Controversies in the Common Law: Tracing the Contributions of Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin

by Vanessa Gruben (Editor), Graham Mayeda (Editor), Owen Rees (Editor)

Overview

Beverley McLachlin was the first woman to be Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada. Joining the Court while it was establishing its approach to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, McLachlin aided the court in weathering the public backlash against controversial decisions during her tenure.

Controversies in the Common Law explores Chief Justice McLachlin’s approach to legal reasoning, examines her remarkable contributions in controversial areas of the common law, and highlights the role of judicial philosophy in shaping the law. Chapters in this book span thirty years, and deal with a variety of topics – including tort, unjust enrichment, administrative and criminal law. The contributors show that McLachlin had a philosophical streak that drove her to ensure unity and consistency in the common law, and to prefer incremental change over revolution.

Celebrating the career of an influential jurist, Controversies in the Common Law demonstrates how the common law approach taken by Chief Justice McLachlin has been successful in managing criticism and ensuring the legitimacy of the Court.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781487540746
Publisher:	University of Toronto Press
Publication date:	10/03/2022
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	360
File size:	696 KB

About the Author

Vanessa Gruben is Vice Dean of the English Common Law Program and an associate professor in the Faculty of Law at the University of Ottawa.

Graham Mayeda is an associate professor in the Faculty of Law at the University of Ottawa.

Owen Rees is deputy assistant deputy attorney general with the Department of Justice Canada and an adjunct lecturer in the Faculty of Law at Queen’s University.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Controversies in the Common Law—Innovative Solutions and Future Challenges at the Supreme Court of Canada
Vanessa Gruben, Graham Mayeda and Owen Rees

1. Reflecting on the Legacy of Chief Justice Mclachlin
Lady Brenda Hale, Baroness of Richmond, President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom

2. Justice Beverley McLachlin and Tort Law:  The Good, the Bad, and the Puzzling 
Bruce Feldthusen

3. Evaluating Chief Justice McLachlin’s Decisions on “Residual Policy Considerations” in Negligence
Erika Chamberlain

4. Controversey Resolved: Chief Justice Mclachlin, Personal Autonomy, & Unjust Enrichment
Mitchell McInnes

5. Selective Deference and the Judicial Role: Chief Justice McLachlin’s Legacy for Law and Legal Education
David Sandomierski

6. Combatting Stereotyping & Facilitating Justice: McLachlin’s Vision for the Law of Evidence
David M. Tanovich

7. The Continuity of Private and Public Law Reasoning in Chief Justice McLachlin’s Criminal Law Judgments
Graham Mayeda

8. Less is More: Chief Justice McLachlin and Criminal Law Minimalism
Matthew R. Gourlay

9. Controversies in the Common Law of Judicial Review: Tracing the Contributions of Chief Justice McLachlin
Adam Goldenberg

10. The McLachlin Court and the Concept of Open Justice
Eszter Bodnar

What People are Saying About This

Daniel Jutras

"Through their insightful analysis of the jurisprudence of Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin, the contributors to this volume weave together classic methodological questions of the common law and McLachlin's characteristic conceptions of her role as a judge and as a law-maker. Taken together, the essays provide a rich narrative of the path of the common law and judicial decision-making over the first two decades of the twentieth century."

The Honourable Louis LeBel

"The essays in this book track critical developments in Canadian common law over the course of almost thirty years and the contributions of Chief Justice McLachlin. They show that the law is a critical social process that has to evolve with society and confirm McLachlin's influence in guiding that evolution. ."

Robert J. Sharpe

"Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin had a dominant and lasting influence on the evolution of Canadian law. Under her leadership, the Supreme Court of Canada emerged as one of the world's most respected courts in the adjudication of fundamental freedoms and human rights. The studies in this collection explore McLachlin's contribution in an illuminating fashion and skilfully delve into underlying theoretical and jurisprudential features of her important work."

Editorial Reviews

"Through their insightful analysis of the jurisprudence of Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin, the contributors to this volume weave together classic methodological questions of the common law and McLachlin’s characteristic conceptions of her role as a judge and as a law-maker. Taken together, the essays provide a rich narrative of the path of the common law and judicial decision-making over the first two decades of the twentieth century."

—Daniel Jutras, Professor of Law and Rector, Université de Montréal

"Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin had a dominant and lasting influence on the evolution of Canadian law. Under her leadership, the Supreme Court of Canada emerged as one of the world’s most respected courts in the adjudication of fundamental freedoms and human rights. The studies in this collection explore McLachlin’s contribution in an illuminating fashion and skilfully delve into underlying theoretical and jurisprudential features of her important work."

—Robert J. Sharpe, Distinguished Jurist in Residence, Faculty of Law, University of Toronto and Retired Justice of the Court of Appeal for Ontario

"The essays in this book track critical developments in Canadian common law over the course of almost thirty years and the contributions of Chief Justice McLachlin. They show that the law is a critical social process that has to evolve with society and confirm McLachlin’s influence in guiding that evolution.."

—The Honourable Louis LeBel, Former Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada

From the Publisher