Quebec Premier Jean Charest has appointed ex-Supreme Court of Canada justice Michel Bastarache to lead a public inquiry into judicial appointments in the province.

Bastarache, 62, sat on the Supreme Court of Canada from 1997 until 2008. He must submit his report into judicial appointments to the Quebec government by Oct. 15.

Charest made the announcement two days after one of his former justice ministers, Marc Bellemare, charged that fundraisers for the Liberal party had a hand in selecting judicial appointments.

Bellemare also alleged that the Quebec Liberals collected irregular cash donations, and that the premier was aware of such practices.

Charest has refuted the allegations and said he wants an apology from Bellemare, who served as Quebec's justice minister from April 2003 to April 2004.

The Quebec premier called the allegations are "lies" and threatened to sue Bellemare if he did not retract his claims by 4 p.m. Wednesday, but the deadline passed without any reported retraction.

On Tuesday, Charest called for an inquiry to probe the way judges are appointed "to address this issue of the integrity of the justice system in Quebec."

"I want to get to the bottom of this," Charest told reporters Tuesday in Quebec City, when announcing his intention to start an inquiry.

Bellemare's allegations about the judicial appointment process have led many people outside the government to suggest an inquiry is needed to sort fact from fiction.

"Lawyers can have political opinions, but allegations like these require a public inquiry," Pierre Chagnon, president of the Quebec Bar Association told CTV Montreal during a French language interview.

McGill University political analyst Antonia Maioni said the premier has little choice but to call an inquiry if he wishes to defend his government and his own reputation.

"The accusations against Charest are quite substantial, but the burden of proof under law is even more substantial, because he (Bellemare) has to prove that this actually happened and he has to prove that Charest knew about it," Maioni told CTV Montreal in an interview.

Opposition Leader Pauline Marois said Charest's decision to call an inquiry was a method of keeping attention away from unrelated allegations that the Liberal government holds ties to the provincial construction industry.

Retraction response?

In response to Charest's demand for a retraction, Bellemare said he will not back down from his allegations, though he is not sure if he will participate in the forthcoming inquiry.

In an interview Tuesday, Bellemare repeated allegations that he was obliged to appoint judges whom Liberal fundraisers lobbied for.

"I had to," Bellemare said, of giving in. "I complained to the premier, but he explained to me that this was how it worked."

In total, Bellemare said he was asked to appoint judges that were favoured by Liberal fundraisers on three occasions. And he said he confronted Charest about the matter twice.

He also wants the inquiry to look at party financing in Quebec.

Bellemare also alleges that the Liberal government's agenda is shaped by its fundraisers -- whom he claims have even managed to kill certain bills.

Charest said he is not sure of Bellemare's motivations in bringing his allegations forward.

"I have no answer to what Mr. Bellemare is doing," he said.

But the Quebec premier also said that he is most concerned about assuaging public concerns about the integrity of the provincial justice system, and not about the beef his former colleague has with his government.

"It ain't about me," Charest said.

"Yes, I will ask Mr. Bellemare to retract and I'll determine how we'll deal with that later, but that's not my priority."

With files from The Canadian Press and a report from CTV Montreal's Annie DeMelt