Reference Re BC Motor Vehicle Act
Supreme Court of Canada case / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dear Wikiwand AI, let's keep it short by simply answering these key questions:
Can you list the top facts and stats about Reference Re BC Motor Vehicle Act?
Summarize this article for a 10 year old
Reference Re BC Motor Vehicle Act, [1985] 2 SCR 486, was a landmark reference submitted to the Supreme Court of Canada regarding the constitutionality of the British Columbia Motor Vehicle Act. The decision established one of the first principles of fundamental justice in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms ("Charter"), beyond mere natural justice, by requiring a fault component for all offences with penal consequences. The decision also proved important and controversial for establishing fundamental justice as more than a procedural right similar to due process, but also protects substantive rights even though such rights were counter to the intent of the initial drafters of the Charter.[2]
Reference Re BC Motor Vehicle Act | |
---|---|
Hearing: November 15, 1984 Judgment: December 17, 1985 | |
Full case name | Reference Re Section 94(2) of the Motor Vehicle Act |
Citations | [1985] 2 SCR 486 |
Docket No. | 17590 [1] |
Prior history | On appeal from the BCCA |
Ruling | Appeal was dismissed |
Holding | |
Absolute liability offences cannot carry a possibility of imprisonment under the Charter | |
Court membership | |
Chief Justice: Brian Dickson Puisne Justices: Roland Ritchie, Jean Beetz, Willard Estey, William McIntyre, Julien Chouinard, Antonio Lamer, Bertha Wilson, Gerald Le Dain | |
Reasons given | |
Majority | Lamer J (paras 1–98), joined by Dickson CJ and Beetz, Chouinard and Le Dain JJ |
Concurrence | MacIntyre J (paras 99–100) |
Concurrence | Wilson J (paras 101–131) |
Ritchie and Estey JJ took no part in the consideration or decision of the case. |