Joe Biden is endorsing term limits for some U.S. judges. Should Canada's court system do the same?

U.S. President Joe Biden has recently proposed an 18-year term limit for Supreme Court justices.

Congress is divided on the issue, and recent decisions from the Conservative-majority Supreme Court have sparked outrage from the Democrats.

U.S. federal judges have lifetime appointments, unless they resign, retire or are removed.

• Follow the CTV News channel on WhatsApp

Could this be something we see in Canadian courts?

There are benefits to the term limits for justices south of the border, says Wayne MacKay, a professor emeritus of law at Dalhousie University in Halifax.

If justices are appointed at a young age and remain in office until death, they could have a "very big impact" for a very long time, he explained in an interview with CTV's Your Morning on Thursday.

"The real point here is to make court less political," he said. "The appointment of judges in the U.S. is far more political than in Canada and we saw that played out in the recent overturning of Roe vs. Wade."

Since the judges' appointments are less political in Canada, the court may not necessarily need a term limit similar to the one proposed in the U.S.

• The information you need to know, sent directly to you: Download the CTV News App

In Canada, federal court judges including those with the Supreme Court can remain on the job until the age of 75 or until they retire. The judges, however, can be removed for "incapacity or misconduct in the office" at any time.

"Even though in theory, a judge could have a major impact if appointed really young, like at age 30 and going to 75, most appointments have come later than that," he explained.

In announcing the proposal on July 29, Biden said one of the reasons for the recommendation is to ensure a single president wouldn't be able to shape the country’s top court for generations.

For the full interview, watch the video above.

With files from The Associated Press