Remarks of The Rt Hon. Beverley McLachlin
| Date | 01 January 2018 |
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HIBERNIAN LAW MEDALS 2018
Remarks by
THE RT HON. BEVERLEY MLACHLIN PC*
I am grateful to receive this award. My appreciation is deepened by the presence of
the two people who have been chosen to receive the Hibernian Law Medal with
me – Lord Neuberger and Chief Justice Denham. To nd myself in their company
is both humbling and profoundly gratifying. ank you from the bottom of my
heart.
In my few words today, I would like to share with you ve reections on my
experience of judicial life.
I became a judge in Vancouver, British Columbia, in 1981, when most people
in this room were not born, or, if they were, don’t recall. I served as a trial judge
until 1986, when I was named to the British Columbia Court of Appeal. In 1988
I was named Chief Justice of the British Columbia Supreme Court, and in 1989
was elevated to the Supreme Court of Canada, in Ottawa. My many and rapid
transitions provoked two comments. e rst was that I could not hold a job. e
second was that I made it through the Canadian Court system faster than most
cases.
My rapid passage through the court hierarchy may have deprived me of mature
experience. But, on the positive side of things, it educated me in a panoply of
dierent judicial roles and responsibilities, from trial judge, to intermediate
appellate judge, to serving on an apex court. Not to mention the challenges the role
of Chief Justice presents.
What did I learn along the way, as I navigated my dierent judicial roles? Let me
oer the following thoughts.
Listen
First, a judge must listen. It is not enough to give the parties a hearing; a judge
must actively listen to them. Listen to what the witnesses say. Listen to what the
lawyers say. Listen to what the documents say. Listen not just in the sense of sitting
on a bench and taking the odd note. Listen in an open, curious way. Listen deeply,
* e Rt Hon. Beverley McLachlin is former Chief Justice of Canada, having retired in December
2017.
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