R. v. Mercure
Encyclopedia
R. v. Mercure, [1988] 1 S.C.R. 234 was a 1988 ruling by the Supreme Court of Canada
.
The appellant
demanded the right to a statutory provision in Saskatchewan
governing a speeding ticket be expressed in French
as well as the right to have a trial conducted in French. English
and French are both considered official languages in Canada
.
Lower courts had denied him this right, so he sought appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada. However the appellant died before his Supreme Court appeal on the issue could be heard. The Court exercised its discretion to hear the appeal notwithstanding its mootness because the case not only raised an important legal issue but satisfied the other criteria for the hearing of a moot appeal, including the continued existence of a proper adversarial context.
The Supreme Court ruled that language rights enjoyed an almost constitutional status and could only be repealed by a 'clear legislative pronouncement'. The Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan
subsequently repealed official bilingualism.
Supreme Court of Canada
The Supreme Court of Canada is the highest court of Canada and is the final court of appeals in the Canadian justice system. The court grants permission to between 40 and 75 litigants each year to appeal decisions rendered by provincial, territorial and federal appellate courts, and its decisions...
.
The appellant
Appeal
An appeal is a petition for review of a case that has been decided by a court of law. The petition is made to a higher court for the purpose of overturning the lower court's decision....
demanded the right to a statutory provision in Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
governing a speeding ticket be expressed in French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
as well as the right to have a trial conducted in French. English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and French are both considered official languages in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
Lower courts had denied him this right, so he sought appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada. However the appellant died before his Supreme Court appeal on the issue could be heard. The Court exercised its discretion to hear the appeal notwithstanding its mootness because the case not only raised an important legal issue but satisfied the other criteria for the hearing of a moot appeal, including the continued existence of a proper adversarial context.
The Supreme Court ruled that language rights enjoyed an almost constitutional status and could only be repealed by a 'clear legislative pronouncement'. The Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan
Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan
The 25th Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan was in power from 2003 until November 20, 2007. It was controlled by the Saskatchewan New Democratic Party under premier Lorne Calvert.-Members:-By-elections:...
subsequently repealed official bilingualism.
External links
- text of decision (in English).
- text of decision (in French)