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Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Canadian criminal law'
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1
Pollard, Dorette. "Fresh evidence in Canadian criminal law: 1910--2010." Thesis, University of Ottawa (Canada), 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/28814.
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In the last four decades, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of fresh evidence cases before Canadian criminal law appellate courts. Yet when it was first introduced at the turn of the last century, this rule of evidence was meant to be an exception to the principle of the finality of judgments, to be used only on those rare occasions when a miscarriage of justice had occurred. It was intended to prevent the innocent from going to jailor worse, from perishing on the gallows. Historically, fresh evidence was used but rarely prior to 1970. However, starting in the mid 1970s these applications have grown significantly, exploding after the early 1980s.
Based on an analysis of an initial database of 2116 fresh evidence matters, the thesis examines the possible reasons for this phenomenon and concludes that there is a direct correlation between the rise in the number of fresh evidence cases after 1970 and the advances in science, including the use of new evidence, such as DNA and expert forensic evidence in criminal law cases. But if the advances in science have made a significant contribution to the growth of fresh evidence applications, it was the advent of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms that brought a sea change to Canadian criminal law fresh evidence jurisprudence. Through a theoretical framework constructed around the search for truth, rights and theories of fairness, the thesis traces the evolution of appellate adjudication in this area of law that from its origins was meant to be used but rarely in the interests of the administration of justice to prevent miscarriages of justice.
2
Anand, Sanjeev Singh. "Expressions of racial hatred and criminal law : the Canadian response /." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1997. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk2/ftp04/mq21231.pdf.
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Climaco, dos Santos Patrick. "The Canadian criminal legislative response to hate crimes /." Thesis, McGill University, 2005. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=83948.
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The main objective of this thesis is to present an analysis of the issue of hate crimes and the manner in which the Canadian criminal justice system is currently addressing this problem. In doing so, certain inherent concerns with the current Canadian criminal legislative response to hate crimes will be highlighted and discussed in detail.More precisely, the introduction of how recent Canadian criminal legislation has dealt with hate crimes will serve as the basis for the consideration of two of the main areas of concern as they relate to the effective application of hate crime legislation, namely the areas of prosecutorial discretion and evidentiary burden. The detailed survey of these two areas will provide the reader with a greater understanding of the dynamics behind the factors that currently hinder the potential effectiveness of hate crime legislation in Canada and will ultimately allow for the consideration of possible solutions.
4
Patterson, David. "HIV : public health, criminal law and the process of policy development." Thesis, McGill University, 1995. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=22702.
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This paper examines briefly the changing conceptions of HIV disease in the Canadian context. Historical reference is made to the increase in state involvement in the field of public health, and to the shift from an emphasis on environmental and behavioural factors to infectious agents as the causes of disease. The role of the state in the prevention of HIV disease is then discussed, with reference to human rights and changing perceptions of the role of the law. The paper then considers a specific issue: the criminal law and the sexual transmission of the virus. The Canadian legislation and case law is compared with the Australian response. It is suggested that the early focus on HIV legal policy in Australia led to a general agreement that the criminal law had a very limited contribution to make in this regard. The paper concludes with comments on the process of legal policy development, rather than specific recommendations for law reform.
5
Singer, Kate. "Aboriginal injustice, a Canadian reponsibility : an Algonquian perspective of Canada's criminal justice system." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 2001. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk3/ftp05/MQ63368.pdf.
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Lavoie, Bianca. "Moralité et acteurs sociaux : la construction de l'ordre pénal au Canada, 1892-1927." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1997. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk3/ftp05/mq21998.pdf.
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Wahab, Mohd Iqbal bin Abdul. "The doctrine of excessive force in self-defence and the theory of the "battered woman syndrome" in the defence of self-defence in criminal law : a comparative study of English, Australian and Canadian criminal law." Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 2002. http://hdl.handle.net/1842/27585.
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This thesis aims to examine two issues related to the defence of self-defence in criminal law. Firstly, it is an investigation into the theory of excessive force in selfdefence. The essence of the theory is to have a person who excessively applies force in his defence to be convicted of manslaughter. The arguments in favour of the theory are compelling; however, in practice, the issue of excessive defence has always been a brain-teaser for judges. This thesis elaborates the controversies surrounding the application of the theory in the courts. The reason for its demise and arguments for its revival are discussed. Secondly, this work analyses the incorporation of the doctrine of the "battered woman syndrome" into the defence of self-defence. This doctrine has recently been introduced where, upon its acceptance by the court, an accused will be successful in pleading self-defence despite the fact that the traditional requirement of imminence has not been satisfied. There is discussion whether the doctrine has always been necessary for battered woman in claiming self-defence. This thesis focuses, in the main, on decided cases and, wherever necessary, a comparison is made of the two theories mentioned above in the law of self-defence in England, Australia and Canada.
8
Gallant, Benjamin. "Bill C-25 The Truth in Sentencing Act: An Examination of the Implementation of Criminal Law by the Canadian Judiciary under Challenging Circumstances." Thesis, Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/34943.
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In Canada, we regularly incarcerate accused persons while they are still legally innocent. By the turn of the century, the growing number of accused held in pre-sentence custody had become a concern for provincial/territorial governments, and, by extension, the federal government. In an effort to address the problem, Bill C-25 - ‘The Truth in Sentencing Act’ - was passed into law. Adopting a quantitative as well as qualitative methodology, this study uses a randomly selected sample of 110 cases to examine the implementation of Bill C-25 as a case study of how Canadian judges respond to legislation which likely created friction between the political and judicial social spheres. Analyses suggest that there is strong evidence to support the notion that judges did not fully implement the legislation as intended by the federal government. Instead, it appears that judges may have been motivated to resist the implementation of Bill C-25 in order to protect fundamental principles of justice that were ignored in the drafting of the new law.
9
Dufresne, Martin. "La justice pénale et la définition du crime à Québec, 1830-1860." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1997. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk3/ftp04/nq21966.pdf.
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Tongwane, Tshepo Wilson. "Warrantless search and seizure in terms of the Drugs and Drug Trafficking Act Criminal Procedure Act and South African Police Services Act : a comparative analysis with Canadian law." Diss., University of Pretoria, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/2263/62556.
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White, Donna Gayle. "Benthamite utilitarianism and law reform in Canada: A criminal law perspective." Thesis, University of Ottawa (Canada), 1991. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/7756.
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12
Dzierlatka, Benjamin. "La propagande terroriste saisie par le droit pénal : étude comparée du droit français et du droit canadien." Electronic Thesis or Diss., Bordeaux, 2024. http://www.theses.fr/2024BORD0076.
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Qu'est-ce que la propagande terroriste ? Comment la définir et l'appréhender sous toutes ses formes et manifestations ? D'une apparence triviale, ce phénomène est d'une réalité éminemment complexe. Ces dernières décennies, les sociétés libres et démocratiques ont été frappées par ce fléau dont l’ampleur ne cesse de croitre. Facilité par la prolifération des médias numériques, en particulier les réseaux sociaux et les plateformes de diffusion de contenus en ligne, le phénomène terroriste s’alimente d’une nouvelle façon. Nonobstant son caractère profondément performatif, capable d’agir sur le monde et d’exhorter à la perpétration d'actes de terrorisme au nom de causes politiques, religieuses ou idéologiques, la propagande demeure une activité expressive entrant naturellement dans la sphère des activités protégées par la liberté d’expression. Pour les législateurs français et canadiens, la difficulté résidera principalement dans la recherche d’un juste équilibre entre le respect de l’ordre public et la sauvegarde de la liberté d’expression, droit considéré comme l’un des plus précieux de l’Homme. Au regard de l’émergence de ces nouvelles problématiques juridiques, notre thèse s’intéressera à la question de savoir dans quelle mesure la propagande terroriste peut être criminalisée en droit pénal français et canadien, compte tenu des restrictions à la liberté d’expression que cette incrimination impliqueWhat is terrorist propaganda? How can we understand it in all its forms and manifestations? Although seemingly trivial, this phenomenon is an eminently complex reality. In recent decades, free and democratic societies have been hit by this scourge, the scale of which continues to grow. Facilitated by the proliferation of digital media, in particular social networks and online content distribution platforms, the terrorist phenomenon is fueled in a new way. Notwithstanding its profoundly performative character, capable of acting on the world and urging the perpetration of acts of terrorism in the name of political, religious or ideological causes, propaganda remains an expressive activity falling within the sphere of activities protected by freedom of speech. For French and Canadian legislators, the difficulty will mainly lie in finding a fair balance between respect for public order and the protection of freedom of expression, a right considered one of the most precious of human rights. Given the emergence ofthese new legal issues, our thesis will focus on the question of knowing to what extent terrorist propaganda can be criminalized in French and Canadian criminal law, taking into account the restrictions on freedom of expression that this incrimination implies
13
Binnie, Susan W. S. (Susan Wendy Strickland) Carleton University Dissertation Sociology. "Explorations in the use of criminal law in Canada, 1867-1892." Ottawa, 1991.
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14
Xue, Dong. "A general study of the extraterritoriality of criminal forfeiture law, Canada and China." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1999. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk1/tape9/PQDD_0023/MQ51513.pdf.
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15
Mongrain, Josie. "La réforme pénale en matière de protection des animaux dans le code criminel canadien: 1892--1927." Thesis, University of Ottawa (Canada), 2003. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/26525.
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Cette thèse porte sur les demandes d'amendements, sur les débats parlementaires et sur les modifications législatives qu'a subies le Code criminel canadien en matière de protection des animaux entre 1892 et 1927. Il s'agit d'une analyse documentaire portant sur des débats parlementaires et sur un fond d'archives (RG-13) afin de mettre en lumière le processus de réforme pénale en matière de protection des animaux et les justifications que le sous-tendent.
16
Garcia, Margarida. "Le Code à la carte : étude des demandes de modification des règles de procédure du Code criminel canadien, entre 1892 et 1927." Thesis, University of Ottawa (Canada), 2002. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/6427.
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Notre recherche porte sur la création des normes de procédure dans le Code criminel canadien, pour la période allant de 1892 (date de sa naissance) à 1927 (révision des Statuts du Canada). Notre thèse de maîtrise est de nature exploratoire et comprend deux volets étroitement liés, l'un empirique, l'autre théorique.
Le volet empirique de notre étude comprend une description et une évaluation des demandes de changement faites par les acteurs sociaux en matière de procédure pénale, que ces demandes aient ou non provoqué une transformation effective du Code criminel. Notre étude s'intéresse ainsi à la création sociale du droit, il pose le regard sur l'action sociale qui précède le processus formel de création du droit pénal, processus dans lequel le droit apparaît souvent dépourvu de la trace de l'action sociale intentionnelle qui explique sa mise en place. Le volet empirique de notre objet d'étude s'est centré autour de trois axes. Le volet théorique a poursuivi trois objectifs. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)
17
Alati, Daniel. "Domestic counter-terrorism in a global context : a comparison of legal and political structures and cultures in Canada and the United Kingdom's counter-terrorism policy-making." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2014. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:2a37e08e-8463-4000-9fdc-389072bc5960.
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Although both Canada and the United Kingdom had experienced terrorism prior to the attacks that occurred in the United States on September 11, 2001, Roach has argued that the events of that day ‘produced a horrible natural experiment that allows us to compare how international institutions and different countries responded’. Arguably, the most significant international response post-9/11 was the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1373, which set a 90-day deadline for states to implement measures in accordance with the Resolution. Despite the fact that both Canada and the United Kingdom already had in place extensive provisions to deal with terrorism, both countries responded swiftly and their legislative responses reflect the histories and legal, political and social cultures of each country. This thesis tests the hypothesis that national security remains a bastion of national sovereignty, despite the force of international legal instruments like UN Security Council Resolution 1373 and, as such, the evolution of counter-terrorism policies in different jurisdictions is best analyzed and understood as a product of local institutional structures and cultures. To test this hypothesis, this thesis engages in comparative analyses of legal and political structures and cultures within Canada and the United Kingdom. It analyses variations in the evolution of counter-terrorism policies in the two jurisdictions and explores the domestic reasons for them. In its analysis of security certificates and bail with recognizance/investigative hearings in Canada, and detention without trial, control orders and TPIMs in the UK, this thesis reveals how domestic structures and cultures, including the legal system, the relative stability of government, local human rights culture, and geopolitical relationships all influence how counter-terrorism measures evolve.
18
Dubuc, Stéphane Patrick. "La coopération policière en matière de renseignement criminel entre le Canada et les États-Unis." Thesis, University of Ottawa (Canada), 1998. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/4184.
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L'objet de cette these de mai trise est la cooperation policiere entre le Canada et les Etats-Unis en matiere de renseignement criminel. L'etude se veut exploratoire et cherche avant tout a comprendre le fonctionnement et les mecanismes de cette meme cooperation. Ainsi, dans le premier chapitre l'auteur avance que la cooperation policiere internationale prend place dans un cadre beaucoup plus vaste que les simples echanges de bons procedes entre deux pays voisins. Depuis deja plusieurs annees, d'autre auteurs en sciences sociales affirment que les societes occidentales sont dans une periode transitoire au niveau historique. Le paradigme de la modernite serait a sa fin. En consequence, l'Etat moderne et ses institutions connaissent des transformations majeures. Pafini celles-ci la police. La question postmoderne est donc au coeur de nos preoccupations dans cette these. Dans un premier temps nous nuus sommes efforces de faire certaines distinctions conceptuelles entre le postmodernisme, la postmodernite et le postmoderne. Par la suite, nous nous sommes attardes a difinir l'institution policiere. Ainsi nous avons effectue une analyse de l'histoire de la police moderne. Dans le deuxieme chapitre nous avons aborde la question methodologique de notre etude. Dans le troisieme chapitre nous avons developpe sur le cadre legal a l'interieur duquel s'effectue les echanges de renseignements entre les corps policiers canadiens et americains. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)
19
Fricker, Patricia A. "The Supreme Court of Canada, parliament and the Charter, exploring the limits of the judicial function in criminal law." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1998. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk2/tape15/PQDD_0027/MQ36445.pdf.
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Dinovitzer, Ronit. "Sentencing sexual assault : a study of mitigation and aggravation." Thesis, McGill University, 1995. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=22580.
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In an effort to establish a clearer understanding of the sentencing of sexual assault offenders, this study analyzes data generated from a content analysis of sexual assault cases, using feminist theory as a backdrop for the analysis. The sample consists of ninety-seven sexual assault cases from across Canada for the period of August 15, 1992 through August 15, 1993. Using a statistical analysis, the data were analyzed for evidence of whether certain factors aggravated or mitigated sentence length. The findings indicate that factors not affecting sentence length include breach of trust, sex of the judge, sex of the complainant, plea and show of remorse. Factors that work to mitigate sentence length include the youth or old age of an offender. Finally, variables that, when present, aggravate an offender's sentence length are prior offences, force, sexual intercourse and psychiatric considerations. These findings indicate that while there has been some response to feminist concerns regarding criminal justice processing of sexual assault, some of the myths that have been traditionally associated with its victims and offenders are still influencing the judiciary.
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Pinero, Veronica B. "Transformations in the Canadian Youth Justice System. Creation of Statutes and the Judicial Waiver in Quebec." Thèse, Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/24065.
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The objectives of this thesis were to observe how the Canadian youth justice system has dealt with the regulation of the transfer of young offenders to the adult court and how the Canadian statutes have regulated the imposition of adult offences for young offenders.
For this, I drew a distinction between two levels of observation: first, I observed the process of "creation of statutes" by the political system. Second, I observed the process of "understanding and interpretation of statutes" by the judicial system. The notion of "political system" includes the legislation enacted by Parliament, parliamentary debates, and reports published by the Government of Canada. The notion of "judicial system" includes the decisions of the Montreal Youth Court.
For the first level of observation ("creation of statutes"), I observed and analyzed the work of the political system for the period 1842 to 2012. Starting in 1857, many statutes regulated different aspects of the criminal law system as it applied to young people. The first statute to deal with youth offenders comprehensively and different from adult offenders was the Juvenile Delinquents Act (1908); this statute was replaced by the Young Offenders Act (1982). The current statute is the Youth Criminal Justice Act (2002).
With regard to the Juvenile Delinquents Act (1908) and the Young Offenders Act (1982), I observed how the political system regulated the mechanism of transferring a young person to the adult court. This mechanism allowed the youth court to decide a question of jurisdiction: whether the young person would be processed and sentenced within the youth justice system, or whether the young person would be sent to the adult court for him to be dealt with and sentenced therein. With regard to the Youth Criminal Justice Act (2002), I observed how the political system has regulated the imposition of adult sentences by the youth court. This statute replaced the mechanism of transfer under the two previous statutes by the imposition of adult sentences within the youth justice system.
For the second level of observation ("the understanding and interpretation of statutes"), I observed how the Montreal Youth Court had understood and interpreted the statutory provision that allowed the youth court to transfer a young person to the adult court for the young person to be dealt with and sentenced therein. My period of observation is from 1911 to 1995.
I argue that both the political and the judicial systems have been strongly influenced by the theories of deterrence, denunciation, retribution, and rehabilitation. The influence that each theory has exercised on each system varies. The political system, originally focused on the rehabilitation of young people, has been slowly “contaminated” by the most punitive theories, such as deterrence and denunciation. This shift started in the 70’s and slowly increased over the years. Conversely, while the judicial system does not seem to have been originally influenced by the theories of rehabilitation, its focus has slowly shifted towards this objective as the primary goal of their intervention towards young offenders since the 70’s. However, the “successful rehabilitation” of a young person has become a goal in itself, where “unsuccessful offenders” have been transferred to the adult court and dealt with the adult punitive justice system.
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Mikus, Rudolf Alexander. "The reasonable person in substantive Canadian Criminal Law." Thesis, 1995. http://hdl.handle.net/2429/3900.
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Canadian Criminal Law uses the standard of the reasonable person as an open textured definition
for the threshold of criminality if conduct is, per se, useful for society but becomes undesirable
when done in certain circumstances, without proper precautions. Indicating that the agent did not
intentionally cause harm, 'unreasonableness' tends to be found in the situative patterns of
accidents and mistakes, which are represented in my research paradigmatically by the offence of
manslaughter (ss.220,222 of the Canadian Criminal Code) and the defence of self-defence (s.34).
My thesis inquires into the concept of reasonableness, approaching the topic in four different
ways.
First, in a case study of current Canadian law the focus is on the leading cases of R.v.Creighton
and R.v.Lavallee. The effects of s.7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms are
considered. It is submitted that there are different tests to determine reasonableness in either case,
and a new theoretical foundation is offered which justifies the difference.
Second, doctrinal analysis explores whether the common law principle of 'mens red requires
reasonableness to be assessed on the basis of certain criteria. The dispute between objectivist and
subjectivist views whether the notion of fault requires 'awareness of risk' on part of the accused
leads to an inquiry into moral theory. Pursuing the search for criteria this philosophical aspect is
examined as well as its utilitarian counterpart, economic analysis.
The third approach critically assesses critically the cultural norms which fill out the reasonable
person's appearance. Referring to critical race- and feminist legal theory, the focus is on a multicultural society's postulations regarding the standard. An analysis of how the concept of
reasonableness can acknowledge cultural norms which are different from the decisionmaker's is
undertaken.
Fourth, in a comparative effort the patterns of unreasonably caused accidents and mistakes are
presented in the context of both the German legal system and George Fletcher's writing
'Rethinking Criminal Law'. Taking advantage of system theory, especially the concept of
'wrongdoing' as opposed to 'attribution', it is argued that a different assessment of the
consequences of unreasonable behavior is not justified, i.e. honest but unreasonable self-defence
leading to homicide should be punished as negligence but not as murder.
23
Heidt, Anne-Katrin. "Between concepts and context: protection of "personal freedom" : a comparative case study of German and Canadian criminal law." Thesis, 2001. http://hdl.handle.net/2429/11747.
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Due to its pervasive affinity for conceptual abstractions, German criminal law has been said to
suffer from a rationalist hubris that leads to the formulation of artificial rules and lacks respect
for the realities of life.
The following study will examine this hypothesis with respect to one area of German criminal
law that is particularly characterized by an abstract, conceptual way of thinking: the area of
what in Germany is called "offences against personal freedom".
A case where a store detective suggested to a 16 year old female shoplifter that he would
abstain from making a larceny report to the police if she engaged in sexual intercourse with him
has caused a lot of debate in German criminal law as to the question of whether the detective
infringed the shoplifter's "personal freedom" in a way prohibited by criminal law. This debate
will be presented and contrasted with the approach Canadian criminal law would be likely to
adopt had the case occurred in Canada.
The thesis adopts a comparative, analytical approach that focuses on law reform:
• comparative, because the question of whether German criminal law does lack respect
for the realities of life will be examined by comparing German legal reasoning with
Anglo-Canadian legal reasoning.
• analytical, because when exploring what German and Canadian law regarding "offences
against personal freedom" is, the focus will be on familiar, formal techniques of legal
reasoning, such as those which draw on legislative texts, legislative history, underlying
principles, academic commentary, fundamental values in the constitution, and
theoretical concerns.
• law reform, because the question is explored of whether German criminal law can learn
from Canadian criminal law how to be more open to taking varying social locations of
people affected by criminal law into account. In particular it is asked whether one can
reconcile the traditional German conceptual approach that promises certainty of the law
and the Canadian contextual approach that is better able to be attentive to equality as a
fundamental right.
It will be argued that such a reconciliation of approaches is possible and consists in a method
that might be called egalitarian conceptualism. This approach unites the advantages of
conceptual, abstract legal reasoning with the advantages of contextual thinking by merging
equality as a fundamental concept with the existing conceptual framework of criminal liability.
The principle "in dubio pro aequalitate" will be added to the principle "in dubio pro libertate".
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Baykara, Yuce. "Aquitted with an Asterisk: Implementing the "New Double Jeopardy" Exception into Canadian Law." Thesis, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/1807/33334.
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Since the end of the 20th century the protection better known to all as double jeopardy has been under attack. With public pressure put on the United Kingdom government to address individuals who had been acquitted of violent crimes, the Labour government implemented a radical overhaul of common law criminal procedural protections. The reform created an exception to double jeopardy, allowing re-prosecution of acquitted individuals. Many of the commonwealth countries starting with Australia took the U.K. exceptions and adopted them into their own criminal justice systems. This paper is going to look at the exception created, and the factors that lead to the bypass of such a critical legal protection throughout the commonwealth nations. Then analyze the current state of double jeopardy in Canada to determine if such and exception is needed; or if any factors from the exception can be adapted to strengthen the Canadian criminal justice system.
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Dragatsi, Hélène. "Criminal liability of canadian corporations for international crimes." Thèse, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/1866/8842.
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Ce mémoire porte sur la responsabilité pénale des entreprises canadiennes pour des crimes internationaux commis en partie ou entièrement à l’étranger.
Dans la première partie, nous montrons que les premiers développements sur la reconnaissance de la responsabilité criminelle d’entités collectives devant les tribunaux militaires établis après la deuxième guerre mondiale n’ont pas été retenus par les tribunaux ad hoc des Nations Unies et par la Cour pénale internationale. En effet, la compétence personnelle de ces tribunaux permet uniquement de contraindre des personnes physiques pour des crimes internationaux.
Dans la deuxième partie, nous offrons des exemples concrets illustrant que des entreprises canadiennes ont joué dans le passé et peuvent jouer un rôle criminel de soutien lors de guerres civiles et de conflits armés au cours desquels se commettent des crimes internationaux. Nous montrons que le droit pénal canadien permet d’attribuer une responsabilité criminelle à une organisation (compagnie ou groupe non incorporé) pour des crimes de droit commun commis au Canada, comme auteur réel ou comme complice. Nous soutenons qu’il est également possible de poursuivre des entreprises canadiennes devant les tribunaux canadiens pour des crimes internationaux commis à l’extérieur du Canada, en vertu de la Loi canadienne sur les crimes contre l’humanité et les crimes de guerre, du principe de la compétence universelle et des règles de droit commun.
Bref, le Canada est doté d’instruments juridiques et judiciaires pour poursuivre des entreprises soupçonnées de crimes internationaux commis à l’étranger et peut ainsi mettre un terme à leur état indésirable d’impunité.This master’s thesis examines the criminal liability of Canadian corporations for their involvement in international crimes committed in part or entirely overseas. First, we observe that initial developments by the military tribunals established after the Second World War in recognizing criminal liability of collective entities were not pursued by the United Nations ad hoc tribunals and the International Criminal Court. In fact, the personal jurisdiction of the latter tribunals does not extend to organizations and is limited to the prosecution of natural persons accused of committing international crimes. In the second part of this thesis, we offer concrete examples to illustrate that Canadian corporations have assumed and continue to assume criminal roles in supporting civil wars and armed conflicts where international crimes are committed. We will demonstrate that Canadian criminal law attributes criminal liability to an organization (corporations or unincorporated groups) for common law offences committed in Canada, under direct or accomplice liability. We further maintain that Canadian corporations may be prosecuted before Canadian courts for their involvement in international crimes committed overseas, in accordance with the Crimes against Humanity and War Crimes Act, the principle of universal jurisdiction and common law rules. In conclusion, Canada has the necessary legal and judicial instruments to prosecute corporations suspected of committing international crimes overseas and is therefore capable of ending their undesirable status of impunity.
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Giesbrecht, Matthew. "Canadian corporate criminal liability in workplace fatalities: evaluating Bill C-45." 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/1993/5240.
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The purpose of this research is to examine the effectiveness of the Bill C-45 amendments to the Criminal Code in addressing workplace fatality incidents. This research involved both qualitative and quantitative research and utilized two research methods. The first method involved a secondary analysis of thirty-eight Incident Investigation Reports completed by WorkSafeBC. These were supplemented with additional case information about these incidents provided via the Freedom of Information offices in British Columbia. The second method utilized nine semi-structured interviews with respondents in the field of occupational health and safety and corporate criminality who were familiar with the Bill C-45 amendments. The study found that employers could be found liable in half of the cases examined; that there appeared to be unique characteristics of British Columbia that effect the use of criminal charges; that the criminal law is not very effective in cases of criminal negligence for workplace fatality; and that improvements could be made to the criminal law.
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Lothian, Lori Ann. "Mapping contested terrain : subtitle the doctrine of failure to protect in Canadian criminal law." Thesis, 2002. http://hdl.handle.net/2429/13056.
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This thesis examines the operation of the doctrine in Canadian criminal law. The doctrine of
failure to protect is a rule or principle based on the widely accepted 'common-sense' belief that
parents have a responsibility and a duty to protect their children from harm. Under the doctrine
of failure to protect a parent who fails to fulfil this responsibility becomes as responsible for
the harm to the child as the person who inflicts the harm. Using the concepts of ideology and
discourse, this thesis examines the doctrine of failure to protect from a feminist perspective,
and is concerned with how the doctrine operates in ways that are oppressive to women and, in
particular, to women who are battered.
Failing to protect a child from harm has been codified as an offence in most American criminal
statutes but not, to date, in the Canadian Criminal Code. This study is based on a review of
American literature and Canadian case law, and demonstrates how the doctrine of failure to
protect has emerged and now operates in Canadian criminal law, notwithstanding the lack of an
express provision in the Criminal Code.
This thesis argues that an understanding of women's experiences of violence and of mothering
in the context of violence is crucial to just determinations of the guilt or innocence of women
who are prosecuted for failing to protect their children. This thesis then demonstrates how
legal method and ideology contribute to make women's experiences of mothering in the
context of violence irrelevant to legal enquiry and to their being judged against standards of
motherhood based on an ideal. The thesis concludes by discussing the implications of the
findings of the thesis for criminal law policy and practice.
28
Moffatt, Shane. "Bil'in and Beyond - Prosecuting Corporate Complicity in War Crimes under Canadian Law." Thesis, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/1807/18925.
Full textAbstract:
This paper outlines a prosecutorial framework by which Canadian corporations can be held criminally liable for their involvement in war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide. Combining the provisions of the Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act with the corporate liability standards found in the Canadian Criminal Code, a standard of liability emerges which appears well designed to generate findings of guilt against multinational corporations with complicated ownership structures, a myriad of representatives and far-flung operations. This model standard, it is hoped, might furthermore contribute to the global debate regarding multinational corporate accountability. By applying the proposed framework to two Canadian corporations constructing internationally illegal settlements on the farmlands of Bil‘in in the West Bank, I therefore seek to test its practical relevance, as well as to demonstrate the theoretical underpinnings and legal sources (domestic and international) which would support its application, both in this instance and beyond.
29
Krane, Joshua. "Forfeited: Civil Forfeiture and the Canadian Constitution." Thesis, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/1807/25734.
Full textAbstract:
The enactment of civil asset forfeiture legislation by Alberta and Ontario in the
fall of 2001, followed by the passage of similar legislation in five other provinces,
has signalled a dramatic change in the way Canadian constitutional law ought to
be understood. This thesis builds on American legal scholarship by highlighting
how deficiencies in Canada’s constitutional law could create space for more invasive
civil forfeiture statutes. Following a historical overview of forfeiture law in
Canada, the thesis (i) examines how the Supreme Court of Canada mischaracterized
this legislation as a matter of property and civil rights; (ii) considers whether
the doctrine of federal paramountcy should have rendered the legislation inoperable
and the consequences of the failure by the Court to do so; and (iii) evaluates iiithe
impact of the absence of an entrenched property right in the constitution, in
regard to this matter.
30
Miller, Bradley. "Emptying the Den of Thieves: International Fugitives and the Law in British North America/Canada, 1819-1910." Thesis, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/1807/32772.
Full textAbstract:
This thesis examines how the law dealt with international fugitives. It focuses on formal extradition and the cross-border abduction of wanted criminals by police officers and other state officials. Debates over extradition and abduction reflected important issues of state power and civil liberty, and were shaped by currents of thought circulating throughout the imperial, Atlantic, and common law worlds. Debates over extradition involved questioning the very basis of international law. They also raised difficult questions about civil liberties and human rights. Throughout this period escaped American slaves and other groups made claims for what we would now call refugee status, and argued that their surrender violated codes of law and ideas of justice that transcended the colonies and even the wider British Empire. Such claims sparked a decades-long debate in North America and Europe over how to codify refugee protections. Ultimately, Britain used its imperial power to force Canada to accept such safeguards. Yet even as the formal extradition system developed, an informal system of police abductions operated in the Canadian-American borderlands. This system defied formal law, but it also manifested sophisticated local ideas about community justice and transnational legal order.
This thesis argues that extradition and abduction must be understood within three overlapping contexts. The first is the ethos of liberal transnationalism that permeated all levels of state officials in British North America/Canada. This view largely prioritised the erosion of domestic barriers to international cooperation over the protection of individual liberty. It was predicated in large part on the idea of a common North American civilization. The second context is Canada’s place in the British Empire. Extradition and abduction highlight both how British North America/Canada often expounded views on legal order radically different from Britain, but also that even after Confederation in 1867 the empire retained real power to shape Canadian policy. The final context is international law and international legal order. Both extradition and abduction were aspects of law on an international and transnational level. As a result, this thesis examines the processes of migration, adoption, and adaptation of international law.
31
Mare, Ruan. "The constitutional validity of section 78(1B) of the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977 with regard to section 9 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996." Diss., 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/2263/27927.
Full textAbstract:
This study evaluates the constitutionality of section 78(1B) of the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977 (CPA), which places the burden of proving criminal capacity on the party who raises the issue, against section 9 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 (CRSA). In a legal system such as ours, that has a high regard for equality, any form of unequal treatment must be scrutinised, assessed and, if found to be unjust, rooted out. Even more so where the unequal treatment affects a marginalised minority group such as the mentally disabled. This study weighs section 78(1B) against section 9(1) of the CRSA. It also weighs the section against section 9(3) of the CRSA. Attempts are made to justify possible infringements according to section 36 of the CRSA. An appropriate remedy is then ascertained. This study also provides the historical development of section 78(1B) of the CPA – both in the common law and statute. This study furthermore provides original guidelines and principles in assessing expert evidence where criminal capacity is placed in dispute due to a mental illness or defect of the accused. The main findings are that section 78(1B) infringes on both section 9(1) and section 9(3), that it cannot be justified in terms of section 36 of the CRSA and that the appropriate remedy is the striking out of the whole section from the CPA. CopyrightDissertation (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2012.
Public Law
unrestricted
32
Reilly, Alexander. "The heart of the matter: emotion in the criminal law." Thesis, 1996. http://hdl.handle.net/2429/5672.
Full textAbstract:
This thesis examines the role of emotion in the criminal law. It identifies the current
understanding of emotion in the law, and challenges this understanding as it is revealed in the
rules of criminal liability. It offers a new approach to understanding emotion which has
important implications for the grounds of legal knowledge, the structure of the rules of criminal
liability, and the process of judgment.
Chapter One reviews theoretical approaches to understanding emotion in philosophy,
psychology and law. The chapter introduces a number of theoretical approaches to analyzing
emotion, focusing particularly on the development in the understanding of the relationship
between emotion and reason. Chapter Two examines models of moral and legal responsibility
to identify their implicit understanding of emotion.
Chapter Three focuses on the role of emotion in the rules of criminal liability, and, in particular,
in the criminal defences of provocation, duress and self-defence. The law understands emotion
to be an entity explainable in terms of the 'mechanisms' of'cognition' and 'affect' which
underpin it. The chapter argues that the law adopts a different and conflicting understanding of
these mechanisms in the rules of criminal liability, and that these differences have important
normative implications.
Chapter Four challenges the grounds of knowledge upon which assessments of criminal liability
are based. Emotion becomes a metaphor for the need to reconceive the rules of criminal liability
and the process of judgment. The chapter adopts a social constructionist approach to
understanding emotion. Using this approach, it reassesses the role of emotion in the criminal
defences of provocation, self-defence and duress, and explains the process of judgment as an
emotional phenomenon. The thesis concludes that a constructionist approach to understanding
emotion is well suited to the assessment of conduct in its spatial, historical and cultural context;
and for this reason ought to be emphasized in the legal assessment of liability and punishment.
33
Schlecker, Regan Dawn. "Dreamcatcher 22 : commissions of inquiry and Aboriginal criminal justice reforms." Thesis, 2001. http://hdl.handle.net/2429/11856.
Full textAbstract:
The last decade has seen the development of an unprecedented profile for
aboriginal concerns over the inadequacies of the criminal justice system. This thesis
examines the major commissions of inquiry that were established to address criminal
justice reforms for aboriginal Canadians. Through a comparison of these inquiries, it is
my intention to provide a greater understanding as to why some commissions have had a
more positive role to play in initiating policy change, while others have been less than
satisfactory in promoting the needs of aboriginal persons.
Analysis reveals that commissions of inquiry are most often established to address
more general concerns about the impact of the criminal justice system on aboriginal
peoples, rather than to investigate specific cases in which there was a miscarriage of
justice. My findings also reveal that the current criminal justice system can and should be
improved, without in any way detracting from the movement toward the larger social,
political and economic goal of self- determination. Due to the fact that autonomous
solutions remain prevalent in the academic literature, future inquiries will be required to
acknowledge this perspective. An appreciation of the variety of concerns held by
aboriginal individuals can only be made possible through extensive consultation with
aboriginal communities and utilizing creative and innovative means of gathering
research. By providing an open process, commissions will be able to encompass views
that may not be prevalent in academic circles, but accepted at a grass roots level.
On the much larger question of the policy impact of commissions of inquiry, they
have been useful institutions for opening up the policy debate in regards to criminal
justice reforms for aboriginal Canadians. Frequently these inquiries have been faulted
because their specific recommendations are not accepted. However, inquiries are valuable
because they provide one of the few occasions for defining public issues, including
debate about reformist and radical conceptions of the issues. Consequently it is more
useful to assess commissions of inquiry for their role in the development of policy
debate.
34
Oriola, Temitope Babatunde. "New cultures, new laws : perceptions of Nigerians in Winnipeg about Canadian laws and criminal justice system." 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/1993/8031.
Full textAbstract:
This study examines perceptions of a select sample of Nigerians in Winnipeg about Canadian laws and criminal justice system. The study is guided by a theoretical framework drawn from postcolonial theory and legal pluralism. Its methodology combines the qualitative richness of in-depth interviews and quantitative measures engendered by a combination of closed-ended and open-ended survey questions. One fundamental finding of the study is that totalizing, generalizing or homogenizing the experience of "Blacks" and "Blackness" is not only theoretically misleading, but also ontologically barren. The results indicate mixed perceptions about the justice system and a tendency to relate questions on agents of the criminal justice system with issues of employment and previous experiences in other spheres of daily life. Unofficial forms of ordering among subjects are uncovered as well as a strong indication of occupying an "interstitial" or "in-between" space (Bhabha, 1994). The study offers recommendations for policy makers and future research.
35
Fleischhaker, Carol. "Organized Crime Outlaws: An Evaluation of Criminal Organization Legislation in Canada." 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10222/15467.
Full textAbstract:
This thesis explains how some organized crime outlaws, such as anti-Prohibitionists, the North American Mafia or La Cosa Nostra, outlaw motorcycle gangs, and Aboriginal street gangs, come to exist and thrive in Canadian society. It sets forth the historical development and nature of criminal organization laws in Canada, and compares the definition of “criminal organization” in the Criminal Code with other criminal law concepts, such as corporate criminals and white-collar criminals; conventional criminality or garden-variety predatory crime; terrorists; and criminal conspirators, parties, and accessories. It uses various concepts and assertions within criminological, sociological and psychological theories to explain the formation and perpetuation of the identity of individuals who engage in organized crime and who are members of organized crime groups. Aspects of social constructionism, social control and bond theory, differential association in the context of subcultures of violence, deviance and labelling, and social psychology theories are discussed to explain why some individuals, or some individuals who are criminals, become organized crime outlaws. Some of these reasons or explanations overlap and some complement one another. From these theoretical reasons or explanations, this thesis extracts a list of requisites that anti-organized crime measures should address in order to effectively combat organized crime. The conflicts among some of these requisites are set forth and reconciled, and the requisites are used to evaluate the present Canadian criminal organization provisions in the Criminal Code and to suggest non-criminal law as well as non-legal ways to effectively combat organized crime. After the application and discussion of each requisite, this thesis makes recommendations as to what anti-organized crime measures should include and how they should approach the problems posed by organized crime outlaws in this country.
36
Singh, TARUN. "Ascertaining the factors responsible for the phenomenon of organized crime in Canada and India." Thesis, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/1974/1938.
Full textAbstract:
This thesis ascertains the factors that are responsible for the phenomenon of organized crime in Canada and India and suggests necessary measures for combating the same. The thesis explores the concept of organized crime, its history, threat perception, experience of the two countries and analyzes the effectiveness and critique of the legislations adopted in the direction. The thesis also analyzes the whole scenario in Canada and India in order to determine the factors behind the phenomenon.
In the process, available literature as well as statistical data and information available on the web addresses of concerned governmental departments and agencies is reviewed to arrive at an understanding of the scenario from perspective of a developed and a developing country.
The thesis concludes that ineffective legislative measures coupled with corruption and the social reality that there is a market for illegal products is responsible for the phenomenon of organized crime in Canada and India. Moreover, overemphasis on legislative and enforcement measures has been ineffective as a solution for the problem.
The factors responsible for the phenomenon in the two countries can be classified into legislative inadequacies, societal preferences and secondary factors such as lack of study of political corruption, criminalization of politics, lack of political will, lack of research initiative in the area and abuse of provisions. Apart from overcoming the shortcomings of legislative measures, it is necessary to adopt a holistic approach to fight the phenomenon. The measures in the said direction include emphasis on preventive measures, creating public awareness to obligate public policy, overhauling of criminal justice system, revising and improving enforcement agencies’ training manuals, and revising the pay scales of police personnel.Thesis (Master, Law) -- Queen's University, 2009-06-08 16:02:33.66
37
Johnston, William Wayne. "Autonomous aboriginal criminal justice and the Charter of Rights." Thesis, 1992. http://hdl.handle.net/2429/3337.
Full textAbstract:
The imminent recognition of an inherent Aboriginal right to selfgovernment
signals the beginning of the reversal of a colonization process
which threatened the cultural survival of a people. The Report of the Aboriginal
Justice Inquiry of Manitoba , hereinafter referred to as the Inquiry, advocates an
autonomous Aboriginal criminal justice system as a significant component of
this cultural revitalization. This Aboriginal criminal justice system would differ
markedly from the conventional system in giving priority to collective rights over
conflicting individual rights. The Inquiry rejects the Charter as alien to Aboriginal
values and advocates a “tailor-made” Aboriginal charter that would incorporate
“only those fundamental freedoms and civil liberties that do not violate the
beliefs and paramount collective rights of the Aboriginal peoples.”
The conventional justice system’s paramount concern for individual
rights is premised on the potential of punishment. The Inquiry’s starkly
contrasting paramount emphasis on collective rights is premised on an
Aboriginal view of justice which this thesis refers to as the “harmony ethos”:
The underlying philosophy in Aboriginal societies in
dealing with crime was the resolution of disputes, the
healing of wounds and the restoration of social
harmony… Atonement and restoration of harmony
were the goals - not punishment.
The tension between individual and collective rights apparent in the
proposal of the Inquiry is the specific focus of this thesis. The colonization
process may justify a separate Aboriginal justice system. However, the harmony
ethos premise, while appropriate to the mediation-reconciliation communitarian
model of justice advocated by the Inquiry, blinds the Inquiry to the additional,
and crucially different, adjudicative-rights imperatives of the contemporary
Aboriginal society.
Actually existing Indianism reveals conflict-generating fault lines in the
harmony premise which challenge the sufficiency of the Inquiry’s group-based justice paradigm and indicate a need and desire for an adjudication justice
component and concomitant Charter values.
This adjudication hiatus in the Inquiry position is a reflection of a similar
void in historical Aboriginal justice which challenges the asserted rationale of
cultural survival for the paramountcy of collective rights in the contemporary
Aboriginal justice system. This historical adjudication hiatus does not preclude
a separate Aboriginal justice system, but favours the inclusion of Charter values
to strengthen an adjudication cultural foundation which is frail relative to its
reconciliation-mediation strength.
This thesis is a modest attempt to address the interface between two
systems; one mature, but in need of change, the other, fledging and in need of
assistance. The Charter provides a ready and flexible framework to join the
Aboriginal community both to the larger society and to the unlanded Aboriginal
diaspora by principled standards of justice. These fundamental indicia of
fairness, recognized by all civilized self-governing units, constitute no significant
threat to the cultural survival of the Aboriginal mediation justice heritage, while
buttressing its inherent adjudication frailty.
38
Asselin, Ariane. "The Exclusionary Rule in Canada: Trends and Future Directions." Thesis, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/1974/8244.
Full textAbstract:
The purpose of the research work outlined in this thesis is to determine what impact the new test for exclusion developed in Grant and Harrison has had on exclusionary trends in Canada, to assess this new three-factor approach and to provide recommendations for improvement. To this end, I conducted an empirical survey of section 24(2) cases rendered in 2012 across Canada. Based on the results of this survey, I describe the current trends for exclusion in relation to the three lines of inquiry and the Charter right at issue. I also examine the application of the test to varying types of evidence. The survey found a high rate of exclusion in the 73% range.
The survey results show that developing trends do not match the predictions made by the SCC in Grant about how exclusion would operate in relation to different types of evidence. For example, there was a higher than expected rate of exclusion for breath sample results. Moreover, there was a low exclusion rate for guns as compared to the high exclusion rate for other types of non-bodily physical evidence. The rate of exclusion for section 10(b) breaches was lower than expected given the importance of the Charter interests that section 10(b) protects.
The Grant rationale and the discretionary approach to exclusion are, in my view, generally satisfactory. However the test could be improved. As regards the first Grant factor, there was considerable variation in the assessment of the seriousness of the violation given the fact-specific nature of the inquiry. For greater consistency and transparency, the test, in future, should not incorporate the good faith doctrine. Police conduct should be assessed on the basis on a scale of intentionality ranging from negligent to deliberate conduct, rather than the current process of labeling police conduct as good or bad faith. Moreover, the doctrine of discoverability should be abandoned. The focus should be placed on the events that actually occurred rather than on whether police could have obtained the evidence by legal means.Thesis (Master, Law) -- Queen's University, 2013-08-30 20:10:02.008
39
Sondhi, Shireen. "Are We Chasing Rainbows?: Achieving the Decriminalization of Prostitution in Canada." Thesis, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/1807/25806.
Full textAbstract:
Prostitution has often been referred to as the oldest profession in the world. Yet the Canadian legislature and courts refuse to recognize it as a profession but merely as a social nuisance or worse yet a social evil. While the act of selling sex in exchange for money is technically legal in Canada, all related activities are criminalized. The majority of social science studies concerning the impact of prostitution-related laws on the health, safety and wellbeing of prostitutes indicates that criminalization jeopardizes the safety of prostitutes, as well as their access to health and social services and recommends the decriminalization of the profession. Despite these studies and requests from sex workers and experts, the government has refused to repeal any of the prostitution-related laws. This paper outlines the societal and legislative treatment of prostitution and then seeks to determine whether decriminalization is a viable goal in Canada.
40
Belanger, Cindy. "The constitutional legitimacy and illegitimacy of the Assisted Human Reproduction Act." 2004. http://link.library.utoronto.ca/eir/EIRdetail.cfm?Resources__ID=95090&T=F.
Full text
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Gordon, Todd. "The political economy of law and order policing : state power, class struggle and capitalist restructuring in Canada /." 2005. http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/yorku/fullcit?pNR11575.
Full textAbstract:
Thesis (Ph.D.)--York University, 2005. Graduate Programme in Political Science.Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 261-278). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/yorku/fullcit?pNR11575
42
Gevikoglu, Jeanette. "Sentenced to sovereignty: sentencing, sovereignty, and identity in the Nunavut Court of Justice." Thesis, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/1828/3588.
Full textAbstract:
In Canada, sentencing has been the target of reforming the criminal justice system with a view to alleviating the over-representation of indigenous people in the criminal justice system and the historic injustice perpetuated against indigenous communities through colonialism. My thesis explores how sentencing decisions from the Nunavut Court of Justice construct and shape Inuit identity in Nunavut. My research analyzes the sentencing decisions of the Nunavut Court of Justice since its creation in 1999. Using selected sentencing decisions as case studies, I interrogate how the Court uses notions of “Inuit”, “Inuit culture”, and “Nunavut”, both implicitly and explicitly. I show how rather than a tool for alleviating the historic injustice perpetuated against indigenous people through colonialism and systemic racism, the sentencing process perpetuates historic injustice through constructing binary, essentialized notions of Inuit identity. The consequences affect both the criminal justice system and the realization of indigenous self-determination. I conclude that as a result the Nunavut Court of Justice exemplifies an intractable dilemma facing the criminal justice system for indigenous people that sentencing reforms cannot solve. I suggest new ways of imagining criminal justice and indigenous self-determination that provide hope for a way out of the intractable dilemma.Graduate
43
Vallet, Caroline. "La protection des mineurs face à la cyberpédopornographie : étude comparée entre le droit criminel canadien et français." Thèse, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/1866/3796.
Full textAbstract:
Les jeunes sont les premiers utilisateurs du réseau Internet. Celui-ci a permis le
développement de certains contenus illicites, comme la pédopornographie. Les pouvoirs
publics se retrouvent souvent impuissants face à l’évolution de ce phénomène, encore bien
méconnu aujourd’hui. D’ailleurs, l’aspect international d’Internet met en concurrence
différentes conceptions morales et culturelles qui posent des problèmes, notamment au
niveau des définitions des notions.
En outre, les adolescents ont tendance à imiter les adultes et plus spécialement, lorsque cela
touche à la sexualité. Pourtant, les législateurs canadiens et français leur imposent certaines
restrictions, qu’ils jugent justifiables et raisonnables. Toutefois, ces jeunes vivent entre une
société virtuelle (Internet) et réelle gouvernée par une vision sexuée des choses et où le
corps humain représente une valeur commerciale à exploiter. C’est ainsi que de nouveaux
comportements apparaissent. Pour les supprimer, les mineurs sont devenus la principale
catégorie de personnes à protéger en raison de leur vulnérabilité et le lien unificateur qu’ils
représentent pour les pays. Ils deviennent ainsi le nouveau fondement de la moralité
publique sur le réseau Internet, ce qui permet à l’État d’imposer sa vision morale de la
sexualité, et notamment une norme de comportement.
De plus, le droit criminel semble traiter de manière différente les délinquants sexuels qui
représentent le groupe à neutraliser en raison du risque qu’ils engendrent. En effet, il
semblerait qu’il y ait un certain retour de l’homme dangereux dans nos sociétés
contemporaines en mal de sécurité. Il est clair que désormais, il n’est plus acceptable que
des personnes présentant un risque réel pour la société puisse faire de nouvelles victimes,
en l’occurrence mineure.
Notre étude vise à examiner et à éclaircir les fondements de la rationalité du discours
juridique relatif à la réglementation de la cyberpédopornographie. Pour cela, nous nous
interrogerons sur l’impact des nouvelles technologies de l’information sur le droit criminel
qui a, comme ces dernières, évolué dans nos sociétés contemporaines. Le législateur a été
forcé de prendre en compte les nouvelles réalités qui n’existaient pas forcément, il y a
quelques années. Le droit criminel, qui représente les moeurs de la société de son époque,
semble, par ailleurs, s’orienter vers un droit social de revendication et subjectif.
De nombreuses questions surviennent à savoir : faut-il condamner toutes les formes de
pédopornographie au point d’accepter une ingérence importante de l’État dans notre vie
intime? N’y-a-t’il pas un certain paternalisme de la part de l’État dans la façon de légiférer
dans ce domaine? La morale n’est-elle pas la cause de ce retour à une importante sévérité
dans ce domaine? D’ailleurs, ce paternalisme étatique ne montre-t-il pas également
l’occasion pour les pouvoirs publics de contrôler, voire surveiller les internautes?Young people are the primary users of the Internet. This has enabled the development of certain illegal content, like child pornography. Governments often find themselves powerless to change this growing phenomen that is still well unknown. Moreover, the international aspect of the Internet put in perspectives different moral and cultural conceptions causing problems, particularly in term of definitions of those concepts. In addition, teenagers tend to imitate adults especially when it relates to sexuality. However, Canadian and french law makers impose them some restrictions they consider justifiable and reasonable. Nevertheless, these young people live between a virtual society (Internet) and a real one governed by a sexual oriented view where the human body is see as a commercial value to exploit. As a result, new behaviors are appearing. To neutralize them, minors became the first category that need to be protected because of their vulnerability and the unifying bond that they represent for the country. From now on, they represent the new public morality foundation on the Internet, which let the State impose its moral vision of sexuality, and in particular a behaviour norm. Moreover, criminal law seems to treat different sex offenders who represent the group to neutralize because of the risk they represent. Indeed, it seems that there is a return of the dangerous man in our contemporary societies in need of security. It is now clear that it is more acceptable for people with a real risk to society could be more victims in this case minor. Our study aims to examine and clarify the foundations of rationality of legal discourse on the regulation of child pornography on the Internet. For this, we will question the impact of recent news technology on criminal law, which like those last evolved in our contemporary societies. The lawmaker was forced to take into account the new realities that were inevitably not existing few years ago. Criminal law, which represents the morals of the society of his era, seems also to move towards a social right of claim and subjective. Many questions arise including: does it take to condemn all kind of child pornography so, an important interference of the State in our private life can be accepted? Is there some paternalism from the State in its way of legislating? Is not Morality the cause of this return to a major severity in this area? Moreover, this State paternalism may be an opportunity for the authorities to control, even to watch over the internet users?
Réalisé en cotutelle avec l'Université de Paris-sud XI, France.
44
Chenette, Mathieu. "La constitutionnalité du par. 515(6) du Code criminel et d’autres sujets touchant la libération provisoire au Canada." Thèse, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/1866/22848.
Full text
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Grenier, Michel. "La détention à des fins d'enquête en droit criminel canadien et son impact sur les droits constitutionnels." Thèse, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/1866/3528.
Full textAbstract:
Le pouvoir de détenir une personne à des fins d'enquête n'est pas une technique d'investigation nouvelle et tire son origine du droit anglais. Mais cette méthode d'enquête, qui consiste à restreindre temporairement la liberté de mouvement d'une personne que l'on soupçonne pour des motifs raisonnables d'être impliquée dans une activité criminelle, ne fut reconnue officiellement au Canada qu'en juillet 2004 suite au jugement rendu par la Cour suprême dans l'affaire R. c. Mann. Au moment d'écrire ces lignes, cette stratégie d'enquête policière ne fait toujours pas l'objet d'une réglementation spécifique au Code criminel. L'approbation de cette technique d'enquête, en l'absence de toute forme de législation, ne s'est pas faite sans critiques de la part des auteurs et des commentateurs judiciaires qui y voient une intrusion dans un champ de compétences normalement réservé au Parlement. L'arrêt Mann laisse également en suspens une question cruciale qui se rapporte directement aux droits constitutionnels des citoyens faisant l'objet d'une détention semblable: il s'agit du droit d'avoir recours sans délai à l'assistance d'un avocat. Le présent travail se veut donc une étude approfondie du concept de la détention à des fins d'enquête en droit criminel canadien et de son impact sur les droits constitutionnels dont bénéficient les citoyens de notre pays. Pour accomplir cette tâche, l'auteur propose une analyse de la question en trois chapitres distincts. Dans le premier chapitre, l'auteur se penche sur le rôle et les fonctions dévolus aux agents de la paix qui exécutent leur mission à l'intérieur d'une société libre et démocratique comme celle qui prévaut au Canada. Cette étude permettra au lecteur de mieux connaître les principaux acteurs qui assurent le maintien de l'ordre sur le territoire québécois, les crimes qu'ils sont le plus souvent appelés à combattre ainsi que les méthodes d'enquête qu'ils emploient pour les réprimer. Le deuxième chapitre est entièrement dédié au concept de la détention à des fins d'enquête en droit criminel canadien. En plus de l'arrêt R. c. Mann qui fera l'objet d'une étude détaillée, plusieurs autres sujets en lien avec cette notion seront abordés. Des thèmes tels que la notion de «détention» au sens des articles 9 et 10b) de la Charte canadienne des droits et libertés, la différence entre la détention à des fins d'enquête et l'arrestation, les motifs pouvant légalement justifier une intervention policière de même que les limites et l'entendue de la détention d'une personne pour fins d'enquête, seront aussi analysés. Au troisième chapitre, l'auteur se consacre à la question du droit d'avoir recours sans délai à l'assistance d'un avocat (et d'être informé de ce droit) ainsi que du droit de garder le silence dans des circonstances permettant aux agents de la paix de détenir une personne à des fins d'enquête. Faisant l'analogie avec d'autres jugements rendus par nos tribunaux, l'auteur suggère quelques pistes de solutions susceptibles de combler les lacunes qui auront été préalablement identifiées dans les arrêts Mann et Clayton.The power to detain a person for investigative purposes is not a new technique of investigation and has its origin in English law. But this method of investigation, which is to temporarily restrict freedom of movement of a person suspected on reasonable grounds to be involved in criminal activity, was officially recognized in Canada in July 2004, following the judgement by the Supreme Court in the case of R. c. Mann. At the time of this writing, this strategy of investigation is not subject to specific regulations to the Criminal Code. The approval of this investigative technique, in the absence of any form of legislation, has not been without criticism from writers and commentators who see it as judicial intrusion into a field of expertise normally reserved for Parliament. The judgement of Mann also leaves open a critical issue that relates directly to the constitutional rights of citizens subjected to a similar kind of detention, namely the right to obtain immediately the assistance of a lawyer. This work is a thorough study of the concept of investigative detention in Canadian criminal law and its impact on the constitutional rights enjoyed by all citizens of our country. To accomplish this task, the author suggests studying this issue in three separate chapters. In the first chapter, the author focuses on the role and functions vested in the peace officers who carry out their mission within a free and democratic society such as the one which prevails in Canada. This study will allow the reader to better understand the main actors responsible for maintaining law and order in Quebec, the crimes they are most often called upon to fight and investigative methods they use to repress those crimes. The second chapter is dedicated to the concept of investigative detention in the context of Canadian criminal law. In addition to the case of R. c. Mann, which will be a study in detail, several other topics related to this concept will he discussed. Themes such as the notion of «detention» within the meaning of Sections 9 and 10b) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the difference between the investigative detention and the arrest, the motives which can legally justify a police intervention as well as the limits of the detention of a person for purposes of investigation, will also he analyzed.. The third chapter is devoted to the question of the right to communicate immediately with a lawyer (and to he informed of that right) and the right to remain silent in circumstances enabling peace officers to detain a person for investigative purposes. In making a comparison with other judgments rendered by our courts, the author suggest some possible solutions that could fill gaps that have been previously identified by the Supreme Court in the cases R. c. Mann and R. c. Clayton.
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Vincent, Julie. "Les troubles du contrôle des impulsions en droit pénal canadien." Thèse, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/1866/9670.
Full textAbstract:
Un kleptomane, pris d’impulsions irrésistibles, peut-il être responsable pénalement de ses actes ? Voilà la question à l’origine de cette recherche. Les troubles du contrôle des impulsions sont des troubles mentaux caractérisés par l’impossibilité de résister à une impulsion. Comment peut-on concilier ceux-ci avec le droit pénal canadien sachant que la responsabilité criminelle repose sur le postulat voulant que seul un acte volontaire justifie une déclaration de culpabilité ? Afin d’avoir une étude exhaustive sur le sujet, nous avons choisi trois troubles du contrôle des impulsions, soit la kleptomanie, la pyromanie et le jeu pathologique. Cette sélection permet d’étudier à la fois l’imputabilité criminelle et l’imposition d’une sentence en droit pénal canadien.
Cette étude propose un retour aux principes fondamentaux de la responsabilité criminelle et l’analyse du droit pénal canadien afin de démontrer que certains troubles du contrôle des impulsions (kleptomanie et pyromanie) entraînent chez le sujet atteint une incapacité criminelle, le rendant non criminellement responsable au sens de l’article 16 du Code criminel. Au surplus, cette recherche porte sur les principes entourant l’imposition d’une sentence en droit pénal canadien et étudie l’impact de ces maladies mentales au point de vue de la peine. Cette analyse démontre que les caractéristiques diagnostiques des troubles du contrôle des impulsions sont utilisées afin d’alourdir la peine imposée aux contrevenants. Nous considérons que celles-ci ne devraient pas être employées comme facteurs aggravants (particulièrement en matière de jeu pathologique), mais devraient plutôt être utilisées afin d’imposer une peine plus appropriée pour remédier à la problématique entraînant la commission des délits.A kleptomaniac, taken by overpowering impulses, can he be criminally responsible for his actions? That is the question behind this research. The impulse control disorders are mental disorders characterized by the inability to resist an impulse. How can we reconcile this with the Canadian criminal law, knowing that criminal liability based on the assumption that only a voluntary act warrants a conviction? To gain a comprehensive study on the subject, we chose three impulse control disorders, kleptomania, pyromania and pathological gambling. This selection allows us to study both the criminal accountability and the imposition of a sentence in Canadian criminal law. This study proposes a return to fundamental principles of criminal responsibility and the analysis of Canadian criminal law to demonstrate that some impulse control disorders (kleptomania and pyromania) result in the subject reaching a criminal incapacity, making it not criminally responsible within the meaning of article 16 of the Criminal Code. Furthermore, this research focuses on the principles surrounding the imposition of a sentence in Canadian criminal law and explores the impact of mental illness in terms of the sentence. This analysis shows that the diagnostic features of impulse control disorders are used to increase the punishment imposed on offenders. We consider that these characteristic should not be used as aggravating factors (especially in pathological gambling), but should be used to impose a sentence more appropriate to remedy to the problem causing the commission of crimes.
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Cardillo, Chloé. "Le contrôle de constitutionnalité des lois pénales a posteriori : essai comparé sur la protection des droits des justiciables en France et au Canada." Thèse, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/1866/19976.
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Basdeo, Vinesh. "A constitutional perspective of police powers of search and seizure in the criminal justice system." Diss., 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10500/3449.
Full textAbstract:
Before 1994 criminal procedure was subject to the sovereignty of Parliament and the
untrammelled law enforcement powers of the executive which resulted in the
authoritarian and oppressive criminal justice system of the apartheid era. The
Constitution, Act 108 of 1996 has since created a democratic state based on the
values of the supremacy of the Constitution and the rule of law. The basic principles
of criminal procedure are now constitutionalised in the Bill of Rights. The Bill of
Rights protects the fundamental rights of individuals when they come into contact
with organs of the state which includes the police. The Criminal Procedure Act 51 of
1977 authorises the police to search for and to seize articles, and has long provided
the only legal basis for obtaining warrants to search for and to seize articles and for
performing such actions without a warrant in certain circumstances. Generally the
standard for these measures and actions taken under their purview has been one of
reasonableness. Since the birth of the Constitution there has been additional
constraints on search and seizure powers. Not only are there now constitutionalised
standards by which such legal powers are to be measured, but there is also the
possibility of excluding evidence obtained in course of a violation of a constitutional
right. The provisions of the Criminal Procedure Act are now qualified by the
Constitution. Where feasible a system of prior judicial authorisation in the form of a
valid search warrant obtained on sworn information establishing reasonable grounds
is a precondition for a valid search or seizure. Search and seizure without a warrant
is permitted only in exceptional circumstances such as an immediate threat to
person or property. By prohibiting unreasonable searches and seizures the
Constitution places important limits on police efforts to detect and investigate crime.
The Constitution appreciates the need for legitimate law enforcement activity.Criminal and Procedural Law
LL.M.
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Kelci, Sevgi. "La responsabilité des intermédiaires techniques en droit pénal canadien, à la lumière des pratiques internationales." Thèse, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/1866/4360.
Full textAbstract:
La question de la responsabilité pénale des intermédiaires techniques est un enjeu central et actuel dans la réglementation du cyberespace. Non seulement les implications économiques sont énormes mais c'est tout le cadre juridique de la responsabilité pénale des intermédiaires techniques qui est en cause. Or, l'environnement Internet comporte des spécificités qui rendent difficiles l'imputation de responsabilité à l'auteur de l'activité illicite qui peut alors se retrouver hors d'atteinte ou insolvable. La poursuite des intermédiaires techniques devient alors une solution envisageable aux autorités chargées de réprimer les délits, compte tenu de l'état de leur solvabilité et dans la mesure où ils sont plus facilement identifiables. Par le fait même, ces derniers se retrouvent alors pris dans l'engrenage judiciaire pour n'avoir que facilité la commission de l'activité en question, n'ayant aucunement pris part à la réalisation de celle-ci.
L'absence dans le corpus législatif canadien d'un régime de responsabilité spécifiquement applicable aux intermédiaires techniques nous oblige à baliser les critères qui emportent leur responsabilité pénale, à partir de «principes directeurs» d'imputabilité se dégageant de plusieurs textes nationaux et internationaux. Dans ce contexte, le mémoire étudiera, dans un premier temps, les conditions d'ouverture de la responsabilité pénale des intermédiaires techniques en droit pénal canadien et, dans un deuxième temps, répondra à la question de savoir si le droit pénal canadien en matière d'imputabilité des intermédiaires techniques est conforme aux principes directeurs ressortant de normes et pratiques internationales.Criminal liability of technical intermediaries is a central and actual issue in the regulation of cyberspace. Not also their vast economic implications in the cyberspace are in question, but also their entire legal framework regarding criminal liability of technical intermediaries is an unresolved issue. This is because a liability allegation to the author for an illicit activity can be difficult or impossible thanks to the complex nature of cyberspace and the insolvent status of the technical intermediaries Considering their state of solvency and identification facility, taking legal actions against the technical intermediaries will be a conceivable solution to the jurists. Having implied legal proceedings, even the fact that a judicial action will be taken against them will prevent them from involving illicit activities. Non-existence of a liability regime which is specifically applicable to the technical intermediaries in the Canadian legislative corpus makes us obligated to apply to the «guiding principles» of imputability which can be released from several national and international texts. In this essay, we will study, at first, the conditions of applicability of the criminal liability for the technical intermediaries with regard to Canadian Criminal Law and, in second time, will answer the following question: Is Canadian Criminal Law complied with guiding principles arising from International norms and practice in terms of imputability of the technical intermediaries?
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St-Georges, Simon. "L’Adoption des Accords de Poursuite Suspendue au Canada : le pouvoir politique bien peu silencieux d’un champion national." Thèse, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/1866/22255.
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