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Legal Proceedings Available to Individuals Before the Highest Courts: a Comparative Law Perspective

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Legal Proceedings Available to Individuals Before the Highest Courts: a Comparative Law Perspective Legal Proceedings available to Individuals before the Highest Courts: A Comparative Law Perspective Canada STUDY EPRS | European Parliamentary Research Service Comparative Law Library Unit October 2017 - PE 608.733 LEGAL PROCEEDINGS AVAILABLE TO INDIVIDUALS BEFORE THE HIGHEST COURTS: A COMPARATIVE LAW PERSPECTIVE Canada STUDY October 2017 Abstract This study is part of a wider project seeking to investigate, from a comparative law perspective, judicial proceedings available to individuals before the highest courts of different states, and before certain international courts. The aim of this study is to examine the various judicial proceedings available to individuals in Canadian law, and in particular before the Supreme Court of Canada. To this end, the text is divided into five parts. The introduction provides an overview of Canadian constitutional history, which explains the coexistence of rights derived from several legal traditions. It then introduces the federal system, the origins of constitutional review, as well as the court structure (I). As Canada practises a ‘diffuse’ (or ‘decentralized’) constitutional review process, the second part deals with the different types of proceedings available to individuals in matters of constitutional justice before both administrative and judicial courts, while highlighting proceedings available before the Supreme Court of Canada (II). This is followed by an examination of the constitutional and legal sources of individual — and in some cases collective — rights (III), as well as the means developed by the judiciary, the legislative, and the executive branches to ensure the effective judicial protection of rights (IV). The conclusion assesses the effectiveness of proceedings available to individuals in matters of ‘constitutional justice’. Essentially, while Canadian citizens benefit from a wide range of rights and proceedings, access to the country’s Supreme Court is restricted due to the limited number of cases the Court chooses to hear every year. More generally, access to justice continues to pose real challenges in Canada. This is not due to judicial failings or a lack of sources of rights per se, but rather to lengthy judicial delays and the often enormous costs of proceedings. EPRS | European Parliamentary Research Service Study AUTHOR This paper was written by Professor Johanne Poirier of McGill University, Montreal, at the request of the Comparative Law Library Unit, Directorate-General for Parliamentary Research Services (DG EPRS), General Secretariat of the European Parliament. The author wishes to thank Elena Sophie Drouin and Stéphanie Pépin for their effective research assistance, as well as Maryna Polataïko and Sajeda Hedaraly for their contribution to the English version of this report. ADMINISTRATOR Ignacio Díez Parra, Head of the Comparative Law Library Unit To contact the unit, please write to the following email address: EPRS- [email protected] LANGUAGE VERSIONS Original: FR Translations: DE, EN, ES, IT This document is available online at: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank DISCLAIMER The content of this document is the sole responsibility of the author and any opinions expressed therein do not necessarily represent the official position of the European Parliament. It is addressed to the Members and staff of the EP for their parliamentary work. Reproduction and translation for non-commercial purposes are authorized, provided that the source is acknowledged and a copy is sent to the address specified above. Manuscript completed in October 2017 Brussels © European Union, 2017. PE 608.733 PE 608.733 Paper ISBN 978-92-846-1759-3 doi:10.2861/461128 QA-01-17-988-EN-C PDF : ISBN 978-92-846-1762-3 doi:10.2861/009152 QA-01-17-988-EN-N II Legal proceedings available to individuals before the highest jurisdictions Canada Table of Contents List of Abbreviations .....................................................................................................VI Summary...................................................................................................................... VIII I. Introduction ............................................................................................................ 1 I.1. A (Very) Brief Overview of Canadian Constitutional History .................................. 2 I.2. The Federal System................................................................................................................ 2 I.3. The Origins of Constitutional Review and of the Protection of Individual Rights........................................................................................................................................... 4 I.4. Canadian Judicial Structure and Constitutional Justice............................................ 6 II. Forms and Types of Judicial Proceedings in Cases of Violation of Fundamental and Collective Rights .................................................................... 10 II.1. Legal Proceedings Available to Individuals in Constitutional Matters .............10 The Protection of ‘Classic’ Fundamental Rights ............................................10 The Protection of Language Rights....................................................................11 The Protection of Indigenous Rights.................................................................12 Individual Proceedings in Other Areas of Constitutional Justice............13 II.2. Legal Proceedings Before Administrative Bodies and Tribunals......................... 14 Individual Challenges to Public Administrative Action............................... 14 The Protection of Individuals’ Rights Before Administrative Tribunals 16 II.2.2.1 Administrative Proceedings by Individuals in ‘Federal’ Matters ........................................................................................................................... 16 II.2.2.2 Administrative Proceedings by Individuals in ‘Provincial’ Matters ........................................................................................................................... 16 II.2.2.3 Tribunals Specializing in Human Rights ............................................18 Administrative Tribunals and Constitutional Issues.....................................18 Appeals of Administrative Tribunal Decisions Before Judicial Courts...19 Procedural Issues ......................................................................................................20 II.3. Legal Proceeding by Individuals Before Courts Other Than Administrative Tribunals and the Supreme Court of Canada............................................................. 21 Judicial Proceedings in Constitutional Matters .............................................21 II.3.1.1 The ‘Exception of Unconstitutionality’ ...............................................21 II.3.1.2 Declaratory Judgments of Unconstitutionality ............................... 23 II.3.1.3 The Reference Procedure (Abstract Review)....................................24 Time Limits for Bringing Remedies ....................................................................25 Notification to Attorneys General.......................................................................25 Remedies Available to Individuals in Constitutional Matters...................25 II.4. Proceedings Before the Supreme Court of Canada.................................................28 The Supreme Court ..................................................................................................28 Proceedings in Constitutional Matters Before the Supreme Court .......30 Appeal ........................................................................................................................... 31 Available Remedies ..................................................................................................31 Final Decisions............................................................................................................32 III Study The Override Clause and the Metaphore of ‘Dialogue’ Between the Legislature and the Supreme Court...................................................................32 The Supreme Court: A Centralizing Force in the Canadian Federation? .........................................................................................................................................34 III. Legal Sources of Individual (and Collective) Rights.......................................... 35 III.1. Formal and Written Sources ............................................................................................. 35 The Constitution Act, 1867....................................................................................35 The Constitution Act, 1982....................................................................................36 III.1.2.1 The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.............................. 36 III.1.2.2 Indigenous Rights ......................................................................................38 Quasi-Constitutional Sources...............................................................................40 III.1.3.1 Federal Human Rights Legislation.......................................................40 III.1.3.2 Provincial Human Rights Legislation ..................................................41 III.1.3.3 Quasi-Constitutional Statutes ............................................................... 42 Legislative Sources ...................................................................................................42
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