Section 19 reads, 19(1) Either English or French may be used by any person in, or in any pleading in or process issuing from, any court established by Parliament.
(2) Either English or French may be used by any person in, or in any pleading in or process issuing from, any court of New Brunswick.Section 19 is based on rights in section 133 of the Constitution Act, 1867.
In the 1986 Supreme Court case Société des Acadiens v. Association of Parents, Justice Jean Beetz found this to be significant.
Beetz did not want such a situation, however, and felt that the right to be understood was protected by basic principles of fundamental justice found in sections 7 and 14 of the Charter.
[1][4] However, the restrictive interpretation of language rights in Société des Acadiens was largely overturned in R. v. Beaulac.