By the Court decisions of the Supreme Court of Canada explained

Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada have the option of releasing reasons for a unanimous decision anonymously by simply attributing the judgment to "The Court". The practice began around 1979 by Chief Justice Bora Laskin, borrowing from the US Supreme Court practice of anonymizing certain unanimous decisions.[1] Unlike in the US, which uses it primarily for uncontroversial cases, in Canada, it is used almost always for important and controversial cases.[2]

It has been suggested that the practice has been used to give greater authority to the decision by having the entire court speak as a single voice.[3]

Peter McCormick, a professor of political science at the University of Lethbridge who studies Canada's appellate courts, calls these "Latin: per coram decisions", but his terminology is not in general use. McCormick states that there were 9 reported Latin: per coram decisions prior to Laskin's term as Chief Justice of Canada, 15 reported Latin: per coram decisions under Laskin's chief justiceship, and 51 reported Latin: per coram decisions under Brian Dickson's chief justiceship.[4]

List

The following is a list of anonymous decisions that are attributed to "The Court":

width=36% Case name !width=28% Citation !Subject
Quebec (AG) v Blaikie (No 1)[1979] 2 SCR 1016Minority language rights
Quebec (AG) v Blaikie (No 2)[1981] 1 SCR 312Language of delegated legislation
Quebec (AG) v Quebec Assn of Protestant School Boards[1984] 2 SCR 66Minority language education rights
Reference Re Manitoba Language Rights[1985] 1 SCR 721Language rights
R v Baig[1987] 2 SCR 537Right to counsel
Ford v Quebec (AG)[1988] 2 SCR 712Commercial freedom of expression
Devine v Quebec (AG)[1988] 2 SCR 790Freedom of expression, French language legislation
Tremblay v Daigle[1989] 2 SCR 530Abortion
Reference Re Milgaard[1992] 1 SCR 866Wrongful conviction - murder
Reference Re Secession of Quebec[1998] 2 SCR 217Secession
Del Zotto v Canada[1999] 1 SCR 3
Quebec (Deputy Minister of Revenue) v Nolisair International Inc (Trustee of); Sécurité Saglac (1992) Inc (Trustee of) v Quebec (Deputy Minister of Revenue)[1999] 1 SCR 759
R v Marshall[1999] 3 SCR 533Aboriginal fishing rights
Reference Re Firearms Act[2000] 1 SCR 783Gun control
R v Latimer[2001] 1 SCR 3Cruel and unusual punishment, mercy killings
Smith v Canada (AG)2001 SCC 88
Privacy Act (Can) (Re)2001 SCC 89
R v Larivière2001 SCC 93
United States v Burns2001 SCC 7Extradition and execution
Suresh v Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration)2002 SCC 1Torture
Ahani v Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration)2002 SCC 2Torture
R v Powley2003 SCC 43Métis hunting rights
R v Blais2003 SCC 44Métis hunting rights
Reference Re Same-Sex Marriage2004 SCC 79Same-sex marriage
R v RGL2005 SCC 18
Solski (Tutor of) v Quebec (AG)2005 SCC 14
Gosselin (Tutor of) v Quebec (AG)2005 SCC 15
Okwuobi v Lester B Pearson School Board2005 SCC 16
Provincial Court Judges' Assn of New Brunswick v New Brunswick (Minister of Justice)2005 SCC 44Judicial independence
R v Rodrigue2005 SCC 67
Forum des maires de la Péninsule acadienne v Canada (Food Inspection Agency)2005 SCC 85
R v Hazout2006 SCC 42
BCE Inc v 1976 Debentureholders2008 SCC 69Nature of the duties of corporate directors in Canadian law.
R v Ahmad2011 SCC 6Whether Parliament's decision to limit superior courts from determining questions of disclosure of information pertaining to international relations, national defence or national security invades the core jurisdiction of superior courts
Reference Re Securities Act2011 SCC 66Constitutionality of a proposed federal securities regulator.
Reference Re Broadcasting Act2012 SCC 4Whether Internet service providers are "broadcasters" when providing access to broadcasting through Internet
Momentous.ca Corp v Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball Ltd2012 SCC 9Conflict of laws
Fundy Settlement v Canada2012 SCC 14Taxation and trusts
Canada (AG) v Kane2012 SCC 64Standard of review of Public Service Staffing Tribunal decision
Construction Labour Relations v Driver Iron Inc2012 SCC 65Judicial review of Alberta Labour Relations Board decision
R v Mailhot2013 SCC 17Fairness of charge to jury.
R v Ibanescu2013 SCC 31Admissibility of straddle evidence
Reference re Senate Reform2014 SCC 32Whether Parliament can unilaterally set fixed terms for Senators — Whether Parliament can unilaterally implement framework for consultative elections for appointments to Senate — Whether Parliament can unilaterally repeal ss. 23(3) and 23(4) of Constitution Act, 1867 requiring that Senators must own land worth $4,000 in province for which they are appointed and have net worth of at least $4,000 — Whether constitutional amendment abolishing Senate may be accomplished by general amending procedure or whether unanimous consent procedure applies
Carter v Canada (AG)2015 SCC 5Physician-assisted suicide.
R v Goleski2015 SCC 6Burden of proof of proving an "excuse" under s. 794(2) of the Criminal Code
Zurich Insurance Co v Chubb Insurance Co of Canada2015 SCC 19Whether specific insurance company is an "insurer" for the purposes of Ontario statutory accident benefits scheme
Caplin v Canada (Justice)2015 SCC 32Whether Minister of Justice's surrender via extradition of an accused charged with murder was reasonable
Canada (AG) v Barnaby2015 SCC 31Whether Minister of Justice's surrender via extradition of an accused charged with murder was reasonable; Whether extraditing the accused to possibly be subjected to a fourth trial would be contrary to the principles of fundamental justice under s. 7 of the Charter
R v Smith2015 SCC 34Whether regulations limiting the lawful possession of medical marijuana to dried forms infringe the right to life, liberty and security of the prison under s. 7 of the Charter; Whether accused has standing to challenge the constitutional validity of provisions under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act
R v Cody2017 SCC 31Unreasonable delay.
R v Comeau2018 SCC 15Interprovincial Trade.
Reference re An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families2024 SCC 5Whether Parliament enacting a statute establishing national standards to protect Indigenous children and affirming Indigenous peoples’ inherent right of self‑government in relation to child and family services is ultra vires.

See also

References

Notes and References

  1. L'Heureux-Dubé, Claire. "The Dissenting Opinion: Voice of the Future?" 38 Osgoode Hall L.J. 495 at 500
  2. McCormick, Peter. "The Political Jurisprudence of Hot Potatoes" (2002) 13 Nat'l J. Const. L. 271 at 176
  3. Bzdera, Andre. "Comparative Analysis of Federal High Courts: A Political Theory of Judicial Review" (1993) 26 Canadian Journal of Political Science 3 at 25
  4. McCormick, Peter. "The Supervisory Role of the Supreme Court of Canada: Analysis of Appeals from Provincial Courts of Appeal, 1949-1990" (1992), 3(2d) Supreme Court Law Review 1, at p. 27.