The argument I will advance in this extended note on the United Kingdom Supreme Court’s decision in R (Miller) v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union is that the decision and its aftermath can be usefully understood by reference to three fault lines: between form and substance (Part I); between the old constitution […] Read more

On Friday, the Supreme Court of Canada brought to an end the lengthy saga of Canada’s long-gun registry. There was a sharp split on the Court, with a bare majority of five justices giving a narrow win to the federal government over the joint dissent of their three Quebec colleagues (with whom one other justice […] Read more

Regular readers will know that I had quite a bit to say about the gun registry case decided by the Supreme Court of Canada on Friday: Quebec (Attorney General) v. Canada (Attorney General), 2015 SCC 14. I have written a brief summary and commentary on the case at the I-CONnect blog. Here is a snippet: […] Read more

Ireland now has a Court of Appeal. If some of its citizens were unaware of its existence, the buzz that followed  Bederev v. Ireland, [2015] IECA 38 put paid to any lack of public awareness. In a set of reasons by Hogan J., the Court held that s. 2(2) of the Misuse of Drugs Act […] Read more

French Abstract: L’appel devant la Cour suprême dans l’affaire Canada (Procureur général) c. Québec (Procureur général), soulève une question d’interprétation constitutionnelle : est-ce que sa compétence en matière de droit criminel permet au Parlement d’abroger une loi et d’un seul coup détruire unilatéralement toutes les données recueillies sous l’égide de cette même loi? Notamment, cette question […] Read more

In recent years, the Supreme Court of Canada has emphasized time and again the importance of cooperative federalism. Given the complexity of the modern world, the federal government and the provinces must often work hand-in-hand to solve difficult social, cultural and economic problems. It is no surprise that the Court has recently ruled against various forms of […] Read more

In a remarkable decision yesterday, the Supreme Court of Canada struck down British Columbia’s regime of court fees as unconstitutional: Trial Lawyers Association of British Columbia v. British Columbia (Attorney General), 2014 SCC 59. A litigant was faced with a $3,600 bill for scheduling a 10-day trial. She could not pay the court fees — […] Read more

Wherever I’ve gone this year in Canada, lawyers are talking about Rocco Galati. What’s Rocco going to do next? If the Prime Minister tries any funny business with the courts, Rocco will stop him. Rocco won’t sit by … It’s as if Mr. Galati, the Toronto lawyer who brought grief to the Conservative government, has […] Read more

Rocco Galati’s constitutional bid to quash the July 1 appointment of Federal Court of Appeal Justice Robert Mainville to the Quebec Court of Appeal could upset the whole federal judicial appointment apple cart if it succeeds, constitutional lawyers say. Read more Read more

OTTAWA—The Conservative government is on another collision course over its latest judicial appointment for Quebec. Toronto lawyer Rocco Galati has filed for an injunction to block the appointment of Federal Court of Appeal Justice Robert Mainville — reportedly on the shortlist last summer for the Supreme Court of Canada — to the Quebec Court of […] Read more