Below is an article about a Canadian Court ruling which has found the activities of B'nai B'rith Anti Defamation League to be rather dubious and their allegations against a Canadian citizen to be questioned.....
Quote: At the end of January 1999, Ernst finally succeeded in having Judge Reed declare that he was ***entitled*** to have these five judicial reviews to be heard - against the strenuous objections of the Canadian Jewish Congress and B'nai Brith on January 15, 1999. Imagine! Having to struggle for the very right to fight back - a right that is constitutionally protected to begin with!
No, champagne didn't flow - since boozing isn't part of our lifestyle! But joy ran high, and the severely tested faith in Canada's justice system has, at least for now, been partially restored at Zundel Headquarters.
Judge Campbell's sweeping ruling for our side has thrown the whole obscene Human Rights Tribunal actions and behavior open to public and judicial scrutiny!
To recap very briefly:
For two-and-a-half years, Ernst Zundel asked for judicial reviews to have a real court, staffed by real judges, look at the one-sided and legally questionable rulings handed down by the Human Rights Tribunal in the, by now, three-year-old struggle around the Zundelsite.
The idea was to get a court of higher jurisdiction to look at what was being done by agenda-driven, ideologically motivated quasi-courts called "Human Rights Commissions" and/or "Tribunals" in Canada.
Ernst and his legal team have fought virtually alone, without support from the armchair free-speechers, without much media support, with practically superhuman strength - against all the money and clout of Canada's B'nai B'rith who feared these judicial reviews.
At the cost of hundreds of thousands of (largely) taxpayers' dollars to underwrite the prosecution of Ernst Zundel, every conceivable obstacle, every deliberate delay and unheard-of rulings by political appointees were thrown into his path - in the hope that his resolve would weaken, his strength would give out, and his financial and legal resources be depleted completely.
At the end of last year and the beginning of this year, the atmosphere in the Tribunal hearings was so brazenly high-handed, arrogant, brutal and poisonous that more than one observer described the situation as "satanic". By hook or by crook, these hearings were to be the instrument to do him in - Ernst Zundel was going to be finished!
At the end of January 1999, Ernst finally succeeded in having Judge Reed declare that he was ***entitled*** to have these five judicial reviews to be heard - against the strenuous objections of the Canadian Jewish Congress and B'nai Brith on January 15, 1999. Imagine! Having to struggle for the very right to fight back - a right that is constitutionally protected to begin with!
That was a partial but important victory - announced right on the Zundelsite.
As fate would have it, Madame Justice Reed herself heard the first Judicial Review on March 9, 1999 - and within weeks ruled against Ernst on a technicality.
To say that we were surprised by that ruling is putting it politely. (Today, April 14, 1999, Ernst already filed an appeal against that decision!)
The second judicial review - and the most important one, since it dealt with questions of jurisdiction and territoriality - was heard by Judge Evans.
Ernst said that Doug Christie argued brilliantly and that every single argument that could be made was made. That ruling is still pending - and may well remain "pending" for god-knows-how-long!
(One wonders if yesterday's ruling will affect the outcome! Inquiring minds want to know.)
The remaining three judicial reviews were heard together by Judge Campbell, starting two days ago (April 12, 1999) and were slated to last three to five days. I was talking to a friend during the wait, and his comment was a very quiet and wistful one: "All Ernst needs is one honest, gutsy judge. Just one honest, gutsy judge!"
The issues before Judge Campbell were these:
On Monday morning, the judge came in and made short shrift. It was clear that he had studied all the Zundel documents and arguments, as well as huge volumes supplied by B'nai B'rith, which included all of Schweitzer's testimony, among many other documents.
It was very clear that this judge was informed and saw the picture clearly. He let it be known that he had neither time nor patience with twiddle-twaddle.
He said that it appeared to him that Ernst had every right to feel apprehension that Reva Esther Devins could hold a bias against him. If there was evidence to be submitted by the prosecution to show this was not true, then he would like to see it. Now!
It turned out there was none.
This scene has been described to me as dramatic. There stood a demure lady lawyer representing the Simon Wiesenthal Center who was chosen to take all the flak but didn't look "chosen" at all - with all the boastful B'nai B'rith lawyers sitting there, as quiet as mice, and letting her take all the heat. Gone was the previous arrogance!
The judge said sharply that what he had before him were Ernst Zündel's sworn affidavits - uncontradicted by any other evidence. He told her that he had to rule on the facts and nothing but the facts - not on innuendo, verbally supplied today. He actually wagged his finger at the Simon Wiesenthal Centre representative, cautioning her on how far she could go with her allusions.
In the end, Judge Campbell's ruling was that Devins had no business being a Tribunal member - that there was an apprehension of bias, as Ernst had said all along.
Judge Campbell further ruled that since Devins had been a party to the rulings disqualifying Dr. Jacob as an expert witness, as well as the notorious ". . . truth is no defense" ruling, that in and of itself invalidated those rulings as well.
It bears repeating: Ernst Zundel was right all along! He won all three judicial reviews in record speed, which completely stunned the opposition - and in the process got some extremely interesting and important statements about the totally unprofessional behavior and practices of the Ontario Human Rights Commission (of which Ms. Devins was for years a Commissioner herself) into the transcript as a bonus!
Judge Campbell's ruling means that every single previous Tribunal ruling can - and will, for all those who know Ernst Zundel! - be challenged in subsequent judicial reviews if needed! The "Human Rights" Quagmire has only just begun!
It also means that Mr. Pensa, the Lone but Well-Connected Liberal, friend of premiers and prime ministers, will have to bear the full burden of responsibility of any decisions yet to be made. This will not be a pleasant role for one man to be in! Mr. Pensa is a well-known and prominent lawyer. But the law, as Judge Campbell once more proved, applies to all in the end.
In summary, it means the door is now cast wide open to un-dreamed-of possibilities! For there are remedies in place in Civil Law in Canada that can be invoked against judicial officers, if they knowingly and willingly abuse their powers!