With the winding up of the Court Challenges Program and the decision of the Supreme Court of Canada ("SCC") in Little Sisters Book and Art Emporium v Canada (Commissioner of Customs and Revenue), 2007 SCC 2, it may be a good time to highlight some concerns related to our courts' practices in awarding costs. Our current […]
The Supreme Court of Canada's ("SCC") decision in Charkaoui v Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2007 SCC 9 [Charkaoui], may represent an important turning point in Canada's approach to national security, particularly when it is read as a strong statement in support of procedural fairness, a concept that has suffered internationally in the post-September 11 context. The SCC's rulings […]
The Supreme Court of Canada's ("SCC") decision in Charkaoui v Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2007 SCC 9, is notable not just for its depth, but also for the range of issues that it considers and deals with. Its main conclusion is, of course, that portions of the Canadian Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, SC 2001, c […]
Imagine being a plaintiff at the very second that a successful outcome has been announced: you feel overjoyed that the scales of justice have finally tipped in your favor and relief that the money and effort you've expended over the past months and years have not been in vain. You are finally free to move […]
Kenya is a common law country with a system of law and government bearing the hallmarks of the English system. When the country acquired its independence from the British in 1963, it adopted the Westminster-type constitution with the familiar framework of government having three organs: the Legislature, the Executive and the Judiciary. The country has […]
The decision of the Supreme Court of Canada last week in the cases of Charkaoui v Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), Almrei v Canada (Citizenship and Immigration) and Harkat v Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), reported online at 2007 SCC 9, has engendered a lot of commentary. We will collect here the links to comments on The […]
The Supreme Court of Canada's ("SCC") ruling in Charkaoui v Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2007 SCC 9, striking down the procedures for the review of Security Certificates under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, SC 2001, c 27 [IRPA], has implications in a number of different security-related contexts.1 Of immediate interest is whether the Supreme Court's decision has any significance […]
The Anti-Terrorism Story The Supreme Court of Canada's ("SCC") decision in Charkaoui v Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2007 SCC 9 [Charkaoui], will undoubtedly attract much public attention. Most newsworthy will be the fact that these cases represent the first time since September 11, 2001 that the Supreme Court has delivered a defeat to the Government […]
Secret hearings to justify the issuance of security certificates and the detention of persons named in them, have been struck down. In an extraordinary, unanimous decision authored by the Chief Justice, the Supreme Court has declared unconstitutional the statutory scheme in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act that required review of certificates and detention to […]
The Supreme Court yesterday released decisions in 27 leave applications. Twenty-four of these were denied, with three granted. This closely matches the rate at which the Supreme Court has historically granted leave (approximately 13% of applications). When these numbers are combined with the 6 out of 19 applications granted on February 1, it appears that […]