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Metaphysics & Morals In Canadian Criminal Justice: A Pragmatic Analysis Of The Conflict Between Neuroscience And Retributive Folk Psychology, Sarah Greenwood Oct 2020

Metaphysics & Morals In Canadian Criminal Justice: A Pragmatic Analysis Of The Conflict Between Neuroscience And Retributive Folk Psychology, Sarah Greenwood

LLM Theses

The retributive justification of Canadian criminal law contains several assumptions about human nature that conflicts with what neuroscience has established regarding human behavior and the function of rationality. Interdisciplinary discourse on this conflict between law and neuroscience has unnecessarily implicated the free will debate and is further stagnated by epistemic cultural differences between the two disciplines. To avoid these roadblocks, this thesis applies the methodological principles of pragmatic philosophy. Rather than asking which description of human nature is true, pragmatic inquiry focuses on the difference either would make in practice. This analysis reveals that retributive folk psychology in practice causes …


Sentencing Persons Convicted Of Minor Offences In Ghana: Reducing Judicial Over-Reliance On Imprisonment, Nenyo Kwasitsu May 2019

Sentencing Persons Convicted Of Minor Offences In Ghana: Reducing Judicial Over-Reliance On Imprisonment, Nenyo Kwasitsu

LLM Theses

This thesis argues that there is overuse of imprisonment for minor offenders in Ghana. These are offenders whose punishments go up to 3 years of jail time, essentially offending mainly for reasons of material poverty. Statutory sentencing provisions have essentially limited judges to impose jail terms. It is argued that one way to decongest Ghana’s prisons is to consider the institutionalization of a regime of community service orders and probation, the administration of which would equip the offenders with income-earning skills while they also reform. Drawing on Kenya, a country that has achieved reasonable success in this reform effort, this …


Smart Devices In Criminal Investigations: How Section 8 Of The Canadian Charter Of Rights And Freedoms Can Better Protect Privacy In The Search Of Technology And Seizure Of Information, Lee-Ann Conrod Oct 2018

Smart Devices In Criminal Investigations: How Section 8 Of The Canadian Charter Of Rights And Freedoms Can Better Protect Privacy In The Search Of Technology And Seizure Of Information, Lee-Ann Conrod

LLM Theses

This thesis examines the jurisprudence from the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) on informational privacy under section 8 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms as it relates to searches of technology in the context of criminal investigations. The development and use of technology in criminal investigations will be detailed along with an overview of the current state of the law in this area. Challenges with the interpretation of section 8 demonstrate a prevalent uncertainty. This thesis proposes a new approach for the SCC to apply to cases where technology intersects with section 8 of the Charter. The proposal …


Improving The Criminal Justice System In Nigeria Through Restorative Justice: Lessons From Canada And New Zealand, Olaniran Akintunde Oct 2018

Improving The Criminal Justice System In Nigeria Through Restorative Justice: Lessons From Canada And New Zealand, Olaniran Akintunde

LLM Theses

This thesis argues the need for Nigeria to incorporate restorative justice within its criminal justice system. Its prevailing adversarial system is bedevilled with various challenges such as over- incarceration, recidivism, high rates of juvenile crime and prison congestion. The work draws lessons from Canada and New Zealand, two jurisdictions that have made improvements to similar systems like Nigeria via the adoption and practice of restorative justice. The advantages that a restorative justice alternative bring to criminal justice administration in Nigeria include less use of incarceration, improvement in social relationships, rehabilitation and the reintegration of young offenders. The thesis recommends that …


Modernizing Pakistan's Blasphemy Law As Hate Speech, Farhan Raouf Jan 2016

Modernizing Pakistan's Blasphemy Law As Hate Speech, Farhan Raouf

LLM Theses

It is difficult to define blasphemy. What is regarded as blasphemous will depend on the values prevalent in a given society. In general, it includes denigrating and insulting expressions targeted toward God and other aspects of religion. My thesis is that blasphemy, to the extent it should be dealt with by the law, should be regarded a sub-category of hate speech. The law should concern itself only with those aspects of blasphemy which incite hatred against a group which is identifiable on the basis of religion. More specifically, I argue that Pakistan should repeal its blasphemy law (s. 295-c Penal …


The Exclusion Of Improperly Obtained Evidence At The International Criminal Court: A Principled Approach To Interpreting Article 69(7) Of The Rome Statute, Michael Madden Jan 2014

The Exclusion Of Improperly Obtained Evidence At The International Criminal Court: A Principled Approach To Interpreting Article 69(7) Of The Rome Statute, Michael Madden

LLM Theses

This thesis examines article 69(7) of the Rome Statute, which creates an exclusionary rule for improperly obtained evidence at the International Criminal Court (ICC). Ultimately, the thesis proposes how the ICC should interpret its exclusionary rule. The thesis discusses the theory underlying exclusionary rules, the evidence law and remedial law contexts within which exclusionary rules operate, and numerous comparative examples of exclusionary doctrine from within national criminal justice systems. Finally, some unique aspects of international criminal procedure are described in order to demonstrate how an international exclusionary rule might need to differ from a domestic rule, and previous jurisprudence relating …


Application Of The State Immunity Rule In The International Criminal Justice System: Problems Arising And A Critique Of Legal Response Mechanisms, Celestine Nchekwube Ezennia Jan 2014

Application Of The State Immunity Rule In The International Criminal Justice System: Problems Arising And A Critique Of Legal Response Mechanisms, Celestine Nchekwube Ezennia

LLM Theses

The state immunity rule was founded upon such sound rationales as respect for the sovereign equality of all states and non-interference with state functions. However, its application in the international criminal justice system produces numerous problems. These include impunity for violation of peremptory international legal norms (like the prohibitions on serious international crimes) and violation of human rights. It also undermines the individual accountability and justice administration missions of the system because it shields state officials from criminal responsibility and subjects their victims to injustice. The international community has adopted various legal mechanisms which attempt to respond to these problems …


Organized Crime Outlaws: An Evaluation Of Criminal Organization Legislation In Canada, Carol Fleischhaker Oct 2012

Organized Crime Outlaws: An Evaluation Of Criminal Organization Legislation In Canada, Carol Fleischhaker

PhD Dissertations

This thesis explains how some organized crime outlaws, such as anti-Prohibitionists, the North American Mafia or La Cosa Nostra, outlaw motorcycle gangs, and Aboriginal street gangs, come to exist and thrive in Canadian society. It sets forth the historical development and nature of criminal organization laws in Canada, and compares the definition of “criminal organization” in the Criminal Code with other criminal law concepts, such as corporate criminals and white-collar criminals; conventional criminality or garden-variety predatory crime; terrorists; and criminal conspirators, parties, and accessories. It uses various concepts and assertions within criminological, sociological and psychological theories to explain the formation …


The Beasts In The Jungle: Animal Welfare In International Law, Catherine Sykes Jan 2011

The Beasts In The Jungle: Animal Welfare In International Law, Catherine Sykes

LLM Theses

Animal welfare has emerged as a pervasive concern in modern international law. The purpose of this study is to situate the international legal principle protecting the welfare of animals within the broader framework of international law. The study uses a constructivist model to develop a theory of the place of animal welfare in the international legal regime that has due regard for cultural differences and the diversity of international society. The historical antecedents for an obligation to protect animal welfare in various global cultures are considered. The argument posits an internationally recognized principle of humane treatment of animals based on …


Are We Flipping Coins With The Liberty Of Potentially Dangerous Individuals?: A Comparative Analysis, Sébastien David Martineau Jan 2011

Are We Flipping Coins With The Liberty Of Potentially Dangerous Individuals?: A Comparative Analysis, Sébastien David Martineau

LLM Theses

The concept of dangerousness in Canadian and French criminal law is a central component in the development of prophylactic measures, such as section 810.1 and 810.2 of the 'Criminal Code' and similar French provisions. The imposition of preventive measures to control the risk of future behaviour of potentially dangerous individuals relies on inexact science to determine and assess dangerousness. In the last decades, several risk assessment tools have been developed, notably some in Canada, but their reliability in predicting dangerousness varies. The objectivity and reliability of a determination of dangerousness can be affected not only by the type of risk …


Sex And The Supremes: Towards A Legal Theory Of Sexuality, Elaine Craig Oct 2010

Sex And The Supremes: Towards A Legal Theory Of Sexuality, Elaine Craig

PhD Dissertations

This thesis examines how the Supreme Court of Canada, across legal contexts, has tended to conceptualize sexuality. It focuses primarily on areas of public law including sexual assault law, equality for sexual minorities, sexual harassment and obscenity and indecency laws. There were a number of trends revealed upon reviewing the jurisprudence in this area. First, the Court’s decisions across legal contexts reveal a tendency to conceptualize sexuality as innate, as a pre-social naturally occurring phenomenon and as an essential element of who we are as individuals. This is true whether one is speaking of the approach to gay and lesbian …


The International Criminal Court: A Contextual Study Of A Nascent Court Within The International Criminal Legal System, Ronald Ian Mackay Rennie Jan 2002

The International Criminal Court: A Contextual Study Of A Nascent Court Within The International Criminal Legal System, Ronald Ian Mackay Rennie

LLM Theses

The 'Rome Statute' of the International Criminal Court (ICC) represents an exciting and revolutionary development in the field of international law generally and international criminal law specifically. Unfortunately there are many ways in which academics, the media and political decision-makers misinterpret its intent and its nature. This thesis considers these traps and embarks upon an analysis of international criminal law by considering the content of the Statute and how it proceeds to establish an International Criminal Court, capable of bringing those most serious perpetrators to account. The subject matter of the ICC reveals a Court with a very limited jurisdiction, …


Women's Equality In The Canadian Criminal Justice System: Something Less Than A Fair Shake, P. Michael Cantlon Jan 1999

Women's Equality In The Canadian Criminal Justice System: Something Less Than A Fair Shake, P. Michael Cantlon

LLM Theses

This thesis examines the issue of gender equality in the Canadian criminal justice system. It dissects two specific issues, the disclosure of a sexual assault complainant's therapeutic or counselling records and the prosecution of domestic assault charges. Within these two issues it is argued that the criminal justice system has failed to treat female victims of violent crime fairly and equally. Moreover, it is suggested that this failure is anchored in a neglect of the appreciation of the unique gender issues connected to these matters within a contextual framework. With regards to the disclosure issue, a fundamental tenet, the presumption …


Sexual Misconduct Of Educators: A Comparison Of Decisions Of Courts And Tribunals In British Columbia, Nova Scotia And Ontario, Barbara J. Murray Jan 1999

Sexual Misconduct Of Educators: A Comparison Of Decisions Of Courts And Tribunals In British Columbia, Nova Scotia And Ontario, Barbara J. Murray

LLM Theses

This thesis examines the genesis of society's awareness of the problem of child sexual abuse as well as changes in the legal system to the prosecution of child sexual offence cases and then situates the problem within the educational system in British Columbia, Nova Scotia and Ontario. Thereafter, there is an examination of the panoply of remedies that the legal system provides to victims of sexual misconduct by educators. Conversely, it also analyses whether it is fair that educators who engage in such conduct should be faced with a multiplicity of proceedings before many different institutions. Further, the efficacy of …


The Effects Of Inadequate Mental Health Resources On The Operation Of The Mental Disorder Provisions, Giuseppa Bentivegna Jan 1998

The Effects Of Inadequate Mental Health Resources On The Operation Of The Mental Disorder Provisions, Giuseppa Bentivegna

LLM Theses

In this thesis, I focus on whether adequate mental health resources exist and are available to a category of persons in the forensic mental health system--those found not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder of an offence under the mental disorder provisions, Part XX.1, of the 'Criminal Code '. I argue that adequate mental health services which address the needs of accused persons are necessary for the proper functioning of the mental disorder provisions of the 'Code'. I argue that these provisions were designed to foster the release and re-integration into society of persons within this system as quickly …


The Supreme Court Of Canada, Parliament And The Charter: Exploring The Limits Of The Judicial Function In Criminal Law, Patricia A. Fricker Jan 1998

The Supreme Court Of Canada, Parliament And The Charter: Exploring The Limits Of The Judicial Function In Criminal Law, Patricia A. Fricker

LLM Theses

Two constitutional principles--constitutional supremacy and parliamentary supremacy--should not be treated as antagonistic. The task for the Supreme Court of Canada since its elevation as constitutional arbiter has been to find the balance between these two constitutional doctrines. It must do so within the limits prescribed by the judicial function. What are those limits in the context of criminal law? The definitional elements of the offence; the political and legal theory of classical liberalism; the Charter's constitutional, as opposed to statutory, character; the primacy of either crime control or due process values in judicial decision-making; the fluctuating balance in the criminal …