Document Type
Article
Disciplines
International Law
Abstract
Five years ago, Canada adopted a constitutional bill of rights [Charter],' which is similar in many respects to the American Bill of Rights, - the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the European Convention on Human Rights and the American Convention on Human Rights. Human rights treaties played an extremely important role in the "constitutional" history of the Charter. In fact, they directly inspired amendments to early drafts of the Charter. Also, during these first five years litigators have frequently invoked, and judges have applied, international human rights law as an aid to interpret the Charter.
the Charter. 6 In these remarks I will touch briefly on four topics. First, I will outline the content and structure of the Charter and compare it with the United States constitutional system. Second, I will refer to the status of international human rights law in the Canadian legal system. Third, I will review why lawyers and judges might want to use international law to interpret the Charter. Finally, I will assess the practice of using international human rights law for Charter interpretation during the first five years of the Charter's existence.
Recommended Citation
Claydon, John, "The Use of International Human Rights Law to Interpret Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms" (1987). Connecticut Journal of International Law. 31.
https://digitalcommons.lib.uconn.edu/cjil/31
Accessibility Requirements
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