''R v Seaboyer'',
9912 S.C.R. 577 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 struck-down a
rape-shield provision 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 ...
as it violated the right to "full answer and defence" under
sections 7 and
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 ...
''. The case was decided with ''R v Gayme''.
Justice
McLachlin, for the majority, found that Section 276 of the Criminal Code that prevented those charged with sexual assault offences from
cross-examining
In law, cross-examination is the interrogation of a witness called by one's opponent. It is preceded by direct examination (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, South Africa, India and Pakistan known as examination-in-chief) and m ...
the complainant about his or her history of sexual activity, could, in some instances, exclude relevant evidence thus impeding the accused's ability to make full answer and defence.
Justice
L'Heureux-Dubé, in dissent, found that the ''Code'' provision just excluded evidence that would be irrelevant and prejudicial to the integrity and fairness of the trial process.
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- ...
*
R v O'Connor
*
R v Mills (1999)
External links
*
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms case law
Supreme Court of Canada cases
1991 in Canadian case law
Rape in Canada
Canadian criminal case law
Canadian evidence case law
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