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Full-Text Articles in Law

Soapbox: Racial Profiling Is An Epidemic In Canada, Sujith Xavier Dec 2014

Soapbox: Racial Profiling Is An Epidemic In Canada, Sujith Xavier

Law Publications

Racial profiling is an epidemic in Canada. Experts recognize racial profiling’s limitations as a policing tool. Social science researchers and lawyers suggest that racial profiling is an affront to our human rights and dignity. Much more importantly, it is unconstitutional and contrary to our shared values rooted in pluralism and fundamental freedoms. Law enforcement officials and the public nonetheless seem prepared to look past these concerns because it is necessary to protect the public from serious harm.


The Property Attributes Of Copyright, Pascale Chapdelaine Oct 2014

The Property Attributes Of Copyright, Pascale Chapdelaine

Law Publications

The primary goal of this article is to look at the property attributes of copyright to inform a more nuanced understanding of the nature of copyright that emphasizes its distinct character. I resort primarily to James W. Harris' theory in Property and Justice, and in particular, on the insights that his characterization of property as the twin manifestation of trespassory rules and of an ownership spectrum, bring to the understanding of copyright. While copyright holders' right to exclude has been a focal point in copyright theory, looking at copyright through trespassory rules and the ownership spectrum allows me to discern …


Property In Labour And The Limits Of Contract, Claire Mummé Jul 2014

Property In Labour And The Limits Of Contract, Claire Mummé

Law Publications

As has long been recognized, the contract of employment depends on the commodification of labour power. Notwithstanding debates amongst political theorists and trade union activists about whether individuals should be viewed as self-owners, and whether it is possible to sell one’s capabilities without selling one’s self, the law does treat labour power as a commodity. There has been little research on the ways in which the law does so, however, for the simple reason that self-ownership of one’s laboring capacities is often taken as fact, as the starting premise for analysis, and treated as a necessary pre-condition for individual self-realization …


Tied Hands? A Doctrinal And Policy Argument For The Validity Of Advance Consent, Joshua Sealy-Harrington Mar 2014

Tied Hands? A Doctrinal And Policy Argument For The Validity Of Advance Consent, Joshua Sealy-Harrington

Law Publications

In R. v. A. (J.), a majority of the Supreme Court of Canada rejected the legal validity of advance consent: consent to sexual acts anticipated to occur during unconsciousness. This article, to the contrary, argues that the legal validity of advance consent should be accepted. First, this article argues that the Criminal Code and jurisprudence are consistent with the legal validity of advance consent. Second, this article argues that, in the circumstance of a sleeping partner, advance consent should be accepted based on policy considerations in relation to sexual autonomy and the administration of justice.


Depending On The Kindness Of Strangers: Access To Civil Justice In Canada, Noel Semple Jan 2014

Depending On The Kindness Of Strangers: Access To Civil Justice In Canada, Noel Semple

Law Publications

‘Abysmal’ was the word used to describe the accessibility of Canadian civil justice in a recent major report. Access to justice is simultaneously a social problem, a professional obligation for the legal profession, and a market opportunity for law firms. Are there any signs of significant progress on any of these fronts? This short Correspondent's report will review recent Canadian efforts to connect people of modest means with the expert legal services they urgently need.


Copyright Users' Rights In International Law, Margaret Ann Wilkinson Jan 2014

Copyright Users' Rights In International Law, Margaret Ann Wilkinson

Law Publications

No abstract provided.


Gendering Processes Of Institutional Design: Activists At The Negotiating Table, Sheila Meintjes, Alice Brown, Valerie Oosterveld Jan 2014

Gendering Processes Of Institutional Design: Activists At The Negotiating Table, Sheila Meintjes, Alice Brown, Valerie Oosterveld

Law Publications

No abstract provided.


Constructive Ambiguity And The Meaning Of “Gender” For The International Criminal Court, Valerie Oosterveld Jan 2014

Constructive Ambiguity And The Meaning Of “Gender” For The International Criminal Court, Valerie Oosterveld

Law Publications

No abstract provided.


Sexual Violence Directed Against Men And Boys In Armed Conflict Or Mass Atrocity: Addressing A Gendered Harm In International Criminal Tribunals, Valerie Oosterveld Jan 2014

Sexual Violence Directed Against Men And Boys In Armed Conflict Or Mass Atrocity: Addressing A Gendered Harm In International Criminal Tribunals, Valerie Oosterveld

Law Publications

No abstract provided.


Procedural Steps Addressing Sexual And Gender-Based Violence: The Legacy Of The International Criminal Tribunal For Rwanda And Its Application In The Special Court For Sierra Leone, Valerie Oosterveld Jan 2014

Procedural Steps Addressing Sexual And Gender-Based Violence: The Legacy Of The International Criminal Tribunal For Rwanda And Its Application In The Special Court For Sierra Leone, Valerie Oosterveld

Law Publications

This paper examines certain procedural strategies adopted by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) to encourage and support victims of, and witnesses to, sexual and gender-based violence and traces their application in the Special Court for Sierra Leone. First, the paper explores specific methods used to protect the identity of victims and witnesses. Second, this paper considers steps taken by the ICTR to provide courtroom support to victims and witnesses. Finally, this paper surveys evidentiary approaches meant to reduce the retraumatization of sexual violence victims. The ICTR indeed has a legacy in these respects, somewhat positive and somewhat flawed.


Modes Of Reasoning In Wto Law, Chios Carmody Jan 2014

Modes Of Reasoning In Wto Law, Chios Carmody

Law Publications

How the law reasons is central to its legitimacy. This article examines how legal reasoning is characterized by two types of logic, deductive and inductive, which are apparent in the legal system of the World Trade Organization (WTO). The article goes on to suggest that the interaction of deductive reasoning in the form of presumptions and inductive reasoning in the form of proof give rise to a third type of logic, abductive logic, defined as the ‘best’ estimate on current knowledge. It then examines how this three-fold combination of ideas is displayed in WTO law and explores what implications this …


A Hague Convention On Contract Pregnancy (Or ‘Surrogacy’): Avoiding Ethical Inconsistencies With The Convention On Adoption, Andrew Botterell, Carolyn Mcleod Jan 2014

A Hague Convention On Contract Pregnancy (Or ‘Surrogacy’): Avoiding Ethical Inconsistencies With The Convention On Adoption, Andrew Botterell, Carolyn Mcleod

Law Publications

In the past, the Hague Conference on Private International Law has shaped how people can become the legal parents of children born in countries other than their own. It did so by creating the 1993 Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption. It is now interested in developing a convention on international contract pregnancy (or what many call “surrogacy”). We discuss in this commentary what such a convention would have to include for it to be ethically consistent with the Convention on Adoption.


Reconciling The Principled Approach To Hearsay With The Rule Of Law, Andrew Botterell Jan 2014

Reconciling The Principled Approach To Hearsay With The Rule Of Law, Andrew Botterell

Law Publications

No abstract provided.


Repeat Bankruptcies And The Integrity Of The Canadian Bankruptcy Process, Thomas G. W. Telfer Jan 2014

Repeat Bankruptcies And The Integrity Of The Canadian Bankruptcy Process, Thomas G. W. Telfer

Law Publications

One of the often-cited purposes of bankruptcy law is to permit the rehabilitationof the debtor as a citizen unfetteredby past debts. The bankruptcy regime thus allows an honest but unfortunate debtor toobtain a fresh start through the discharge. However, Canadian bankruptcy law has long taken the position that a repeat bankruptcy will preclude an order of an absolute discharge. The different treatment of repeat bankrupts suggests that there are other policy objectives at play beyond rehabilitation. While the court must consider the interests of the debtor and creditors in a contested discharge hearing an equally important consideration is the protection …


New Hacktivists And The Old Concept Of Levée En Masse, Christopher Waters Jan 2014

New Hacktivists And The Old Concept Of Levée En Masse, Christopher Waters

Law Publications

English Abstract: The purpose of this article is to contribute to the continuing debate over the relevance of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) to cyberwar. It does so by taking what is often said to be a particularly archaic aspect of IHL, the French Revolutionary notion of levée en masse, and asking whether the concept could have relevance in the cyber context. The article treats levée en masse as a litmus test for the law’s relevance; if this IHL “relic” could have relevance in the cyber context, then the continued relevance of the larger body of rules should also be less …


The Ontario Human Rights Code’S Distributive And Recognitional Functions In The Workplace, Claire Mummé Jan 2014

The Ontario Human Rights Code’S Distributive And Recognitional Functions In The Workplace, Claire Mummé

Law Publications

In her analysis of the purpose of the Ontario Human Rights Code, the author draws on Nancy Fraser’s distinction between the two main strategies that have been used to combat inequality. Strategies of redistribution, which prevailed among equality activists in the early twentieth century, see inequality as arising from unequal access to economic resources. Strategies of recognition, which have come into prominence more recently, see inequality as arising from sociocultural prejudices that deny equal recognition to disadvantaged groups. Although the Ontario Human Rights Code is often seen as focusing on recognitional issues, the author argues that through the market relationships …


A Taxonomy Of Lawyer Regulation: How Contrasting Theories Of Regulation Explain The Divergent Regulatory Regimes In Australia, England/Wales, And North America, Russell G. Pearce, Noel Semple, Renee Newman Knake Jan 2014

A Taxonomy Of Lawyer Regulation: How Contrasting Theories Of Regulation Explain The Divergent Regulatory Regimes In Australia, England/Wales, And North America, Russell G. Pearce, Noel Semple, Renee Newman Knake

Law Publications

What explains the dramatic contrast between legal services regulation in the United States and anglophone Canada, on one hand, and England/Wales and Australia, on the other? In order to help explain these divergent regulatory choices, and to further comparative analysis, this Essay proposes a taxonomy of theories of legal services regulation drawn from these common-law jurisdictions. Although most jurisdictions employ a combination of approaches, as well as some hybrid methods, the Essay identifies the two dominant perspectives: (1) the professionalist-independent framework, predominate in anglophone North America, and (2) the consumerist-competitive framework found in the common law jurisdictions of Northern Europe …