Deposit Date Charter For Free

Equal Rights: The Most Important Section of the Charter.

52. (1) The Constitution of Canada is the supreme law of Canada, and any law that is inconsistent with the provisions of the Constitution is, to the extent of the inconsistency, of no force or effect.

The Charter of Rights and Freedoms (the Charter) protects basic rights and freedoms that are essential to keeping Canada a free and democratic society. It is a powerful force for progress, protection, and fairness with the power to influence our society by interpreting laws and policies.

When laws, procedures, or acts directly violate the constitution, they are unconstitutional. All others are considered constitutional unless the country in question has a mechanism for challenging laws as unconstitutional.

Section 24(2) obliges law enforcement authorities to respect the exigencies of the Charter and precludes improperly obtained evidence from being admitted when it impinges on the fairness of the trial (R. v. Burlingham, 1995 2 S.C.R. 206 at paragraph 25).

However, a statute is unconstitutional as applied when it violated a particular party's constitutional rights. A decision that a statute is unconstitutional ?as applied? only effects the person who brought the claim, leaving the statute otherwise in place.

When the Supreme Court rules on a constitutional issue, that judgment is virtually final; its decisions can be altered only by the rarely used procedure of constitutional amendment or by a new ruling of the Court. However, when the Court interprets a statute, new legislative action can be taken.