By Canadian Press

Judge overstepped his authority in ruling against Quebec’s language law: appeal court

Aug 14, 2025 | 12:17 PM

MONTREAL — Quebec’s Court of Appeal says a provincial court judge overstepped his jurisdiction when he ruled that part of the province’s language law is unconstitutional.

In May 2024, Quebec court Judge Denis Galiatsatos raised the question on his own initiative while overseeing a case involving a woman charged with criminal negligence causing the death of a cyclist.

The language law’s article 10 says a French translation of court decisions must be made available “immediately and without delay.”

The English-language trial in question got underway two days after the language law took effect in June 2024.

Galiatsatos said at the time that the law systematically delays the delivery of verdicts handed down in English because of the French translation requirement.

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Both the provincial and federal attorneys general argued before the Court of Appeal that Galiatsatos could not raise the question on his own initiative.

The province’s high court agreed, and in a ruling Aug. 8 said the judge’s actions in initiating the debate went beyond his jurisdiction.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 14, 2025.

The Canadian Press