''R v Généreux'',
992
Year 992 ( CMXCII) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
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Worldwide
* Winter – A superflare from the sun causes an Aurora Borealis, with visibility as fa ...
1 S.C.R. 259 is a leading
Supreme Court of Canada
The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; french: Cour suprême du Canada, CSC) is the Supreme court, highest court in the Court system of Canada, judicial system of Canada. It comprises List of Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada, nine justices, wh ...
decision where the Court ruled that that the military court martial system must comply with the constitutional requirements for
judicial independence Judicial independence is the concept that the judiciary should be independent from the other branches of government. That is, courts should not be subject to improper influence from the other branches of government or from private or partisan inte ...
under
section 11(d) of the
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
The ''Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms'' (french: Charte canadienne des droits et libertés), often simply referred to as the ''Charter'' in Canada, is a bill of rights entrenched in the Constitution of Canada, forming the first part o ...
.
Background
Michel Généreux was a corporal in the
Canadian Forces
}
The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; french: Forces armées canadiennes, ''FAC'') are the unified military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air elements referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air Force.
...
. He was charged with drug possession for the purpose of trafficking in violation of section 4 of the ''
Narcotics Control Act
The ''Narcotic Control Act'' (the ''Act''), passed in 1961, was one of Canada's national drug control statutes prior to its repeal by the 1996 ''Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.'' It implemented the provisions of the Single Convention on Nar ...
'' and for desertion in violation of section 88(1) of the ''
National Defence Act
The ''National Defence Act'' (NDA; ; ''LDN'') is an Act of the Parliament of Canada, which is the primary enabling legislation for organizing and funding the military of Canada. The Act created the Department of National Defence, which merged th ...
''.
In the General Court Martial he was convicted for both offences, which was upheld in the Court Martial Appeal Court.
The issue before the Supreme Court was whether the General Court Martial was an independent and impartial tribunal under section 11(d) of the ''Charter''.
Opinion of the Court
The Court examined the requirements for judicial independence established in ''
Valente v. The Queen''
985
Year 985 (Roman numerals, CMLXXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
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It was found that the judges on the military court did not have sufficient security of tenure or administrative autonomy, which left them vulnerable to interference from the military and government. Consequently, the Court found that the accused's right to an independent and fair tribunal under section 11(d) of the Charter was violated.
Aftermath
The decision brought about many changes to the military courts. The Government of Canada commissioned recently retired Chief Justice
Brian Dickson
Robert George Brian Dickson (May 25, 1916 – October 17, 1998) was a Canadian lawyer, military officer and judge. He was appointed a puisne justice of the Supreme Court of Canada on March 26, 1973, and subsequently appointed the 15th Chief Jus ...
to write a report to recommend changes to the courts which were eventually incorporated into the 1998 National Defence Act.
See also
*
List of Supreme Court of Canada cases (Lamer Court)
This is a chronological list of notable cases decided by the Supreme Court of Canada from appointment of Antonio Lamer as Chief Justice of Canada to his retirement. 19901994
19951999
See also
* List of notable Canadian Courts of Appeals cases ...
*
Beauregard v Canada
''Beauregard v Canada'' 9862 S.C.R. 56 was a decision by the Supreme Court of Canada on judicial independence. Notably, the Court found that judicial independence is based partly in an unwritten constitution, and that some institutional independen ...
*
Mackeigan v Hickman ''Mackeigan v Hickman'', 9892 S.C.R. 796 is a leading Supreme Court of Canada decision on judicial independence. The Court unanimously held that to require a federal judge to explain his or her decisions would violate the principle of judicial inde ...
*
Provincial Judges Reference
The ''Reference re Remuneration of Judges of the Provincial Court (P.E.I.)'' 9973 S.C.R. 3 is a leading opinion of the Supreme Court of Canada in response to a reference question regarding remuneration and the independence and impartiality of prov ...
*
Re Therrien
''Re Therrien'', 0012 S.C.R. 3, 2001 SCC 35, is a leading decision of the Supreme Court of Canada on judicial independence.
Background
In the 1970s, Richard Therrien was convicted of assisting four members of the Front de libération du Québe ...
*
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Genereux
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms case law
Supreme Court of Canada cases
1992 in Canadian case law
Military justice
Canadian military law
Courts martial of Canada