Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2024

Abstract

Osgoode Hall’s 26th Annual Constitutional Cases Conference – the 2022 Year in Review – was held on April 14, 2023. This paper is drawn from the Opening Address, which provides an overview of the Supreme Court’s jurisprudence and is a longstanding feature of the conference. As it explains, the Court’s thirteen decisions in 2022 focused almost exclusively on the Charter’s legal rights and remedies, though R. v. Sharma considered and dismissed a claim under s.15, and the Court rendered one decision on public interest standing. The paper provides a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the 2022 jurisprudence, adding commentary on two points of particular interest. The first concerns the Court’s invalidation of significant Criminal Code provisions on consecutive life sentences for murder, statutory limits on the defence of intoxication, and lifetime registration on the federal sex offenders’ registry. Second are the dynamics of decision making in 2022 and the rise of unanimity on the Wagner Court, including in key decisions invalidating Criminal Code provisions. Finally, the overview notes that, due to unexpected developments early in 2023, 2022 would be Justice Russell Brown’s final year on the Supreme Court, and comments briefly on the justice’s 2022 contributions and the significance of his departure from the Court. This overview will be published in the conference edition of the Supreme Court Law Review, late in 2022 or early in 2023.

Comments

SCLR Constitutional Cases Conference, forthcoming

Download

Request a copy that is accessible using assistive technology (link opens in a new window)

Share

COinS