HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''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 By place 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 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 ...
decision where the Court ruled that that the military court martial system must comply with the constitutional requirements for judicial independence 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 ...
.


Background

Michel Généreux was a corporal in the
Canadian Forces } The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; french: Forces armées canadiennes, ''FAC'') are the unified Military, military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air elements referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Ai ...
. He was charged with drug possession for the purpose of trafficking in violation of section 4 of the '' Narcotics Control Act'' and for desertion in violation of section 88(1) of the '' National Defence Act''. 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 ''Valente v R'', 9852 S.C.R. 673 is a leading Supreme Court of Canada decision on protection of judicial independence under section 11(d) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Background A Provincial Court of Ontario judge held that h ...
''
985 Year 985 ( CMLXXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Summer – Henry II (the Wrangler) is restored as duke of Bavaria by Empress Theoph ...
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 Ju ...
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 The chief justice of Canada (french: juge en chef du Canada) is the presiding judge of the nine- ...
* Beauregard v Canada *
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 ind ...
*
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 ...
* Re Therrien *
Provincial Court Judges' Assn of New Brunswick v New Brunswick (Minister of Justice) ''Provincial Court Judges' Assn of New Brunswick v New Brunswick (Minister of Justice); Ontario Judges Assn v Ontario (Management Board); Bodner v Alberta; Conférence des juges du Québec v Quebec (AG); Minc v Quebec (AG)'' 0052 S.C.R. 286 was a d ...


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