On 13 June 2022 the UK government introduced a Bill that will authorize it to unilaterally re-write key terms of the Northern Ireland Protocol (“Protocol“) which is part of the Withdrawal Agreement it made with the EU on Brexit, less than 3 years ago.

Although trade intricacies between Northern Ireland and the rest of Britain may not be high on our priorities here in Canada, the fact that this Bill has been introduced at all should be of concern to those who believe in commitment to international law.

Let me explain why I say this.

What the Protocol . . . [more]

The Victoria Law Reform Commission is conducting a public consultation on more inclusive juries. The state of Victoria is in south-eastern Australia and its capital is Melbourne. The Commission wants to find out what reforms are needed to improve access for people who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind or have low vision who wish to serve as jurors in the state of Victoria. It issued a consultation paper in December 2020 and will be gathering input until the end of February. From the terms of reference:

“The Juries Act 2000 (Vic) provides a list of people who are

How does one describe the legal dimensions of what happened last week as a violent rightwing mob incited by the American President assaulted the US Capitol in Washington, D.C.? What words or phrases can one even begin to apply to such a wide range of criminal acts committed that day? An acquaintance of mine quipped last week: “What can the rioters be charged with? Do you have a copy of the US Code?” There are many resources from American scholars, legal analysts and independent sources such as the Congressional Research Service to help readers start to unpack the many concepts . . . [more]

Even before the pandemic, commercial landlords and tenants had their disputes. The Ontario Court of Appeal recently dismissed an appeal in Old Navy (Canada) Inc. v. The Eglinton Town Centre Inc., thereby affirming the Superior Court decision that denied declaratory relief to the commercial tenant, and a refund of rent they claimed they overpaid. The case centred around the interpretation of the lease. The tenant, who is a major international commercial retailer, and a subsidiary of the largest specialty retailer in the U.S., claimed the lease was straightforward and unambiguous. Justice Quigley disagreed, and held that a co-tenancy provision . . . [more]

Law reform commission reports can be great sources for legal research. Many of the reports provide historical background and you can often find comparative information about how different jurisdictions have responded to an issue. Case in point: The Law Reform Commission of Ireland last week released a report on the Accessibility of Legislation in the Digital Age that makes a wide range of recommendations as to how legislation can be made available online in a more consolidated and comprehensive way. Chapter 3 of the report, “Comparative Approaches to Making Legislation Accessible”, considers, from an historical perspective, legislative developments that have . . . [more]

Kiribati is a small island nation that may soon be gone. It is forecasted to be the first nation to become a victim of climate change and all of its citizens will be forced, involuntarily, to find another home. In an unprecedented decision, the UN Human Rights Commission ruled that a citizen of Kiribati, Mr. Ioane Teitioto, shall not be deported by New Zealand due to threats related to climate change. This decision is the first in a sea of change, I believe, that will lead to a significant expansion of Canadian refugee law.

A Brief History of the “Eco-Refugee”

In a globalized economy, unexpected events on the other side of the world can easily have direct economic impacts on the Canadian economy. Complex supply chains and strategic imports can be quickly disrupted by political, social, or medical issues. One contemporary example would be with the coronavirus emerging in China. The China Council for The Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), which was founded in 1952, and is responsible for developing business cooperation and exchange with other countries, announced this week, announced they will provide force majeure certificates for companies impacted by the coronavirus outbreak. CCPIT is the agency most famously . . . [more]

The Law Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. has released a report on the Regulation of Artificial Intelligence that looks at AI regulation and policy in jurisdictions around the world. It was written in January and published on the Library’s website recently:

“This report examines the emerging regulatory and policy landscape surrounding artificial intelligence (AI) in jurisdictions around the world and in the European Union (EU). In addition, a survey of international organizations describes the approach that United Nations (UN) agencies and regional organizations have taken towards AI. As the regulation of AI is still in its infancy, guidelines, ethics

The new EU GDPR privacy rules can apply to businesses outside of the EU that provide goods and services to EU data subjects. It is important for businesses outside of the EU to know when they are subject to the GDPR, as penalties for non-compliance are significant. An occasional sale to someone in the EU probably won’t be an issue – but what will?  The European Data Protection Board just released for public consultation draft guidelines on when the GDPR applies to those without a presence in the EU.  Article 3(2) of the GDPR says it applies to businesses without . . . [more]

Now that the very messy and nasty nomination process for US Supreme Court Justice for Brett Kavanaugh has ended, many observers are wondering what kind of judge he will be. SCOTUSblog, the American blog devoted to all things relating to the United States Supreme Court, has published a statistics-based article on What to expect from Kavanaugh’s first term:

The tense waiting is now over as Justice Brett Kavanaugh was confirmed to the Supreme Court on October 6, 2018. One of the big stories about Kavanaugh has been his low rate of public approval. This low rate of approval was

Earlier this week, American President Trump nominated Brett M. Kavanaugh from the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to take the place of Justice Anthony Kennedy who will be retiring as of the end of this month. Who is Kavanaugh? There are plenty of resources to figure that out. The Library of Congress in Washington has published a page with resources about the nominee. The page includes links to articles and books by and about the nominee, to cases decided by him, to Congressional materials about his earlier nominations to federal judicial posts, and to web resources. . . . [more]

On Friday, January 26, 2018, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) released a draft of their position regarding online reputation and on how Canadians can better protect their online privacy and rights. The draft report is the result of a 2016 consultation on online reputations. Through this consultation, the OPC was soliciting input from interested stakeholders about new and innovative ways to protect reputational privacy. Reputation and Privacy is one of the OPC’s four strategic privacy priorities. A summary of the 28 submissions received is posted online on the OPC website.

Summarizing the report

The draft . . . [more]