Section 9 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms |
---|
Part of the Constitution Act, 1982 |
Preamble |
Guarantee of Rights and Freedoms |
1 |
Fundamental Freedoms |
2 |
Democratic Rights |
3, 4, 5 |
Mobility Rights |
6 |
Legal Rights |
7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 |
Equality Rights |
15 |
Official Languages of Canada |
16, 16.1, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22 |
Minority Language Education Rights |
23 |
Enforcement |
24 |
General |
25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31 |
Application |
32, 33 |
Citation |
34 |
Section 9 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, found under the "Legal rights" heading in the Charter, guarantees the right against arbitrary detainment and imprisonment. Section nine states:
9. Everyone has the right not to be arbitrarily detained or imprisoned.
Interpretation
Detainment within the meaning of both section nine and
The Supreme Court of Canada has stated that "detention" refers to a suspension of an individual's liberty interest by a significant physical or psychological restraint. Psychological detention is established either where the individual has a legal obligation to comply with the restrictive request or demand, or a reasonable person would conclude by reason of the state conduct that he or she had no choice but to comply.
In cases where there is no physical restraint or legal obligation, it may not be clear whether a person has been detained. To determine whether the reasonable person in the individual’s circumstances would conclude that he or she had been deprived by the state of the liberty of choice, the court may consider, inter alia, the following factors:[3]
- The circumstances giving rise to the encounter as would reasonably be perceived by the individual: whether the police were providing general assistance; maintaining general order; making general inquiries regarding a particular occurrence; or, singling out the individual for focused investigation.
- The nature of the police conduct, including the language used; the use of physical contact; the place where the interaction occurred; the presence of others; and the duration of the encounter.
- The particular characteristics or circumstances of the individual where relevant, including age; physical stature; minority status; level of sophistication.
Where section nine has been invoked the Crown must show that the police were acting under a lawful duty arising from either the
Traffic stops
In
Investigative detention
In
Security certificates
In
Notes
- R. v. Mann(2004)
- ^ para. 13 in R. v. Hufsky (1988)
- R. v. Grant, para. 44
- ^ R. v. Simpson, 1993 CanLII 3379, 12 O.R. (3d) 182, [1993] O.J. No. 308, Court of Appeal (Ontario, Canada)
External links
- Section 9 Charter Digest at canlii.org
- Fundamental Freedoms: The Charter of Rights and Freedoms – Charter of Rights website with video, audio and the Charter in over 20 languages