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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
"When there is a sea of change in the accepted wisdom of society," confided Madame Justice Southin of the British Columbia Court of Appeal ("BCCA") in the opening paragraph of Simpson v Mair and WIC Radio Ltd, 2006 BCCA 287 [Simpson], "those who have adhered to the attitudes of the past, what I call the 'old wisdom, 'in […]
The Chilean legal system lacks stare decisis. According to article 3 of the Chilean Civil Code, legal decisions have binding force only on the specific cases for which they were written. On this basis, Chilean legal scholars have built the "legal decision narrow force" theory—depriving even the rationale behind decisions any legal force. This thesis […]