Legal Writing and Argumentation from a Canadian Perspective: Public Lecture by Judges Marc Richard and Martel D. Popescul

The audience of the National Institute of Justice participated, on Wednesday, May 29, 2024, in the public lesson on legal writing and argumentation. The expertise was shared by Canadian judges J.C. Marc Richard, Chief Justice of the New Brunswick Supreme Court, and Martel D. Popescul, Chief Justice of the King's Bench for Saskatchewan.

Before the event, the Acting Director of the National Institute of Justice, Adrian Cerbu, held talks with Canadian magistrates about the importance of sharing experiences between different judicial systems, which can contribute to the initial training of INJ audiences, as well as to the improvement of judicial practices.

In the public lecture, Marc Richard and Martel D. Popescul emphasized the need for clear and concise legal writing, logical structuring and precise expression being essential to effectively communicate legal decisions and avoid misinterpretations. Candidates for the positions of judge and prosecutor were also encouraged to develop drafting skills that would ensure the clarity and coherence of their legal arguments.

The meeting with the Canadian judges had an interactive format, with the audience having the opportunity to ask questions and receive answers. Thus, the magistrates in Canada detailed various aspects regarding the challenges encountered in the reasoning of court decisions, disciplinary sanctions due to failure to draft the decision within the established terms, the evolution of legal writing standards in the context of the development of artificial intelligence, the way in which the precedent changes in Canada, etc.

The event took place thanks to the Moldova-Canada Technical Assistance Project (TAP), with the support of the Judicial Relations Agency (FJA) under the Department of Justice of Canada, and served as a good opportunity for candidates for the positions of judge and prosecutor to deepen their knowledge necessary for their chosen career.