Victims' Rights and the Charter
Criminal Law Quarterly, Vol. 49, p. 474, 2005
23 Pages Posted: 20 Jun 2008 Last revised: 12 Jul 2013
Date Written: 2005
Abstract
Since its 1982 enactment, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms has become one of the cornerstones of Canada. It is a document that has political and social as well as legal significance. Although the Charter entrenches many rights that have universal significance, it also reflects the time in which it was drafted. This is no more apparent than in its failure to include rights for victims of crime.
This article will examine the question of whether victims' rights should be added to the Charter. This article will discuss both the advantages and disadvantages of including victims' rights in the Charter and the implications of such amendments for victims of crime, the administration of justice and Canadian governments. This process should also serve as a summary audit of the state of victims' rights under Canadian law as well as a reflection on the consequences of constitutionalizing rights so that they are interpreted and enforced by the courts as opposed to being developed and implemented by the legislative and executive branches of government.
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