''Chaput v Romain''

955 Year 955 ( CMLV) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * August 10 – Battle of Lechfeld: King Otto I ("the Great") defeats the Hungarians (also known as Magyars) near Augsburg (Germa ...

SCR 834 was a legal case that was heard 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 application of Canadian law, and grants permission to between 40 and 75 litigants eac ...

. The case had broader implications for

freedom of religion in Canada Freedom of religion in Canada is a constitutionally protected right, allowing believers the freedom to assemble and worship without limitation or interference. According to the 2021 census, Christianity is the largest religion in Canada, ...

. The case determined that all religions have equal rights, based upon tradition and the

rule of law The essence of the rule of law is that all people and institutions within a Body politic, political body are subject to the same laws. This concept is sometimes stated simply as "no one is above the law" or "all are equal before the law". Acco ...

. At the time, no statutes formed the basis for this argument. It was one of many legal cases surrounding the persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses in Canada.

Background

Esymier Chaput was one of 30 Jehovah's Witnesses attending a

meeting A meeting is when two or more people come together to discuss one or more topics, often in a formal or business setting, but meetings also occur in a variety of other environments. Meetings can be used as form of group decision-making. Definiti ...

in his

Chapeau, Quebec Chapeau () is a village in the Canadian province of Quebec, located along the Culbute Channel of the Ottawa River in the municipality of L'Isle-aux-Allumettes in Pontiac Regional County Municipality. There is speculation as to the real origin ...

home on September 4, 1949. Three

police officers A police officer (also called policeman or policewoman, cop, officer or constable) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, ''police officer'' is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of ...

were observed outside, who asked to enter the premises after confirming that they were having a meeting, and arrested Chaput. They ordered everyone else to leave, seized a bible, song books, and some religious pamphlets. Esymier Chaput first filed the case with the provincial

trial court A trial court or court of first instance is a court having original jurisdiction, in which trials take place. Appeals from the decisions of trial courts are usually heard by higher courts with the power of appellate review (appellate courts). ...

, the

Court of Quebec The Court of Quebec () is a court of first instance in the Province of Quebec, Canada. The court has jurisdiction over civil matters, criminal and penal matters as well as over youth matters The court sits in administrative matters as well, a ...

for damages and the value of the seized articles. This action was dismissed by the trial judge and by the

Quebec Court of Appeal The Court of Appeal of Quebec (sometimes referred to as Quebec Court of Appeal or QCA; ) is the highest judicial court in Quebec, Canada. It hears cases in Quebec City and Montreal. History The court was created on May 30, 1849, as the Court ...

Case

The case was appealed to the

. When one of the police officers was questioned, he stated that he had determined that it was illegal for Jehovah's Witnesses to hold meetings by reading the newspaper. Their legal defence was that Jehovah's Witnesses were known to distribute "

seditious libel Seditious libel is a criminal offence under common law of printing written material with seditious purposethat is, the purpose of bringing contempt upon a political authority. It remains an offence in Canada but has been abolished in England and ...

", created "animosity and hate between different classes of society", and that Chaput did not follow the requirements under the ''Magistrate's Privilege Act''. They also stated that their superior officer ordered them to take these actions. The Supreme Court determined that the police officers had violated 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 ...

through their actions. The Supreme court also ruled that Chaput was entitled to $2000 in damages and the appeal was sustained, overturning the lower courts. The case is often compared to ''Saumur v. Quebec (City of)'' and ''

Roncarelli v Duplessis ''Roncarelli v. Duplessis'', 959S.C.R. 121, was a landmark constitutional decision of the Supreme Court of Canada. The court held that in 1946 Maurice Duplessis, both Premier and Attorney General of Quebec, had overstepped his authority by ord ...

''.

References

{{reflist Jehovah's Witnesses litigation in Canada Supreme Court of Canada cases

Background

Case

See also

References