NCJ Number
100813
Date Published
1984
Length
263 pages
Annotation
This collection of eight essays examines issues in the development of the Canadian Criminal Code, from its foundations in R. S. Wright's 1970 Model Code for the British colonies through contemporary concerns with constitutional rights and civil liberties.
Abstract
Topics discussed include (1) a review of the development and abandonment of Wright's code, criminal practice and the constitutional division of power in Canada, and (2) the role of pressure groups in the development of the criminal law. The 100-year history of gun control legislation in Canada is reviewed, and factors contributing to the passage of effective gun control legislation are discussed. Legal perspectives on national security are examined as they relate to the Official Secrets Act, wiretapping, and emergency legislation and the conflict between individual rights and the state's interests. Also discussed are the legality of police undercover operations and entrapment, techniques for controlling police misconduct in entrapment, techniques for controlling police misconduct in such operations, and the impact of the 1983 Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms on the development of the criminal code. Finally, three famous murder trials that occurred in the late 1800's are reviewed and their conduct under current criminal law is outlined to further illustrate changes in Canadian criminal law over the past 100 years. Chapter footnotes.