Creation and Beginnings of the Court
Current and Former Chief Justices
Current and Former Puisne Judges
About the Court
Judges of the Court
The Honourable Mr. Justice Jean Beetz
![[Photo - Jean Beetz]](/web/20061029064243im_/http://www.scc-csc.gc.ca/_images/display/beetz-tn.jpg)
Jean Beetz was born in Montreal, Quebec, on March 27, 1927. He was the son
of Jean Beetz and Jeanne Cousineau. He began his university education at the
University of Montreal, earning a B.A. in 1947 and an LL.L. in 1950. Awarded
a Rhodes Scholarship, he went to Oxford University, where he completed a further
B.A. in 1953. He was called to the bar before he left for England, and upon
his return in 1953 became an assistant professor at the University of Montreal.
One of the first full-time law professors at the university, he taught there
for 20 years and from 1968 to 1970 was dean of the faculty. During that period,
he also acted as a legal adviser to the federal government and served as special
counsel on constitutional affairs to Pierre Elliott Trudeau, then prime minister
of Canada. He was appointed to the Quebec Court of Appeal in 1973 and elevated
to the Supreme Court of Canada on January 1, 1974. He served on the Supreme
Court for 14 years and retired on November 10, 1988. Justice Beetz died on
September 30, 1991, at the age of 64.
