''R v Ruzic'',

001 001, O01, or OO1 may refer to: *1 (number), a number, a numeral *001, fictional British agent, see 00 Agent *001, former emergency telephone number for the Norwegian fire brigade (until 1986) *AM-RB 001, the code-name for the Aston Martin Valkyrie ...

1 SCR 687 is a leading decision of the

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 ...

on the common law defence of

duress Coercion () is compelling a party to act in an involuntary manner by the use of threats, including threats to use force against a party. It involves a set of forceful actions which violate the free will of an individual in order to induce a desi ...

and constitutionality of the defence under section 17 of the ''

Criminal Code A criminal code (or penal code) is a document that compiles all, or a significant amount of a particular jurisdiction's criminal law. Typically a criminal code will contain offences that are recognised in the jurisdiction, penalties that migh ...

''. The Court held that section 7 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 ...

'' requires that the defence of duress be available to an accused even when they were not under immediate threat of bodily harm at the time the offence was committed.

Background

Marijana Ruzic was 21-year-old

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

n who lived in

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...

with her mother. A man had threatened to harm her unless she assisted him by smuggling

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a potent opioid mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and brow ...

into Canada. The man stalked her for some time and began threatening her, eventually escalating to violent assaults. Ruzic eventually complied and flew to Canada. She was arrested at

Toronto Pearson International Airport Lester B. Pearson International Airport , commonly known as Toronto Pearson International Airport, is an international airport located in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. It is the main airport serving Toronto, its metropolitan area, and the surro ...

for importing heroin. At trial, she pleaded that she only committed the crime under duress. A defence of duress, under section 17 of the ''Criminal Code'', is available only when a person "commits an offence under compulsion by threats of immediate death or bodily harm from a person who is present when the offence is committed". Ruzic claimed she had no other option and that both her and her mother's life were at risk. She also claimed that she could not go to the police because she believed them to be corrupt and would be of no help. Expert testimony validated this belief that Yugoslav citizens were generally untrusting of the police and their ability to protect them from rampant militias. Nonetheless, her claim failed on the grounds that she was not under a threat of "immediate death or bodily harm" and that the man was not "present when the offence was committed". Ruzic challenged section 17 of the ''Criminal Code'' as unconstitutional as it violated her right to

security of person Security of the person is a basic entitlement guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the United Nations in 1948. It is also a human right explicitly defined and guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights, th ...

under section 7 of the ''Charter''. The trial judge agreed with Ruzic and held that the defence duress was available to her and consequently she was acquitted. The appeal was dismissed on appeal to the

Court of Appeal for Ontario The Court of Appeal for Ontario (frequently referred to as the Ontario Court of Appeal or ONCA) is the appellate court for the province of Ontario, Canada. The seat of the court is Osgoode Hall in downtown Toronto, also the seat of the Law Societ ...

Opinion of the court

On April 20, 2001, the Supreme Court upheld the acquittal and dismissed the Crown appeal. LeBel J, writing for a unanimous Court, held that section 17 of the ''Criminal Code'' violated section 7 of the ''Charter'' on the basis that its requirements were too restrictive by requiring presence and immediacy. The requirements meant the defence was unavailable in situations where the threat is to a third party or involves harm in the future. LeBel agreed with the trial judge's finding that a common law defence of duress that did not have the same restrictions was also available. In the common law defence, the accused must make a reasonable effort to combat the threat, the severity of the criminal conduct must be proportional to the threat, and the accused must have no reasonable alternative of escape.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ruzic Section Seven Charter case law Supreme Court of Canada cases 2001 in Canadian case law Canadian criminal case law

Background

Opinion of the court

See also

External links