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JurisTalk | Courts Without Cases: The Law and Politics of Advisory Opinions
April 3, 2017 at 2:30 PM to 5:00 PM
| Location: | D492 Loeb Building |
| Cost: | Free |
Since 1875, Canadian courts have been required to hear proceedings in the absence of a live case and to render “advisory opinions”. The advisory function has produced extraordinary constitutional moments. Advisory opinions, also called references, involve the same kinds of legal reasoning, and settle the same sorts of questions, as cases. But they occupy uncertain legal terrain. As they do not trigger a court’s normal remedial powers, advisory opinions do not create ordinary legal obligations. Yet, they exert unmistakeable authority. In this talk, Prof. Carissima Mathen canvasses a number of issues pertaining to references, including the idea that they may contain broader insights about judicial review and “law as such”.
About the Speaker
Carissima Mathen is Associate Professor of Law at the University of Ottawa, where she specializes in constitutional and criminal law. Prior to law teaching, Professor Mathen was counsel to the Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF), where she worked on precedent-setting equality rights cases. Her recent scholarship includes “The Federal Principle” (Constitutional Amendment in Canada, UTP) and “The Shadow of Absurdity and the Challenge of Easy Cases: Looking Back on the Supreme Court Act Reference” (Sup Ct L Rev). She is the co-author of Women, Law and Equality: A Discussion Guide (Irwin, 2010). Numerous courts, including the Supreme Court of Canada, have cited her scholarship. A native of Montreal, Professor Mathen holds degrees from McGill University, Osgoode Hall (York) and Columbia Law School. As one of Canada’s most active legal commentators, she regularly appears on television, radio and in print.