A Quantitative Analysis of Leave Applications to the Supreme Court of Canada in Constitutional Cases

Authors

Paul-Erik Veel, Lenczner Slaght LLP

Abstract

The requirement that a party must, in most cases, obtain leave to appeal in order to bring a case to the Supreme Court of Canada poses a significant barrier to cases being heard by that Court; indeed, the vast majority of cases are not granted leave to appeal. Because the leave process operates as a barrier, understanding the leave to appeal process and outcomes are in turn important to understanding the development of Canadian law. However, because the Supreme Court does not provide reasons for decision as to whether or not to grant leave in a particular case, conventional tools of legal analysis provide us with little insight into its decision-making. Quantitative analysis of leave applications can provide insights about leave applications, including the determinants of successful leave applications.

Citation Information

Veel, Paul-Erik. "A Quantitative Analysis of Leave Applications to the Supreme Court of Canada in Constitutional Cases." The Supreme Court Law Review: Osgoode’s Annual Constitutional Cases Conference 115. (2024).
DOI: https://doi.org/10.60082/2563-8505.1458
https://digitalcommons.osgoode.yorku.ca/sclr/vol115/iss1/16

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