Supreme Court in Canada Analytical Essay by Top Papers

The paper relates that in 1982, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms was inaugurated to protect human rights in Canada, and, as the Charter is complex, somebody needs to interpret it - and that body is the Supreme Court, using the process of judicial review. The paper argues that the Charter has ushered in a sea change, in that it has enabled the Supreme Court to appropriate to itself a degree of legislative power since 1982. The paper discusses how previously, the Canadian Supreme Court exercised more judicial restraint, and was less likely to take on the role of judicial activism than were the US courts. However, the paper discusses how, following innovations such as the Charter, some theorists talk about the "coming of age" of the Canadian Supreme Court (Smith 129).