The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is Part I of the Constitution Act, 1982. It guarantees fundamental rights to every person in Canada, including those accused of criminal offences. Charter rights are the most powerful tool in criminal defence — a violation of a Charter right can result in the exclusion of evidence or a stay of proceedings.
The Charter provisions most frequently engaged in criminal cases include: section 7 (life, liberty, and security of the person), section 8 (protection against unreasonable search and seizure), section 9 (right not to be arbitrarily detained), section 10(a) (right to be informed of the reason for arrest), section 10(b) (right to retain and instruct counsel), section 11(b) (right to be tried within a reasonable time), and section 11(d) (presumption of innocence).
When a Charter right is violated, the accused can bring an application under section 24 of the Charter. Under section 24(2), evidence obtained in a manner that infringed a Charter right can be excluded if admitting it would bring the administration of justice into disrepute. Charter applications are central to the defence of impaired driving charges, drug offences, weapons offences, and sexual assault cases.