''R v Laba'',
994
Year 994 ( CMXCIV) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Byzantine Empire
* September 15 – Battle of the Orontes: Fatimid forces, under Turkish general Manjutakin (also the governor ...
3 S.C.R. 965 is a
Supreme Court of Canada
The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; , ) is the highest court in the judicial system of Canada. It comprises nine justices, whose decisions are the ultimate application of Canadian law, and grants permission to between 40 and 75 litigants eac ...
decision on the
presumption of innocence
The presumption of innocence is a legal principle that every person Accused (law), accused of any crime is considered innocent until proven guilt (law), guilty. Under the presumption of innocence, the legal burden of proof is thus on the Prosecut ...
under
section 11(d) of the ''
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
The ''Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms'' (), often simply referred to as the ''Charter'' in Canada, is a bill of rights entrenched in the Constitution of Canada, forming the first part of the '' Constitution Act, 1982''. The ''Char ...
'' and the limitations provision under
section 1.
Background
Six men were charged under s. 394(1)(b) 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 might ...
'' for selling or purchasing "any rock, mineral or other substance that contains precious metals unless he establishes that he is the owner or agent of the owner or is acting under lawful authority". The six men challenged the
reverse onus clause which required that the accused establish that he or she was acting under lawful authority as a violation of the presumption of innocence.
Reasons of the court
Justice Sopinka, writing for the Court, examined whether the provision criminalizing the trade in stolen precious metal ore could be justified under section 1 as the Crown had already conceded that it violated section 11(d). Sopinka observed that there were a variety of situations where innocent people could be charged and convicted where they are unable to prove that their ore was legal. Moreover, the purpose and history behind the provision was not sufficiently supported by facts or data that proved the trade in stolen precious metal ore was a pressing and substantial matter. Sopinka, however, found that the purpose was rationally connected to the provision. On the minimal impairment step of the
Oakes test
Section 1 of the ''Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms'' is the section that confirms that the rights listed in the Charter are ''guaranteed''. The section is also known as the reasonable limits clause or limitations clause, as it legally all ...
, he found that the provision was not minimally impairing nor was it proportional.
As a remedy he held that the phrase "unless he establishes that" in the reverse onus clause be struck out and instead the phrase "in the absence of evidence which raises a reasonable doubt that" be read in.
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
The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; , ) is the highest court in the judicial system of Canada. It comprises nine justices, whose decisions are the ultimate ...
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Laba
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms case law
Supreme Court of Canada cases
1994 in Canadian case law
Canadian criminal procedure case law
Canadian evidence case law