The New York Times - 19.09.2019

THE NEW YORK TIMES INTERNATIONALTHURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2019 0 N A

LONDON — The impassioned
speeches and howls of dissent
from the backbenches, the mid-
night votes and archaic rituals of
Parliament gave way this week to
a quieter drama in Britain, as the
anguished debate over Brexit
shifted from the House of Com-
mons to the country’s Supreme
Court.
At the courthouse, across a
leafy square from the Houses of
Parliament, the scene was, by
comparison, mind-numbingly
dull: lawyers walking a panel of 11
justices through thousands of
pages of technical legal argu-
ments, apologizing profusely
when the judges got lost in the
mountain of paper.
But the stakes are every bit as
high, both for Prime Minister
Boris Johnson and for the role of
the courts in Britain’s parliamen-
tary democracy.
At issue is whether Mr. Johnson
broke the law in suspending Par-
liament this month. A Scottish
high court ruled that he did; an
English court ruled that he did
not; and Britain’s highest court is
hearing appeals of both cases. It is
expected to rule sometime after
three days of oral arguments end
on Thursday.
If the court upholds the Scottish
ruling, it would be a stinging re-
buke of Mr. Johnson, endorsing
that court’s argument that he dis-
banded Parliament to stymie a de-
bate over his plans to leave the
European Union, with or without
a deal, by Oct. 31. He could also be
found guilty of misleading the
queen, who authorized the sus-
pension, or “proroguing,” of Par-
liament, at his request.
For the nation’s highest court,
however, the implications of such
a ruling would be even more far-
reaching. It would inject the court
into the kind of contentious politi-
cal debate it has historically
avoided and push the boundaries
of its purview to settle disputes in
Britain’s political system.
“We’re in uncharted territory,”
said James Grant, a senior lec-
turer in law at Kings College Lon-
don. “Whether the court decides
to intervene or not, its decision
will break new ground and will be
politically controversial. There is
no escaping that.”
Mr. Grant said he believed it
would be dangerous for the Su-
preme Court to side with the Eng-
lish court, which ruled that Mr.
Johnson’s decision to suspend
Parliament was not a matter for
the courts to judge. The suspen-
sion, he argued, clearly deprived
the House of Commons of its re-

sponsibility to scrutinize the gov-

ernment’s policy on Brexit, an is-

sue of critical national impor-

tance.

But other legal experts worry

that upholding the Scottish ruling

would set a troubling precedent. It

would open the door, they say, to a

form of judicial review that is

widely accepted in the United

States, which has a codified con-

stitution and a Supreme Court

that actively interprets it.

Britain, by contrast, relies on an

unwritten set of traditions and

conventions that have treated a

sovereign Parliament as the su-

preme law of the land. Once the

courts venture into the political

sphere and begin passing judg-

ment on Parliament’s actions, le-

gal analysts say, there is no going

back.

“If the court accepts the invi-

tation to devise a legal rule, there

will be no logical limit to the extent

that the court might want to re-

place conventional rules with le-

gal rules,” said Sir Jonathan

Sumption, a former justice of the

Supreme Court, who is a leading

commentator on the court’s role in

society.

“I question the need for a judi-

cial intervention,” Sir Jonathan

said, “but I think it may happen

because people are shocked by

what the government has done.”

Mr. Johnson’s decision to suspend

Parliament, he said, was the

equivalent of “taking an ax to the

political convention.”

Both sides of this case have un-

folded in hours of legal argu-

ments, which are being

livestreamed by the BBC and

other British news organizations

(cameras in the courtroom are an-

other difference between Britain’s

Supreme Court and its American

counterpart). Among those sub-

mitting arguments to the justices

was a former prime minister, John

Major, who has fiercely criticized

Mr. Johnson’s actions.

The case has commanded the

headlines in Britain. But the tele-

vised images of justices staring

into computer screens — often in-

terrupting the lawyers to figure

out what page they needed to

scroll down to — are worlds away

from the spectacle in Parliament

the previous week. It has served

mainly to underscore the differ-

ences between the court and other

British institutions.

For one, it was founded only in

2009, after a constitutional reform

process initiated by Prime Min-

ister Tony Blair, though its roots

date back far longer, through its

predecessor body, the Appellate

Committee of the House of Lords.

Still, the court has none of the

antiquarian traditions of Parlia-

ment or even other British courts.

Barristers do not wear powdered

wigs. The justices are seated be-

hind a polished, modern semicir-

cular table, not on a raised dais.

Except for ceremonial occasions

like the opening of Parliament or

the swearing-in of a new justice,

they do not wear robes, but regu-

lar business attire.

The chief justice, known as the

president, is Baroness Brenda

Hale, who served as a Lord of Ap-

peal in the House of Lords. She is

one of three women now on the

court. Justices are required to re-

tire by the age of 75.

The queen appoints justices, on

the recommendation of the prime

minister. Until now, that process

has stirred none of the furor that

accompanies Supreme Court ap-

pointments in the United States.

But some worry that could change

if the court takes a more activist

role.

No Powdered Wigs, but a Key Role on Brexit

By MARK LANDLER

Brexit supporters outside the Supreme Court in London on

Wednesday, during a hearing on the suspension of Parliament.

TOLGA AKMEN/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE — GETTY IMAGES

The image drew comparisons to
the scandal that enmeshed Gov.
Ralph Northam of Virginia earlier
this year, when a photograph sur-
faced that had been published in a
medical school yearbook 35 years
earlier.
Initially, Mr. Northam apolo-
gized for appearing in the year-
book photo, which shows a man in
blackface makeup standing next
to someone wearing a Klan robe
and hood. But he later insisted
that he was actually not either of
the people in the picture. Mr.
Northam has refused calls to re-
sign and remains in office.
The image of Mr. Trudeau —
which also shows his arms
wrapped around a woman he de-
scribed as “a close friend” —
quickly became the dominant

topic on Canadian news websites.
Many Canadians are of South
Asian and Middle Eastern de-
scent, and Mr. Trudeau has four
Sikhs in his cabinet. Those com-
munities have been an important
source of support for the Liberals
and Mr. Trudeau, particularly in
suburban areas around Toronto,
which are seen as key electoral
battlegrounds.
But on a disastrous state trip to
India this year, Mr. Trudeau at-
tracted ridicule for wearing flashy
silk and gold-embroidered outfits
and pointed, red silk shoes.
Though intended as a gesture of
respect for Indian culture, it was
widely seen in Canada as a cringe-
inducing game of dress-up.
On Wednesday night, while re-
peatedly apologizing for the
brownface makeup and the hurt it
can cause people who have faced
discrimination, Mr. Trudeau said
that he had “always been more en-
thusiastic about costumes than
sometimes is appropriate.”
Mr. Trudeau said that he also
wore blackface in high school
while performing “Day-O,” the Ja-

maican folk song.

Jagmeet Singh, the leader of the

New Democratic Party, who is a

Sikh, said Mr. Trudeau’s Aladdin

costume was “insulting” and sug-

gested that the prime minister’s

behavior shows that he may not

be the same person in private as

he portrays himself in public.

Last year, Mr. Trudeau was ac-

cused of groping a reporter in

2000 while he was still a private

citizen. Mr. Trudeau rejected the

allegation, and it was largely for-

gotten.

“Who is the real Mr. Trudeau?”

Mr. Singh asked reporters. “Is it

the one behind closed doors, the

one when the cameras are turned

off that no one sees? Is that the

real Mr. Trudeau? Because more

and more, it seems like it is.”

Mustafa Farooq, the executive

director of the National Council of

Canadian Muslims, said that he

found the photograph “deeply

saddening.”

“The wearing of blackface/

brownface is reprehensible, and

harkens back to a history of rac-

ism and an Orientalist mythology,

which is unacceptable,” Mr. Fa-

rooq said.

The photograph is the second

blow to Mr. Trudeau’s carefully

cultivated image as a politician of-

fering new, “sunny ways” to poli-

tics. Mr. Trudeau has long de-

scribed himself as a feminist and

he formed a gender-balanced cab-

inet when he took office in 2015.

He also made Indigenous issues a

priority.

But earlier this year, it emerged

that when Jody Wilson-Raybould

was justice minister and attorney

general, she felt that Mr. Trudeau

and an aide improperly pressured

her to seek a settlement in a cor-

ruption case involving an engi-

neering company based in Mont-

real. Mr. Trudeau wanted the com-

pany, SNC-Lavalin, to be fined to

avoid a criminal conviction that

would bar it from government

work, a large part of its business.

His motive, he said, was to save

jobs.

But Mr. Trudeau’s explanation

appeared to be swamped by a

broad sense among many Canadi-

ans that he and a group of mostly

male aides had ganged up on an

Indigenous woman to protect the

Liberal Party’s fortunes in Que-

bec.

Mr. Trudeau said on Wednes-

day that he had begun calling sup-

porters who belong to racial mi-

nority groups and members of his

caucus and cabinet to apologize.

Political analysts noted that for

Mr. Trudeau, a prime minister of

the Instagram age who has metic-

ulously constructed a global im-

age as a progressive, the photo-

graph of him in brownface could

be damaging.

“It could repel some progres-

sive voters who are against any

kind of cultural appropriation and

especially blackface,” said Jean-

François Daoust, an expert in

public opinion at McGill Univer-

sity. “It can undermine the aura he

has tried to create.”

But Mr. Daoust said it was im-

portant not to overstate the ef-

fects of an 18-year-old event. He

noted that the Conservative

leader, Mr. Scheer, was also being

taken to task for past behavior, in-

cluding 2005 comments in which

he suggested that same-sex cou-

ples should not be equally entitled

to wed because marriage was

meant for “natural procreation.”

Barry Kay, a political-science

professor at Wilfrid Laurier Uni-

versity in Waterloo, Ontario, said

the revelation was embarrassing

and potentially damaging for Mr.

Trudeau, but cautioned that it was

too early to determine its effect on

the campaign. He said the image

could reinforce impressions of Mr.

Trudeau as inauthentic.

“I am not sure the extent that it

will resonate in public opinion in a

campaign where everyone has

been turning on everyone,” Mr.

Kay said.

The publication of the photo

comes amid an acrimonious de-

bate about multiculturalism in

Quebec, an electorally vital prov-

ince, which recently passed a law

barring public-sector teachers,

judges and police officers from

wearing religious symbols at

work.

Mr. Trudeau, whose pro-immi-

gration stance has been a corner-

stone of his premiership, has con-

demned the law, which he has

characterized as antithetical to

Canadian values. He also sug-

gested that the federal govern-

ment may join in legal challenges

to it.

A member of parliament for Pa-

pineau, a multicultural part of

Montreal, Mr. Trudeau has been

popular with immigrants who

have lauded his pro-immigrant

stance, including swiftly admit-

ting 25,000 Syrian refugees after

taking office.

The issue of cultural appropria-

tion reverberated in Canada in

July 2018 when a show “Slav,” by

the acclaimed Quebec theater di-

rector Robert Lepage, premiered

at the Montreal International Jazz

Festival. The show, which fea-

tured white actors playing slaves,

immediately spawned a backlash

and criticism that white artists

had recklessly appropriated black

culture. Only two of seven cast

members were black. The show

was canceled after two perform-

ances.

Photo of Trudeau in Brownface Disrupts His Re-election Bid in Canada

From Page A

Ian Austen reported from Ottawa,
and Dan Bilefsky from Montreal.

Top, a yearbook photo published by Time magazine showing Justin Trudeau in a costume wearing

brownface makeup. Above, the prime minister on Wednesday said, “I now realize it was racist.”

The prime minister

said he had begun to

call those hurt by his

actions to apologize.

SEAN KILPATRICK/THE CANADIAN PRESS, VIA ASSOCIATED PRESS

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