As Quebec Premier Jean Charest fends off accusations his government favoured political friends in appointing judges, a leading Liberal fundraiser from west Quebec admits he asked a Quebec cabinet minister to help his son become a judge.

Guy Bisson said he contacted Quebec Transport Minister Norm MacMillan to lobby to get his son named to the bench. At the time, MacMillan was chair of the Liberal caucus.

Bisson's son, Marc Bisson, was later appointed as a judge. However, Bisson added he believed his son's appointment was due to his experience as a Crown prosecutor.

When asked about the situation, MacMillan said he did nothing wrong: "It's part of our job," he said.

"When somebody from my riding talks to me and says I'm a candidate for a job somewhere, I'm a candidate for anything, well it's our job to, if we know somebody who has a decision to make, to talk to them and that's what I did in that case. I didn't say: ‘ You got a name?' I just said that he was a candidate and I told him that in the corridor, that's all."

Quebec's justice system is under scrutiny after former justice minister Marc Bellemare alleged Liberal fundraisers pressured him to appoint certain judges during his term as minister in 2003 and 2004.

Charest is now suing Bellemare for $700,000 over the allegations. The lawsuit, which claims the accusations are false and defamatory, was filed in superior court on Wednesday after Bellemare refused to retract the allegations.

Former Supreme Court judge Michel Bastarache is now leading a public inquiry into how judges are appointed in Quebec

With files from The Canadian Press