Home » 2007 » November

Top Court Talk: Twenty Years of Communication before the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights: Article 19 v. Eritrea

Introduction The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Commission) was established in 1987, one year after the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (African Charter) came into force. It holds the mandate to promote and protect human rights in Africa pending the full functioning of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights […]

Appellate Courts are not Triers of Fact: An Error of Evidence Law in R v Grover

On November 22, the Supreme Court of Canada ("SCC") delivered its decision in R v Grover, [2007] 3 SCR 510. The succinct decision was summarized by Tom Schreiter in an earlier post, but I would like to comment on an aspect of the decision as well. Briefly, Mr. Grover was convicted of attempting to obstruct […]

Who should pay for third-party criminal production orders?

Glancing through the upcoming hearings at the Supreme Court of Canada ("SCC") in December, I cannot help but notice a criminal appeal that had, not a person’s name as the party against the crown, but instead the name of a company. The named company, though, was not charged with a crime. On December 13, the SCC […]

The Legacy of the Right Honourable Antonio Lamer: A Model of Judicial Independence

Former Chief Justice Antonio Lamer arrived at the Supreme Court of Canada in 1980 following a distinguished career as a criminal lawyer, law professor and chairman of the Law Reform Commission of Canada. Each of these experiences undoubtedly played a role in shaping his approach and outlook as a judge. It was as a Supreme […]

Report from Australia: The High Court considers the rights of Terrorists and Prisoners

In the last six months the High Court of Australia has decided two cases with very significant implications for the rights of persons of whom many in the community would be happily dismissive – suspected terrorists and convicted prisoners. In the first case, the High Court has essentially upheld the validity of the Commonwealth's scheme […]

The Passing of the Right Hon. Antonio Lamer

Former Supreme Court of Canada Chief Justice Anonio Lamer has died, the globeandmail.ca is reporting. Lamer, a puisne justice from 1980-1990, and a Chief Justice from 1990-2000, was 74. TheCourt.ca will endeavour to bring you more details, as well as commentary about Lamer and his impact on the Supreme Court, in the coming days and […]

March in Solidarity with the Defenders of the Rule of Law in Pakistan

This week’s dismissal by Pakistan’s Supreme Court of a final challenge to President Pervez Musharraf's re-election hardly came as a surprise. The court, recently packed with judges loyal to General Musharraf, had already dismissed five other challenges to his victory in last month’s presidential election. In the short time since November 3, General Musharraf has […]

SCC Decisions: Grover and Domtar

The Supreme Court of Canada ("SCC") released two decisions this morning. Perhaps the justices were feeling festive, on this first snowy day of the year? The first decision was in the matter of R v Grover, [2007] 3 SCR 510; this short judgment dealt with the ability of an appellate court to unseat a trial […]

Danier – Revisited

On October 12, 2007, the Supreme Court of Canada ("SCC") released judgment in the case of Kerr v Danier Leather Inc, [2007] 3 SCR 331. This securities law case has been discussed by Yu-Sung Soh in a post on October 18, 2007. His post primarily deals with statutory interpretation within the context of potential prospectus […]

U.S. Army Deserters Denied Leave to Appeal

Last week, the Supreme Court of Canada ("SCC") released judgments in 31 applications for leave to appeal, denying leave in each case (see for example, Brandon David Hughey v Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, Jeremy Hinzman (AKA Jeremy Dean Hinzman), Nga Thi Nguyen and Liam Liem Nguyen Hinzman (AKA Liam Liem Nguye Hinzman) v Minister of Citizenship […]