profession and the public. These initiatives share one purpose, to make justice real, to make it tangible, to make it accessible. When the public understands our process and our limits, they are more likely to trust our judgments even when they disagree with the outcomes,” he explained.

On this occasion, participants were given the opportunity to raise questions in order to obtain a more comprehensive understanding of the implementation and challenges encountered by the Supreme Court of Canada in administering its legal systems.

Author       : Sri Pujianti
Editor        : N. Rosi
Translator  : N. Valentino Rahadityo/YW

Disclaimer: The original version of the news is in Indonesian. In case of any differences between the English and the Indonesian versions, the Indonesian version will prevail.

---