With the death of Bertha Wilson on April 28th, Canada lost the first woman judge to be named to the Supreme Court of Canada ("SCC"). Appointed on March 4, 1982, Justice Wilson served as a member of the SCC until retiring on January 4, 1991. A few months earlier, in May of 1990, she wrote […]
This board has two threads, now dormant, discussing Resurfice v Hanke, 2007 SCC 7 [Resurfice]. The threads are found here and here. There is a very important phrase in the first of the thread titles: Forgetting The Audience. Given that I seem to be talking to myself, let us bring this discussion about the consequences of […]
Last Friday, the Supreme Court of Canada ("SCC") released their decision on British Columbia (Attorney General) v. Christie, 2007 SCC 21 [Christie], just two short months after the hearing. Although some had hoped that this would be a shining moment for the SCC in championing the cause of access to justice, the court instead, in a […]
A few years ago I wanted to write an article on the Supreme Court of Canada’s ("SCC") brilliance at “triangulation” – the term Bill Clinton used to signify coming up with a policy option somewhere in between two seemingly incompatible ideas. It seemed to me that the Court, like Clinton, constantly (and effortlessly) found ways […]
Højesteret was established in 1661 and its independence from national government was confirmed by Article 3 of the Danish Constitution of 1849 which lays down the principle of separation of powers. Contrary to several other judicial systems, Denmark does not have an administrative and/or a constitutional court. Therefore, it is the task of ordinary courts […]
Yesterday (May 23) the Supreme Court of Canada ("SCC") heard and reserved judgment on Jagrup Singh v. Her Majesty the Queen, 2007 SCC 48 [Singh], a significant case contemplating a criminally accused's right to silence under section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. On appeal from British Columbia, the outcome of this case will likely […]
On May 16, 2007 the Supreme Court of Canada ("SCC") heard the appeal in the case of A.Y.S.A. Amateur Youth Soccer Association v. Canada Revenue Agency, 2007 SCC 42 [AYSA]. This case, which deals with tax and charities, could potentially stand to redefine the definition of “charitable purpose.” The appellant, A.Y.S.A., is an association that provides opportunities […]
During a visit to Ottawa last Tuesday, I sat in on the Supreme Court of Canada’s ("SCC") hearing of Dunsmuir v. New Brunswick (Board of Management), 2006 NBCA 27 (CanLII). Although this case centers around whether non-unionized civil service employees may be dismissed with reasonable notice or pay in the absence of cause, there could […]
Introduction The African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (African Court) became constituted in 2006 with the election of judges, after two decades of existence of the African human rights system.1 The eleven member African Court is established to complement the work of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (African Commission or Commission),2 […]
Earlier this month The Canadian Constitutional Foundation ("CCF") announced that it would be supporting Lindsay McCreith's challenge to Ontario's health care system. While this case is only at the threshold of the Ontario court system, it is more than possible that this case will eventually find itself before the Supreme Court of Canada ("SCC"). Indeed, […]