Criminal
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October 31, 2025
CONSTITUTIONAL ISSUES - Legal rights - Protection against cruel and unusual punishment
Appeal by Appellants from a judgment of the Quebec Court of Appeal which declared the mandatory minimum sentences provided for in ss. 163.1(4)(a) and 163.1(4.1)(a) of the Criminal Code unconstitutional under s. 12 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and of no force or effect pursuant to s. 52 of the Constitution Act, 1982.
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October 31, 2025
B.C. Court of Appeal decides error by trial judge means harsher sentence
In British Columbia, it is well established that a sentence for sexual assault against adults must reflect society’s current understanding of the serious harm and wrongfulness of sexual violence.
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October 30, 2025
Exclusive: Chief Justice Crampton reflects on Federal Court’s successes and ongoing challenges
As he steps down today from the diversified and expert bench he’s recruited over the past 14 years, Federal Court Chief Justice Paul Crampton says he’s confident about the national trial court’s future, even though the full implementation of the court’s “digital shift” awaits the necessary funding from Ottawa.
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October 30, 2025
Black magic and black letter: Legal tales of witchcraft, ghosts and haunted houses
It was not a dark and stormy night. It was actually a pleasant fall morning, and I probably should have been entering my dockets. But the Halloween spirit was in the air, and it moved me to see what Canadian law has to say about the occult. Read on if you dare. I promise there won’t be anything as frightening as the Income Tax Act.
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October 29, 2025
Commons committee invites public input on improving peace bonds, recognizance orders
A House of Commons committee is soliciting submissions by Nov. 28 to inform its new study of how the safety of women and children is affected by Canada’s bail and sentencing regimes, and how Criminal Code s. 810 (recognizance orders or peace bonds) can be improved to help keep women and children safe.
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October 29, 2025
Sentence will result in deportation, pitting proportionality against public safety
A penitentiary inmate will be denied parole if there is a legitimate concern that the inmate may pose a danger to society. According to the Parole Board of Canada, when a parolee is subject to deportation, society includes populations outside Canada.
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October 28, 2025
CJ Crampton says Federal Court ‘won’t hesitate’ to impose costs on lawyers for undisclosed GenAI use
Counsel who “thumb their noses” at the Federal Court’s requirement to disclose any and all generative AI they used to create court filings will find that the national trial court “won’t hesitate” to ding them with personal costs or initiate contempt proceedings, warns Federal Court Chief Justice Paul Crampton.
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October 28, 2025
Quebec Superior Court launches AI pilot project
The Superior Court of Quebec has given the green light to a sandboxed pilot project that allows some 20 judges to use artificial intelligence to help them with documentary and legislative research, translations and draft judgments. But the initiative draws the line at decision-making or deliberative undertakings, a conservative approach that has earned plaudits from legal observers.
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October 28, 2025
B.C. expanding reach of domestic violence intervention programs with federal funds
British Columbia is expanding the reach of its domestic violence intervention programs as part of a bilateral agreement with the federal government. The province has announced it is providing $750,000 in federal funding to support access to new and expanded programs that support healthy relationships and prevent domestic violence through community-led intervention services.
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October 28, 2025
Law, morality and history: The Nazi generals and the legacy of Nuremberg
In November 2025, the world will mark the 80th anniversary of the Nuremberg trials. Convened in the ruins of postwar Germany, the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg represented humanity’s first comprehensive attempt to hold individuals rather than states criminally accountable for war crimes, crimes against peace and crimes against humanity.