Law Commons^™

Teitiota V New Zealand, Climate Migration And Non-Refoulement: A Case Study Of Canada’S Obligations Under The Charter And The Iccpr, Mari Galloway

Dalhousie Law Journal

Climate change is expected to have an unprecedented impact on human migration and displacement over the next decade. Individuals forced to migrate on the basis of climate change or natural disasters remain, however, on the periphery of international and domestic environmental and refugee protections. Teitiota, a landmark decision by the UN Human Rights Committee (the Committee) in 2020 could, however, point the way toward filling these legal gaps by using the principle of non-refoulement under human rights law to prevent the deportation of those whose lives are at risk. As such, this paper seeks to explore the application of Teitiota …

Divine Intervention, Part Ii: Narratives Of Norm Entrepreneurship In Canadian Religious Freedom Litigation, Kathryn Chan, Howard Kislowicz

Dalhousie Law Journal

Constitutional litigation has become a central arena for debate about human rights. Groups from all points on the political spectrum have turned to legal advocacy, “intervening” in judicial proceedings in an effort to advance their preferred interpretations of particular rights.

Judges and scholars remain divided on whether and how interveners are valuable. This paper evaluates a main rationale for intervention: interveners improve adjudication by enriching courts’ understandings of the issues before them. We use qualitative analysis to examine the extent to which interveners in Canada have succeeded in contributing to judicial pronouncements on the scope and meaning of religious freedom. …

International Arbitration: The New Frontier Of Business And Human Rights Dispute Resolution?, Tamar Meshel

Dalhousie Law Journal

The question of redress for corporate human rights violations remains daunting. Access to justice challenges faced by rights holders before domestic courts have placed this issue at the forefront of international discourse, and many initiatives have attempted to improve rights holders’ access to effective remedies. This article examines one such initiative, namely international arbitration. The article focuses on the use of international arbitration in the business and human rights context pursuant to the 2013 Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh and the recently launched Hague Rules on Business and Human Rights Arbitration. It evaluates the extent to which …

Faith And/In Medicine: Religious And Conscientious Objections To Maid, Daphne Gilbert

Dalhousie Law Journal

Across Canada, health care institutions that operate under the umbrella of religious traditions refuse to offer medical assistance in dying (MAiD) on the grounds that it violates their Charter-protected rights to freedom of religion and conscience. This article analyses the Supreme Court jurisprudence on section 2(a) and concludes that it should not extend to the protection of institutional rights. While the Court has not definitively pronounced a view on this matter, its jurisprudence suggests that any institutional right to freedom of religion would not extend to decisions on publicly-funded and legal health care. MAiD is a constitutionally-protected option for individuals …

The Bad, The Ugly, And The Horrible: What I Learned About Humanity By Doing Prison Research, Adelina Iftene

Dalhousie Law Journal

Every Canadian academic conducting research with humans must submit an ethics application with their university’s Research Ethics Board. One of the key questions in that application inquired into the level of vulnerability of the interviewees. Filling in that question, I had to check nearly every box: the interviewees were incarcerated, old, under-educated, poor, Indigenous or other racial minorities, and likely had mental and physical disabilities. However, it was not until I met John that I understood what all those boxes actually meant. They were signalling that I was entering a universe of extreme marginalization—the universe of the forgotten. I learned …

A Leap Of Faith: Twail Meets Caribbean Queer Rights Jurisprudence—Intersections With International Human Rights Law, H. Patrick Wells

Dalhousie Law Journal

This article examines the legal status of queer rights in Caribbean jurisprudence. It conducts an analysis of Caribbean queer rights case law, in order to arrive at an understanding of the extent and dynamics of constitutional protection for these rights. It then uses the revelations from this analysis to determine how Caribbean queer rights jurisprudence has intersected with international human rights norms, values and rules. Finally, the article applies the TWAIL methodological approach to international law to argue that the Caribbean queer rights jurisprudence has not so far reflected the counter-hegemonic, resistance, anti-imperialist discourse that TWAIL champions, in spite of …

Hiring Algorithms In The Canadian Private Sector: Examining The Promise Of Greater Workplace Equality, Connor Bildfell

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

Private-sector employers are increasingly using hiring algorithms as a tool for screening job applicants, comparing qualifications, and ultimately determining which candidates should be selected. Within this context, hiring algorithms make no small promise: a hiring process that is not only more efficient and effective, but also more supportive of workplace equality. This promise rests largely on the notion that traditional human-driven models of hiring are beset by subjective biases and prejudices, whereas hiring algorithms, which are driven by hard data and objective evidence, can eliminate certain human biases and prejudices, thereby promoting workplace equality. But can hiring algorithms deliver on …

Acceptance Speech For Lifetime Achievement Award From Canadian Prison Lawyers Association, Michael Jackson Qc

Dalhousie Law Journal

Acceptance Speech for Lifetime Achievement Award from Canadian Prison Lawyers Association

Wrongful Termination Claims In The Supreme Court Of Canada: Coming Up Short, Dianne Pothier

Dalhousie Law Journal

The author concludes that the Supreme Court of Canada's narrow interpretations in Wal-Mart and Honda undermine the purposes of collective bargaining and human rights legislation, respectively Wal-Mart involves an unfair labour practice complaint following the closing of a store in Jonquibre, Quebec. The author contests the analysis of the Supreme Court of Canada, as being far removed from the context of the real difficulties in dealing with determined anti-union employers, instead facilitating statutory evasion. Honda involves a claim for wrongful dismissal, where the issue at the Supreme Court of Canada level is one of remedy, premised on the dismissal amounting …

The Institutional And Substantive Effects Of The Human Rights Act In The United Kingdom, Christopher D. Jenkins

Dalhousie Law Journal

This article reviews the institutional and substantive impact that the Human Rights Act has on English law through its incorporation of the European Convention on Human Rights. Under the Act, higher courts can now move beyond a formalistic method of judicial review and substantively evaluate legislation in light of the Convention. The judiciary can accordingly issue declarations that statutes are incompatible with the Convention which, although not invalidating the act in question, will bring considerable political pressure to bear on Parliament to ensure compliance. The Act further directs courts to give special regard to the decisions of the European Court …

Second Class Rights? Principles And Compromise In The Charter, Denise G. Réaume, Leslie J. M Green

Dalhousie Law Journal

Minority language rights are both historically and politically central to the Canadian constitution. It is also commonly supposed that they are fundamental rights, rooted in principle, and deserving generous interpretation by the courts. For a time, it seemed that the Supreme Court of Canada shared this view. In the Manitoba Language Reference, for example, they said that "The importance of language rights is grounded in the essential role that language plays in human existence, development and dignity." In Mercure v. A.G. of Saskatchewan they reiterated: "It can hardly be gainsaid that language is profoundly anchored in the human condition. Not …

The Human Rights Committee And Articles 7 And 10(1) Of The International Covenant On Civil And Political Rights, 1966, P R. Ghandhi

Dalhousie Law Journal

The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Optional Protocol thereto, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations in Resolution 2200A (XXI) t of 16 December 1966, entered into force on 23 March 1976 in accordance with Articles 49 of the Covenant and 9 of the Protocol respectively. As at 28 July 1989, there were eighty-seven States Parties to the Covenant and forty-five States Parties to the Protocol.

Rule Of Law In A State Of Emergency, John P. Humphrey

Dalhousie Law Journal

Is there any such thing as an absolute human right? Part of the answer to this question will be found in article 4 of the United Nations' Convenant on Civil and Political Rights. The article says in part that "in time of public emergency which threatens the life of the nation ... the States Parties to the present Covenant may take measures derogating from their obligation under the present Covenant to the extent strictly required by the exigencies of the situation ... " Similar provisions will be found in regional conventions on the human rights.

Le Rôle Organisations Internationales Dans La Protection Du Droit À La Vie., Paul Gormley

Dalhousie Law Journal

The emerging role of international and regional organizations toward the realistic protection of the right to life (along with closely related guarantees) constitutes the scope of the scholarly treatise, which is an outgrowth of the author's participation at the Research Center of the Hague Academy of International Law. Precisely Johannes van Aggelen of the Center for Human Rights, United Nations Office at Geneva, is one of the rising scholars of the coming generation of human rights lawyers. Indeed, his work in such closely related fields as humanitarian law, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the right to an adequate food supply and supporting …

The Politics Of The Imagination: A Life Of F.R. Scott, J King Gordon

Dalhousie Law Journal

The task of a biographer is a challenging one at best. And when the subject is one who has achieved distinction in many fields the difficulties are magnified many times. Better, perhaps, to settle for a Festschift where colleagues and friends in fields in which the subject has excelled join together to pay their separate tributes. So in the case of Frank Scott and his biographer, Sandra Djwa. She is a professor of literature and has achieved recognition for the work she has done on the writings and life of E.J. Pratt. It was undoubtedly Frank Scott, the distinguished Canadian …

The Concept And Present Status Of The International Protection Of Human Rights: Forty Years After The Universal Declaration, Annemieke Holthius

Dalhousie Law Journal

John P. Humphrey, the first Director of the Human Rights Division of the United Nations, in his preface to The Concept and Present Status of the International Protection of Human Rights - Forty Years after the Universal Declaration, observes that the question of the international protection of human rights "has received far too little attention from scholars, statesmen, diplomats and human rights activists". There "has so far been no attempt ... to provide a comprehensive account" of the concept of "protection" within the international law of human rights. In his new book, Dr. B.G. Ramcharan, the distinguished lawyer-adviser in the …

The Impact On Women Of Entrenchment Of Property Rights In The Canadian Charter Of Rights And Freedoms, Clare F. Beckton

Dalhousie Law Journal

On Friday, 29 April 1983 the Progressive Conservative opposition in Parliament proposed an amendment to the constitution which would change section 7 of the existing Charter to read: Everyone has the right to life, liberty, security of the person and enjoyment of property and the right not to be deprived thereof except in accordance with the principles of fundamental justice. (emphasis added to identify amendment) The language used to present this amendment shows that its proponents were espousing a very traditional view of property. For example, Jake Epp said:

Orwell's Prophecies: The Limits Of Liberty And The Limits Of Law, Julian Symons

Dalhousie Law Journal

Let me say something first about the scope of this talk. As we approach 1984, George Orwell's book with that title seems to have increasing relevancy. It was not intended as a prophetic work - the very title came simply from the fact that the final version was completed in 1948, so that the last two numerals were reversed. And it was concerned less with conjectural futures than with the world Orwell saw around him. It was, he said, a projection of what might happen if totalitarian tendencies in several countries developed as they had been doing in the years …

The Emerging Jurisprudence Of The Human Rights Committee, B. G. Ramcharan

Dalhousie Law Journal

Referring to the role of the Human Rights Committee in the examination of reports submitted by States parties to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Canadian representative in the Third Committee of the General Assembly in 1966, expected that the Committee would "examine, analyse, appraise and evaluate the reports ... in a searching and critical fashion." ' After two years, during which five sessions of the Human Rights Committee were held, how does the Committee measure up to this standard? This will be the main inquiry of the present article during the course of which the following …

Science, Technology And Human Rights, Yoram Dinstein

Dalhousie Law Journal

The rapid development of science and technology, particularly in the last generation, has had a tremendous impact on human rights. Many, perhaps most, human rights are adversely affected - in actuality or potentiality - by modern machines.' The subject has been discussed at great length by scientists and statesmen, lawyers and laymen, preachers and futurologists. But, to understand it in its proper perspective, it is believed that a typological approach is called for. It is necessary to distinguish between four different types of cases, in accordance with the nature of the relationship between science and technology, on the one hand, …

A. G. For Canada Et Al V. Claire Dupond: The Right To Assemble In Canada?, Clare F. Beckton

Dalhousie Law Journal

The renewal of the Federation must confirm the pre-eminence of citizens over institutions, guarantee their rights and freedoms and ensure that these rights and freedoms are inalienable. 1 These words from Prime Minister Trudeau are a reflection of the concern today for protection of individual rights and freedoms. His words also reflect the past concerns with protection of individual rights and freedoms particularly in countries which espouse democratic principles. He has recognized that the balance between individual and state interests must be struck in favour of the individual. In order to achieve this result, there must be some consensus in …

Human Rights In Canadian Society: Mechanisms For Raising The Issues And Providing Redress, A. Wayne Mackay

Dalhousie Law Journal

To the great body of the people, the whole mass of right is without remedy. Selling justice to the favoured few, denying it to the many, the system gives the rights in outward show; takes them away in effect; gives rights by what it says, takes them away by what it does. 1 Society has changed since Jeremy Bentham made the above observation. However, the problem he identified has not been eliminated. The gap between what governments say about human rights and what they do about violations of human rights is wide. In spite of occasional verbal protests from other …

A Progress Report On The Canadian Bill Of Rights, J. N. Lyon

Dalhousie Law Journal

When the Parliament of Canada enacted the Canadian Bill of Rights' in 1960 it injected fresh authority into the judicial power of interpretation of federal laws. The process of interpretation of the Bill ofRights itself has been difficult for a judiciary trained to accept law as given and to take for granted the great creative periods and personalities of English law without regard to the fact that much if not most of the civil liberties tradition in English (and therefore Canadian) law was triggered by declaratory statutes like Magna Carta and the English Bill ofRights. The decade and a half …

The Credibility Gap In Human Rights, Niall Macdermot

Dalhousie Law Journal

The credibility gap in human rights is a term coined by my predecessor, Mr. Sean MacBride. He used it to refer to the gap between the standards with governments proclaim, or accept, or at least pay lip-service to, and the reality of their practice in enforcing or suppressing these rights. The questions I would like to consider with you are the extent of this gap, the reasons for it, and what, if anything, ordinary citizens who care about human rights can do about it.

The Credibility Gap In Human Rights, Niall Macdermot

Dalhousie Law Journal

The credibility gap in human rights is a term coined by my predecessor, Mr. Sean MacBride. He used it to refer to the gap between the standards with governments proclaim, or accept, or at least pay lip-service to, and the reality of their practice in enforcing or suppressing these rights. The questions I would like to consider with you are the extent of this gap, the reasons for it, and what, if anything, ordinary citizens who care about human rights can do about it.

The Credibility Gap In Human Rights, Niall Macdermot

Dalhousie Law Journal

The credibility gap in human rights is a term coined by my predecessor, Mr. Sean MacBride. He used it to refer to the gap between the standards with governments proclaim, or accept, or at least pay lip-service to, and the reality of their practice in enforcing or suppressing these rights. The questions I would like to consider with you are the extent of this gap, the reasons for it, and what, if anything, ordinary citizens who care about human rights can do about it.

The Credibility Gap In Human Rights, Niall Macdermot

Dalhousie Law Journal

The credibility gap in human rights is a term coined by my predecessor, Mr. Sean MacBride. He used it to refer to the gap between the standards with governments proclaim, or accept, or at least pay lip-service to, and the reality of their practice in enforcing or suppressing these rights. The questions I would like to consider with you are the extent of this gap, the reasons for it, and what, if anything, ordinary citizens who care about human rights can do about it.

A Progress Report On The Canadian Bill Of Rights, J. N. Lyon

Dalhousie Law Journal

When the Parliament of Canada enacted the Canadian Bill of Rights' in 1960 it injected fresh authority into the judicial power of interpretation of federal laws. The process of interpretation of the Bill ofRights itself has been difficult for a judiciary trained to accept law as given and to take for granted the great creative periods and personalities of English law without regard to the fact that much if not most of the civil liberties tradition in English (and therefore Canadian) law was triggered by declaratory statutes like Magna Carta and the English Bill ofRights. The decade and a half …

The Credibility Gap In Human Rights, Niall Macdermot

Dalhousie Law Journal

The credibility gap in human rights is a term coined by my predecessor, Mr. Sean MacBride. He used it to refer to the gap between the standards with governments proclaim, or accept, or at least pay lip-service to, and the reality of their practice in enforcing or suppressing these rights. The questions I would like to consider with you are the extent of this gap, the reasons for it, and what, if anything, ordinary citizens who care about human rights can do about it.