About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

64 Can. B. Rev. 469 (1986)
What Are Reasonable Limits to Equality Rights

handle is hein.journals/canbarev64 and id is 475 raw text is: WHAT ARE REASONABLE LIMITS TO EQUALITY RIGHTS? Alan Brudner* Toronto The fundamental problem in interpreting the scope of equality rights under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms is to determine whether section 15(1) confers a general right of likes to be treated alike (the principle offormal equality), a right limited only to the extent necessary to achieve overriding political goals; or whether section 15(1) and section 1 combine to protect the rights of persons to equal respect (the principle of juridical equality). The latter view is preferable for the following reasons. First, the principle offormal equality is a norm not for discrete laws but only for a system of laws and yet it is only discrete laws that are at issue in constitutional adjudication. Second, there is in principle no right to formal equality, since this norm can countenance the universal denial of substan- tive rights of respect and is redundant as a justification for their general recogni- tion. Third, the right of persons to equal respect is at once a natural law criterion of legal validity and a condition of democratic self-rule. Hence the limitation of equality rights to rights of equal respect reconciles (as the alterna- tive view cannot) substantive judicial review with democracy. This interpretation of the scope of equality rights supports the application of rationality analysis as the single appropriate standard of equality review under section 1. Le probleme fondamental que pose l'interpritation de la portee des droits d l'igalite en vertu de la Charte des droits et libertis est de decider si l'article 15(1) donne le droit aux personnes semblables d'etre traities de favon sembla- ble, ce qui est le principe dYgalitW deforme, principe qui n'est limiti que par la necessite d'atteindre des buts politiques d'importance primordiale, ou si les articles 15(1) et I se completent l'un l'autre et assurent ainsi d tous le droit au mime respect, ce qui est le principe d'Jgalitj juridique. C'est la dernire de ces interpretations qui est prifirable et ce pour plusieurs raisons. En premier lieu, le principe d'jgalit6 de forme est une norme qui ne s'applique pas aux lois separiment mais d tout un syst~me de droit alors que lesjugements constitutionnels ne concernent que des lois prises separement. En second lieu, le droit d l'egalite deforme n'existe pas puisque cette norme peutpermettre l'interdiction universelle des droits reels au respect et elle est superflue si elle n'est que la justification du fait qu'ils sont reconnus de tous. En troisieme lieu, le droit des personnes au meme respect est en meme temps un critere, en droit naturel, de sa validite en droit et une condition de l'independance democratique. Limiter les droits d l' galite au droit de tous au meme respect reconcilie donc la d~mocratie et la * Alan Brudner, of the Faculty of Law, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario. This article was funded by a grant from the Connaught Program in Legal Theory and Public Policy. I am indebted to Gregory Kiez for his assistance in researching this article. I have also benefitted from discussions with Bruce Chapman, Stanley Schiff, Michael Trebilcock, Ernest Weinrib, Lorraine Weinrib, and the members of the Canadian section of the International Association for Philosophy of Law and Social Philosophy.

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most