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Dalhousie Law Journal

2007

Articles 1 - 16 of 16

Full-Text Articles in Law

The Confidentiality Of Seismic Data, Michael P. Simms, Van Penick Oct 2007

The Confidentiality Of Seismic Data, Michael P. Simms, Van Penick

Dalhousie Law Journal

The authors review the common law, common contractual language and statutory law relating to the confidentiality of seismic information. The extent of the rights of the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador and Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Boards to receive, use and make seismic data public is considered in light of freedom of information and protection of privacy legislation. The authors discuss the different treatment of specified user and speculative seismic data, and explore copyright.

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Creative Sentencing, Restorative Justice And Environmental Law: Responding To The Terra Nova Fpso Oil Spill, Cecily Y. Strickland, Scott Miller Oct 2007

Creative Sentencing, Restorative Justice And Environmental Law: Responding To The Terra Nova Fpso Oil Spill, Cecily Y. Strickland, Scott Miller

Dalhousie Law Journal

On 20 November 2004 the Terra Nova FPSO inadvertently discharged 165n3 of oily water into the surrounding waters of the Newfoundland and Labrador offshore area. Petro-Canada was charged with having caused a spill and thereby committing an offence pursuant to the Canada-Newfoundland Atlantic Accord Implementation Act. This was the first charge of its type arising from offshore oil and gas operations on the east coast of Canada. The authors provide a factual overview of the incident and identify some resultant legal issues, including the application of creative sentencing and the use of probation orders.

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Regulatory Issues Concerning Encana's Deep Panuke Project, Robert G. Grant Oct 2007

Regulatory Issues Concerning Encana's Deep Panuke Project, Robert G. Grant

Dalhousie Law Journal

EnCana is proposing to develop the second gas producing project in the Scotian Shelf, the Deep Panuke Project. The author examines modifications to the Project from that initially proposed in 2002, the use of the previously approved Comprehensive Study Report, and the procedure for public review and approval. The author will also discuss major issues identified during the public hearing, held before a member of the NEB and the Commissioner appointed by the C-NSOPB, including EnCana's alternative options for carrying out the project, consultation with the Aboriginal communities, Canada-Nova Scotia benefits matters, consultation and engagement with the fishing industry, and …

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Fallow Fields Initiatives And Canada's East Coast Offshore: Policy And Legal Considerations, Raymond E. Quesnel Oct 2007

Fallow Fields Initiatives And Canada's East Coast Offshore: Policy And Legal Considerations, Raymond E. Quesnel

Dalhousie Law Journal

The author examines various approaches adopted by government to balance the state's interest in promoting the timely and efficient exploration and development of oil and gas resources under state jurisdiction and industry's need for legal regimes providingsecurityoftenure and other conditions necessary for commercial success. In particular, the paper considers fallow field initiatives adopted by the United Kingdom in respect of the North Sea and their possible application to government's management of oil and gas resources in the Canadian east coast offshore areas, addressing applicable policy considerations, the legislative history of the statutory frameworks in place, and relatedjurisprudence.

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The Accord Acts Twenty Years Later, Shawn Denstedt, R J. Thrasher Oct 2007

The Accord Acts Twenty Years Later, Shawn Denstedt, R J. Thrasher

Dalhousie Law Journal

The authors examine key provisions of the Accord Acts and the experience with them to date, and make comparisons with other jurisdictions. They address regulatory issues, such as the resource conservation powers of the Boards, the relationship between the Boards and other agencies, and the relative success of regulation streamlining efforts. Finally,they consider exploration and development matters and commercial issues such as flow-testing of exploration wells, benefits, royalty agreements, Board guidelines, disclosure of information, and conditions or requirements attached by the Boards to authorizations.

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Aboriginal Rights.And The Atlantic Canada Petroleum Industry, David Reid, Stephanie Hickman Oct 2007

Aboriginal Rights.And The Atlantic Canada Petroleum Industry, David Reid, Stephanie Hickman

Dalhousie Law Journal

The authors explore the recent developments in Aboriginal law and their implications for the petroleum industry in Atlantic Canada. To set the stage, they provide a brief historical overview of Aboriginal settlement and land-use in the region, followed by a brief review of the petroleum industry's development in Atlantic Canada. After examining the state of the jurisprudence relating to Aboriginal rights generally,the authors turn to the current state of aboriginalrights, rights claims, and consultation obligations in the Atlantic Canadian context. The impact of the current state of the law on the petroleum industry is then analyzed and future trends outlined.

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Anatomy Of A Liquefied Natural Gas Receiving Terminal In Atlantic Canada-An Overview Of The Legal And Regulatory Hurdles, A David Seely, Alexander Macdonald Oct 2007

Anatomy Of A Liquefied Natural Gas Receiving Terminal In Atlantic Canada-An Overview Of The Legal And Regulatory Hurdles, A David Seely, Alexander Macdonald

Dalhousie Law Journal

A new industry is developing in Canada due to recent studies indicating that demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply in Canada and the U.S. is on the rise. As a result, the construction stage has begun for a number of proposed LNG receiving terminals in and around Atlantic Canada. The authors provide an overview of the current issues facing these LNG projects, such as their impact on fisheries, the environment, and Aboriginal rights. They discuss the regulatory framework governing these areas, the due diligence required to identify and address areas of concern, some commercial issues and safety and security …

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The Implications Of Unclos For Canada's Regulatory Jurisdiction In The Offshore-The 200-Mile Limit And The Continental Shelf, Keith F. Miller Oct 2007

The Implications Of Unclos For Canada's Regulatory Jurisdiction In The Offshore-The 200-Mile Limit And The Continental Shelf, Keith F. Miller

Dalhousie Law Journal

The author examines the current state of international law governing Canada's sovereignty and jurisdiction over the exploitation of hydrocarbons within its continental shelf. These rights are reviewed from a historical perspective through theprogression ofinternational conventions, the decisions ofinternational tribunals and the enactmentof Canadian federal laws. The article includes anexamination of Canada's rights under international law respecting its 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone and the continental shelf beyond, as well as a review of Canada's maritime boundary disputes with adjacent coastal states.

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The Origins Of A Coming Crisis: Renewal Of The Churchill Falls Contract, James P. Feehan, Melvin Baker Apr 2007

The Origins Of A Coming Crisis: Renewal Of The Churchill Falls Contract, James P. Feehan, Melvin Baker

Dalhousie Law Journal

The 1969 Churchill Falls contract between Hydro-Quebec and the Churchill Falls Labrador Corporation has been the subject of political controversy. It has also been challenged in the courts, with appeals reaching to the Supreme Court of Canada. Yet, despite the scrutiny of those court cases, the political rhetoric, and the literature that has been spawned by this matter, an extraordinary element of that contract remains remarkably obscure. It is the contract's renewal clause. At the expiry of the contract's forty-four-year term in 2016, that clause requires an automatic renewal for twenty-five additional years at a fixed nominal price that is …

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A.R.Buck, The Making Ofaustralian Property Law, Margaret Mccallum Apr 2007

A.R.Buck, The Making Ofaustralian Property Law, Margaret Mccallum

Dalhousie Law Journal

Students in first year law in English-speaking common law schools in Canada follow a fairly standard curficulum, heavily weighted in favour of private law subjects such as torts, contracts and property, with criminal law, constitutional law, and perhaps a methods, theories or skills course rounding out their required courses. Most students find the content to be as they expected in courses in torts, contracts, criminal and constitutional law. These areas of law, after all, provide the law-related stories that are an increasing part ofnational and even international news. But many students find first year property a puzzle. They expect the …

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Utility And Rights In Common Law Reasoning: Rebalancing Private Law Through Constitutionalization, Hugh Collins Apr 2007

Utility And Rights In Common Law Reasoning: Rebalancing Private Law Through Constitutionalization, Hugh Collins

Dalhousie Law Journal

In the evolution of private law, legal reasoning has always confronted the fundamental problem of reconciling private interests with collective goods. Philosophers analyse this problem ofjustice in terms ofprotecting individual rights whilst at the same time maximizing utility or general welfare. The private law of tort, contract, and property rights that emerged in the nineteenth century provided a fortress of protections for individual rights, but the consequences for collective welfare were quickly found wanting. These consequences were addressed by the welfare state, regulation, and the separation of new spheres ofprivate law such as consumer law and labour lawfrom mainstream doctrine, …

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Tending The Bar: The "Good Character" Requirement For Law Society Admission, Alice Woolley Apr 2007

Tending The Bar: The "Good Character" Requirement For Law Society Admission, Alice Woolley

Dalhousie Law Journal

Every Canadian law society requires thatapplicants for bar admission be of "good character" The author assesses the administration of this requirement and its statedpurposes ofensuring ethical conductby lawyers, protecting the public and maintaining the profession's reputation. In particular, the premise underlying the use of the good character requirement to fulfill those purposes - that character is the "well-spring of professional conduct in lawyers" - is subjected to critical examination through the theoretical principles of Artistotelian virtue ethics and the empirical evidence of social psychology. The primary thesis of this paper is that as currently justified, administered and applied the good …

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Promissory Estoppel, Proprietary Estoppel And Constructive Trust In Canada: "What's In A Name?", Jane Matthews Glenn Apr 2007

Promissory Estoppel, Proprietary Estoppel And Constructive Trust In Canada: "What's In A Name?", Jane Matthews Glenn

Dalhousie Law Journal

This paper explores the similarities and differences between promissory estoppel, proprietary estoppel and the remedial constructive trust. Although the three are quite different at one level, as the first is a defence to an action, the second a cause of action as well as a defence, and the third simply a remedy to a cause of action, a closer examination reveals certain underlying similarities. The comparison highlights proprietary estoppel, an oft-overlooked concept in Canada, but which is comparable to promissory estoppel at the substantive level and the constructive trust at the remedial level.

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Revisiting The Doctrine Of Intergenerational Equity In Global Environmental Governance, Lynda M. Collins Apr 2007

Revisiting The Doctrine Of Intergenerational Equity In Global Environmental Governance, Lynda M. Collins

Dalhousie Law Journal

In the absence of binding international enforcement mechanisms, global environmental governance must rely on a legal framework that has widespread normative force around the world. In addition, such a framework should be sufficiently detailed and pragmatic to allow for effective implementation, should achieve the goal of environmental protection, and should be reasonable in terms of the level of sacrifice expected of the present generation, particularly in the developing world. Itis arguedthat the comprehensive doctrine ofintergenerational equity is an effective and appropriate legal framework for global environmental governance. The doctrine ofintergenerational equityposits thepresent generation of humans as simultaneously beneficiaries of the …

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Habermas, Legal Legitimacy, And Creative Cost Awards In Recent Canadian Jurisprudence, Michael Fenrick Apr 2007

Habermas, Legal Legitimacy, And Creative Cost Awards In Recent Canadian Jurisprudence, Michael Fenrick

Dalhousie Law Journal

Access to justice continues to be a live issue in Canadian courtrooms. While state-sponsored initiatives that promote access continue to flounder in Canada or in some cases, are cancelled altogether, the pressure is mounting to find creative solutions that facilitate greater participation in formal dispute resolution processes. The price of failing in this regard is very high. To truly flourish, both social cohesion and individual liberties require a more participatory and inclusive legal system than the one that currently precludes all but the wealthiest from accessing our courts. Drawing on the legal philosophy of Jargen Habermas, the author examines access …

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Conflict Of Interest, Duress And Unconscionability In Quebec Civil Law: Comment On "The Origins Of A Coming Crisis: Renewal Of The'churchill Falls Contract", Sarah P. Bradley Apr 2007

Conflict Of Interest, Duress And Unconscionability In Quebec Civil Law: Comment On "The Origins Of A Coming Crisis: Renewal Of The'churchill Falls Contract", Sarah P. Bradley

Dalhousie Law Journal

As Professor James Feehan and archivist-historian Melvin Baker describe the circumstances in which the fateful renewal provision of the 1969 Churchill Falls hydro contract was negotiated, they suggest that the legal doctrines of conflict of interest or economic duress might offer a basis upon which the contract, or perhaps the renewal provision, could be impugned. In addition to interesting historical insights, their analysis offers the intriguing possibility that the government of Newfoundland may yet succeed in its long-standing battle to rid itself of its obligations under the grossly disadvantageous Churchill Falls contract.

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