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This article considers the content of the unwritten principle of democracy and its potential relevance in Canadian constitutional interpretation. The unwritten principles of federalism, the rule of law and constitutionalism, democracy, and the protection of minorities set out by the Supreme Court of Canada in the Secession Reference have received extensive academic attention. Much yet remains unknown, however, about the democracy principle. This article argues that we should interpret the unwritten principle as embodying a “thin” or procedural account of democracy tied to meaningful participation, rather than a “thick” version imposing specific outcomes or broader obligations. I argue that whatever the weight of a “thick” account of democracy, a “thin” understanding is preferable for filling in the content of a constitutional principle that has legal force. The central critiques of the use of unwritten principles in constitutional interpretation are 1) that they lack legitimacy and 2) that they are incoherent in relation to one another. Operationalizing a thin version of democracy in constitutional interpretation responds better to the claims that the unwritten principles lack legitimacy or are incoherent. A thin account still permits the unwritten principle to carry out its functional role in constitutional interpretation, such as enabling courts to fill in gaps in the text or to engage in structural reasoning. The article considers the implications of this approach for referendums and municipal elections.

Principles form part and parcel of our law and legal discourse, so much so that we seldom think of what they are and what they entail. For centuries they have been invoked daily to interpret and argue about the law. But when it comes to matters of constitutional law, principles are further called upon to perform a perennially controversial function: to help police the boundaries of state action. In most common law jurisdictions with a written constitution, this function of principles runs against the generally accepted view that the exercise of judicial review must ultimately be governed and restricted by the terms of the national constitution. This Article argues that the exercise of judicial review based on principles is not confined to that view, once the relationship between principles and the constitution is unpacked and recontextualized.While the English-language literature on principles over the past half-century has been dominated by a select group of Anglo-American scholars, there is a wealth of untapped insights from other parts of the world. One of the major contributions by continental legal theorists even predates the earliest modern Anglo-American writings on the subject by more than a decade. Overall, the law literature in common law and civil law systems reveals a significant degree of commonalities in the basic characters of principles despite the absence of initial evidence of transsystemic borrowings. The wider conceptual inquiry also displays a shift in the focus of the debate, from the protracted search for a clear-cut distinction between rules and principles towards a redefinition of principles’ relationship with “written” law, be it in the form of a civil code or a constitutional instrument. From this inquiry reemerge “unwritten” principles not deriving from codified or legislated law although they have been used to develop the law. Translated into the constitutional domain, these unwritten principles bear no logical connection with the terms of the constitution. Their main functions cover the entire spectrum from serving as interpretive aids to making law by filling gaps. The theoretical framework fits with an ongoing four-century-old narrative of the evolution of constitutional principles and judicial review across most common law-based systems. Constitutional principles are another area where Anglo-American law and legal discourse is less exceptional and more universal than what many assume. Throughout modern Western history, legal battles have been fought and ensuing developments have been made on the grounds of principles. Our law and jurisprudence remain based on them.

"This unique publication is an in-depth presentation of the law, regarding issues that arise in the appeal process before the appellate courts of Canada -- scope information (Thomson Reuters Westlaw Canada).

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"L'art idolâtre la creation autant qu'il exalte la liberte. Le droit, bien au contraire, borne et reprime. La religion, pour sa part, forge les convictions et singularise les perceptions. Voilà mises en scene la liberte d'expression, artistique, la liberte de religion, fragile, et la liberte de repression, encadree. Ce triptyque evoque à lui seul les atermoiements du droit à l'egard de nombreux phenomenes artistiques controverses à l'echelle mondiale (les caricatures de Mahomet, Les Versets sataniques , les unes de Charlie Hebdo, les spectacles de Dieudonne, la piece Golgotha Picnic. Le present ouvrage aborde les liens entre l'art et la liberte d'expression, la protection des identites religieuses par l'entremise du droit penal et les contours de l'impunite juridique reservee à la satire. La reflexion à l'oeuvre prend appui sur l'abrogation recente du crime de blaspheme par de nombreux parlements pour sonder l'ampleur desormais devolue à la protection de la liberte de religion des croyants. L'apparente liberation de la parole incarnee par l'evacuation de cette infraction agit en trompe-l'oeil. Nombreuses sont les juridictions qui constatent la resurgence de l'incrimination du blaspheme sous le couvert d'infractions autres (incitation à la haine ou à la discrimination contre les croyants, denigrement des religions, obscenite, indecence). La dissonance entre la jurisprudence de la Cour europeenne des droits de l'homme et celle de la Cour suprême du Canada renvoie à une conception divergente de la conciliation parfois requise entre liberte d'expression et liberte de religion. L'occasion est donnee de s'interroger sur l'intensite du prejudice subi par le fidele qui voit sa croyance vilipendee par un contempteur qui se reclame de la liberte d'expression ou de la liberte artistique. La presente etude dresse les lignes de partage entre la tolerance, l'outrance et l'interdit penal."--Resume de l'editeur.

"This comprehensive Commentary presents a contemporary legal perspective on the inherently interdisciplinary field of children's rights. Chapters analyse each article of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, along with its Optional Protocols ..." -- Provided by publisher.

Comprehensive article-by-article analysis of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Addresses a wide range of related issues including key interpretive questions. Contributions from specialist scholars in the field. Select bibliography at the end of each chapter directs readers to useful resources for further enquiry.

Canada imposes taxes based on taxpayer residence and on the source of income, and the rules relating to this international taxation are complex. This title presents a straightforward and lucid explanation of those rules, and how they are applied by the taxing authorities.

"This is a reference tool for criminal law practitioners on section 11(b) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which guarantees the right to a trial within a reasonable period of time. It discusses key cases and topics of interest."-- Provided by publisher.