International Law

Flying Fair? SCC Weighs in on International Air Transportation Association v Canada

Airline passengers in Canada recently scored an important win regarding consumer protection. In International Air Transportation Association v Canada (Transportation Agency), 2024 SCC 30 [International Air], the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) unanimously held that the Canada Transportation Agency’s (the “Agency”) Air Passenger Protection Regulations, SOR/2019-150 [Regulations] were valid regulations that did not violate the Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules for International Carriage by Air, 2242 UNTS 309 [Montreal Convention].

Supreme Court of Canada to Decide on Definition of “Carrying on Business”: H.M.B. Holdings Limited v. Antigua and Barbuda

On November 12, 2020, H.M.B. Holdings Limited v. Antigua and Barbuda, 2020 ONCA 12 [HMB Holding] was granted leave by the Supreme Court of Canada ("SCC"). The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council decided in 2014 that Antigua and Barbuda ("Antigua") owed H.M.B Holdings Limited's ("HMB") compensation for expropriating its Antiguan property ("Privy Council Judgement") […]

SCC to Consider Multinational Corporate Accountability in Araya v Nevsun: A Q&A with Plaintiffs' Counsel

In January 2019, the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”), will be hearing an appeal of Araya v Nevsun, 2017 BCCA 401 [Nevsun], which involves a group of Eritrean plaintiffs who filed a claim for damages at the Supreme Court of British Columbia (“BCSC”) against Nevsun Resources Ltd. (“Nevsun”), a Canadian mining company based in Vancouver, for gross […]

Office of the Children’s Lawyer v J.P.B. and C.R.B.: Considering the Best Interests of the Child in International Child Custody Cases

On November 9, 2017, the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) heard the case of Office of the Children’s Lawyer v J.P.B and C.R.B. While judgment has yet to be rendered, it is expected that the SCC will answer the following questions: First, in child custody cases where one parent lives outside of Canada, how should […]

Google v Equustek: An Attempt to Domestically Govern a Global Resource

On June 28, 2017, the Supreme Court of Canada released Google Inc v Equustek Solutions Inc, 2017 SCC 34 [Google] which granted a worldwide interlocutory injunction against Google Inc. (“Google”), ordering it to remove a company’s website from its global search engines. The Court’s decision in Equustek provides new tools to intellectual property owners to […]

Google v Equustek: Courts Still Don’t Understand the Internet

On December 6th, 2016, the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) heard the case of Google v Equustek. The SCC is being tasked with defining the legal obligations of online intermediaries such as Google. In coming up with these definitions, the SCC must also answer difficult questions surrounding the regulation of illegality on the internet – […]

Justice Malcolm Rowe: An Introduction

On Monday, October 17th, Prime Minister Trudeau announced his first nominee to the Supreme Court of Canada: Justice Malcolm Rowe. Set to fill the seat of Justice Cromwell who retired from the Court in September, Justice Rowe—provided his nomination succeeds—will become the first appointee from Newfoundland and Labrador. To add to historic firsts, Justice Rowe […]

Prosecuting Crime at Home Secures Respect for Human Rights

The Government of Canada is acutely aware of the cost of litigation. Those costs, along with the policy and legal implications of litigation, are now the subject matter of a new Cabinet Committee on Litigation Management, chaired by Minister Dominic LeBlanc. This committee will advise federal Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould, who recently suggested in a […]