Abdullah Khadr (Colin Perkel / THE CANADIAN PRESS via ctv.ca)
The Supreme Court of Canada today denied the U.S. Government’s application for leave to appeal in Attorney General of Canada on behalf of the United States of America v. Abdullah Khadr (Ont.) (Criminal) (By Leave) (34357) Coram: Binnie / Deschamps / Rothstein (without costs).
For a backgrounder, see my earlier post: Ontario C.A. upholds stay of U.S.A.’s extradition request for Abdullah Khadr.
Fergal F. Davis (ARC Laureate Fellowship: Anti-terror laws & the democratic challenge; University of New South Wales (UNSW)) has posted “Lord Neuberger and the Diceyean Bushel” . The abstract reads:
On 6 April 2011, Lord Neuberger, the Master of the Rolls, delivered the second Lord Alexander of Weedon Lecture. In it he revisited the awkward tension which exists between the “notion of supremacy of the democratically elected legislature and the rule of law”. While the topic approached is one of controversy, the learned Master of the Rolls adopted a position which is essentially orthodox – namely that Parliament remains supreme despite membership of the European Union, the existence of the European Court of Human Rights at Strasbourg and the Human Rights Act, 1998 (HRA). To describe Lord Neuberger’s position as orthodox is not intended to be a criticism. His suspicion of judicial supremacy is welcome and equally agreeable is his statement against judicial passivism. However, two problems emerge: firstly, the contention that Parliament remains supreme is difficult to sustain once it is subjected to anything beyond the most formal level of analysis; secondly, and more importantly, by returning to the orthodox Diceyean perspective he risks stifling potentially significant constitutional innovation contained within the HRA. This article will argue that the orthodox position advanced by Lord Neuberger needs to be set aside and a position equally respectful of the democratic legitimacy of Parliament, but more conscious of the role of the courts in contentious areas, should be adopted.
The following is an infographic on the extraordinary rendition of Canadian citizen Maher Arar. It was created by JESS3 ™ - a creative interactive agency in collaboration with Amnesty International in celebration of Amnesty’s 50th anniversary, which passed over the weekend, and details the appalling conditions that Arar faced in a Syrian prison after being detained by U.S. authorities.
Here’s the infographic, which was released under a Creative Commons license, so you should feel free to share it however you please:
This is just one of five infographics released yesterday with Amnesty. You can view the others here:
http://www.amnestyusa.org/about-us/amnesty-50-years/50-years-of-human-rights
H/T: Chris Cassidy, J.D. at JESS3 ™ - a creative interactive agency
Image via Wikipedia
In today’s Canadian Lawyer article, “Trust not reasons, required in leave application process: A response to Philip Slayton“, Jean-Marc Leclerc responds to Phillip Slayton’s Canadian Lawyer article entitled Justice is in the details. Slayton’s key argument rests on lack of judicial transparency: (more…)
The Rule of Law and international human rights remain alive and kicking in Canada.
Abdullah Khadr (right) looks on as his lawyer Dennis Edney talks to media outside court in Toronto, Wednesday, Aug.4, 2010. (Colin Perkel / THE CANADIAN PRESS via http://www.ctv.ca)
Today, the Court of Appeal for Ontario in United States of America v. Khadr,2011 ONCA 358 (Ont. C.A.), dismissed the appeal by the United States government to extradite Canadian citizen, Abdullah Khadr (the older brother of Omar Khadr currently held in Guantanamo Bay pending his return to Canada following his guilty plea to terrorism related charges). The Court of Appeal affirmed that a stay was the appropriate judicial response to a violation of the human rights of an individual sought for extradition on terrorism charges. (more…)
Antonin I. Pribetic
