According to the Argentine National Constitution, the Argentine Nation adopts the federal republican representative form of government. The Judicial Power of the Nation is vested in a Supreme Court and in such lower courts as Congress may constitute in the territory of the Nation. The President appoints Justices of the Supreme Court, but the consent […]
Last Wednesday, the Supreme Court of Canada ("SCC") heard the case of Keays v Honda Canada Inc, 82 OR (3d) 161, a wrongful dismissal case dealing with the appropriate compensation for discrimination and harassment for employees with disabilities. One of the interveners in the case is Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund ("LEAF"). LEAF’s interest in Honda […]
The line between criminal and civil responsibility has been a difficult one to draw. Generations of scholars have argued that our conception of "crime" must accommodate the fact that systems can and do cause a great deal of harm primarily because people do not take sufficient care. This is most often voiced in circles where […]
In the mind of this Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Part I of the Constitution Act, 1982 ["Charter"] aficionado, the most significant recent development in Charter history is the Ontario Court of Appeal decision that effectively renders s. 24(2), the exclusion of unconstitutionally obtained evidence that could bring the administration of justice into disrepute provision, virtually […]
To what extent can sincerely held religious belief justify the denial of medically necessary treatment to a sick child? The question has dogged the legal and healthcare communities for years. Canadian courts have issued dozens of rulings. Legislatures have responded with rules that attempt to balance religious rights with child protection. Even the medical community […]
1. Introduction The drafters of the South African Constitution were a rather ambitious lot and envisaged that the new Bill of Rights would play a major role in the transformation of the country and of its laws. It is often said that the South African Constitution – adopted in 1996 - is a transformative Constitution […]
In R v Beatty, [2008] 1 SCR 49 [Beatty], a case heard by the Supreme Court of Canada ("SCC") in October of last year, the accused was charged with dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing death, contrary to s.249 of the Criminal Code, RSC 1985, c C-46. While the case is still awaiting judgment, […]
Employers today are able to collect more information about their employees then ever before. As such, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, SC 2000, c 5 ("PIPEDA"), the act that governs the collection, use and disclosure of personal information by private actors, has become an increasingly important guarantor of individual privacy rights. This month, […]
Last Thursday, the Supreme Court of Canada ("SCC") refused leave to appeal with costs in the Federal Court of Appeal ["FCA"] case of Veffer v Canada (Minister of Foreign Affairs), [2008] 1 FCR 641 ["Veffer"]. Veffer dealt with Mr. Veffer’s challenge of Passport Canada’s policy to not list any country alongside the city of Jerusalem on […]
Adil Charkaoui has spent more time working his way through the Canadian court system than most Canadian lawyers. This past January 31, Canada’s most famous security certificate detainee was back at it in the Supreme Court of Canada ("SCC"), this time trying to establish that his right to procedural fairness had been violated [link]. At […]