Translating the printemps érable

Original French Text: http://www.faitsetcauses.com/2012/05/27/marche-silencieuse-des-juristes-toges-a-lappui/

PRESS RELEASE

Subject: silent march of the “robed lawyers in support”

We are a spontaneous group of lawyers in support of the contestation of Law 78. 

We will meet at the Palais de justice in Montreal, Monday May 28 2012 at 6:30PM for a silent walk up to Parc Émilie-Gamelin. We will be donning our finest apparel in order to recall the inherent dignity of our professions and of our justice system founded on the primacy of the law and of the respect of fundamental freedoms. 

Our walk has the purpose of expressing our dismay in light of the passing of a special law that we believe constitutes a disproportionate attack on our freedom of expression, of association, and of peaceful protest. We equally wish to demonstrate our concern regarding the (predictable) loss of confidence of a growing number of citizens in our judicial institutions following the passing of this law. 

We are lawyers: we intend to respect the requirements of the law that is in effect. Our itinerary was submitted to the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal more than eight hours in advance. 

We are officers of the court: some of us will be in the front line of the battle to invalidate the disposals of the law that we deem incompatible with our Constitution and our Charter of Rights. We are of the opinion that this approach will help restore the shaken confidence of the citizens towards their judicial institutions. 

For any additional information, do not hesitate to contact Me François Desroches (514-895-8531) or Me Rémi Bourget (514-827-7364).

Translated from the original French by Translating the printemps érable.

*Translating the printemps érable is a volunteer collective attempting to balance the English media’s extremely poor coverage of the student conflict in Québec by translating media that has been published in French into English. These are amateur translations; we have done our best to translate these pieces fairly and coherently, but the final texts may still leave something to be desired. If you find any important errors in any of these texts, we would be very grateful if you would share them with us at translatingtheprintempsderable@gmail.com. Please read and distribute these texts in the spirit in which they were intended; that of solidarity and the sharing of information.