Canada, Minister of Justice, A Canadian Charter of Human Rights, by Pierre Elliott Trudeau (1968)
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Date: 1968
By: Pierre Elliott Trudeau (Minister of Justice)
Citation: Canada, Minister of Justice, A Canadian Charter of Human Rights, by Pierre Elliott Trudeau (Ottawa: Queen’s Printer, 1968).
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HONOURABLE PIERRE ELLIOTT TRUDEAU
MINISTER OF JUSTICE
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE
Introduction 7
Chapter
I The Rights of the Individual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
II A Constitutional Bill of Rights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
III The Contents of a Canadian Charter of Human Rights . . . . 15
IV The Form of the Charter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Appendices
I The British North America Acts, 1867 to 1965 31
II The Canadian Bill of Rights, 1960 .. . .. . . .. . . . . . . .. . . .. . 83
III The Universal Declaration of Human Rights . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
IV The International Convention on the Elimination of all
Forms of Racial Discrimination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
V The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
VI The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 117
VII The European Convention on Human Rights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
VIII Amendments to the United States Constitution . . . . . . . . . . 163
IX Annotated list of principal Canadian legislation (both federal
and provincial) protecting human rights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
INTRODUCTION
As Canada enters its second century of Confederation, Canadians
could take no more meaningful step than to entrench firmly in
our constitution those fundamental rights and liberties which we
possess and cherish. A Canadian Charter of Human Rights would
reflect and protect the high degree of freedom enjoyed by Canadians,
and the unique bi-lingual character of the country. 1968 is a particularly
appropriate year for us to act in this fashion for it has been
named Human Rights Year by the United Nations General Assembly.
A constitutional Charter of Human Rights will form a first. stage
in the continuing process of redefinition of the Canadian constitution;
it will provide the focus and set the pattern for the expectations
of Canadians to be formulated into reality. It is a worthwhile
task that we can all undertake with vigour and dedication.
I recommend to all Canadians the acceptance of a Canadian
Charter of Human Rights.
L B Pearson
Prime Minister
Ottawa
January, 1968
CHAPTER I
The Rights of the Individual
Interest in human rights is as old as civilization itself. Once his
primary requirements of security, shelter and nourishment have been
satisfied, man has distinguished himself from other animals by
directing his attention to those matters which affect his individual
dignity.
In ancient times, and for centuries thereafter, these rights were
known as “natural” rights; rights to which all men were entitled
because they are endowed with a moral and rational nature. The
denial of such rights was regarded as an affront to “natural” law those
elementary principles of justice which apply to all human
beings by virtue of their common possession of the capacity to
reason. These natural rights were the origins of the western world’s
more modern concepts of individual freedom and equality.
Cicero said of natural law that it was “unchanging and everlasting”,
that it was “one eternal and unchangeable law … valid for
all nations and for all times.”
In the Middle Ages, St. Thomas Aquinas emphasized that
natural law was a law superior to man-made laws and that as a
result all rulers were themselves subject to it.
The Reformation brought sharply to the fore the need for
protection of freedom of religious belief.
As the concept of the social contract theory of government
developed in the 18th century, still greater emphasis came to be
given to the rights of the individual. Should a government fail to
respect natural rights, wrote Locke and Rousseau, then disobedience
and rebellion were justified. Thus was borne the modern notion
of human rights. So responsive were men to this notion that the
greatest social revolutions in the history of the western world took
place—one in America and the other in France-in order to preserve
for individuals the rights which they claimed belonged to them.
This deep-seated desire for recognition of human dignity is reflected
in the memorable words of the American Declaration of
Independence:
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created
equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable
rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of
happiness. That to secure these rights Governments are instituted
among men deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed;
that whenever any form of Government becomes destructive
of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it and
institute new Government …. ”
The Bill of Rights in the United States, enacted as an amendment
to the Constitution, serves to safeguard the individual from governmental
intolerance of the “unalienable rights”.
In France, the 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the
Citizen sought to achieve similar results. “Men are born and remain
free and equal in respect of rights” it said. ”The purpose of all civil
associations is the preservation of the natural and imprescriptable
rights of man. These rights are liberty, property and resistance to
oppression.”
In both the United States and France, there was embodied the
idea that men shall not be deprived of liberty or property except in
accordance with the law. This is a manifestation of the belief that
men should be ruled by laws, not men; that a government has no
more power than the people have agreed to delegate to it.
Monarchies, as well as republics, are influenced by these principles;
the authority of kings, as well as of presidents, is limited.
Many of the Commonwealth countries which inherited a tradition
of parliamentary sovereignty have introduced constitutional restrictions,
denying to the parliament as well as to the monarch the power
to interfere with certain of the subjects’ liberties. Constitutional
checks on the exercise of governmental authority are a natural
development in a democratic society.
The events of the Second World War were disturbing proof of
the need to safeguard the rights of individuals. It is not by accident
that an overwhelming number of newly independent states have
included within their constitutions comprehensive bills of rights.
Since 1945 considerable discussion has taken place in Canada as well
concerning similar constitutional measures. The topic has been considered
by the Canadian Bar Association, by parliamentary committees,
and by numerous commentators. While no constitutional
step has been taken, some legislative enactments designed to protect
human rights have been passed into law. Parliament in 1960 enacted
the Canadian Bill of Rights-a step of considerable significance and
one which prepares the way for a constitutional enactment. Several
provinces have introduced human rights legislation, and a committee
engaged in revision of the Quebec Civil Code has recently proposed
that a declaration of civil rights be included in the revised code.
These measures are all evidence of the interest of the Canadian
people in some form of safeguard of individual liberty. To date, however,
there does not exist in Canada any form of guarantee (beyond
those few contained in the British North America Act) which a
provincial legislature or Parliament, as the case may be, cannot
repeal as freely as any other statute it has enacted. In this sense, no
Canadian has the benefit of a constitutional protection as exists in
dozens of other countries.
An entrenched bill of rights would offer this constitutional protection,
although at the price of some restriction on the theory of
legislative supremacy. It is suggested that this is not too high a price
to pay. In fact the theory of legislative supremacy is seldom pressed
to its full extent. Indeed even in England, the birth-place of parliamentary
government, fundamental liberties have been protected not
only through the common law but also by means of such historic
documents as Magna Carta (1215), the Petition of Right (1628),
and the Bill of Rights (1689). The purpose of an entrenched bill of
rights is simple and straight-forward. It has been described as serving
“to withdraw certain subjects from the vicissitudes of political controversy, to place them beyond the reach of majorities and officials
and to establish them as legal principles to be applied by the courts.
One’s right to life, liberty, and property, to free speech and a free
press, freedom of worship and assembly, and other fundamental
rights may not be submitted to vote; they depend on the outcome of
no elections.”
A constitutional bill of rights in Canada would guarantee the
fundamental freedoms of the individual from interference, whether
federal or provincial. It would as well establish that all Canadians, in
every part of Canada, have equal rights. This would constitute a
major first step towards basic constitutional reform.
Canada could not choose a more appropriate year than this one
for the consideration of a constitutional bill of rights for Canadians.
1968 has been declared International Human Rights Year by the
General Assembly of the United Nations. The General Assembly
has done so as an acknowledgement that the centuries-old interest in
human rights is now, in the mid-twentieth century, of universal
scope. The preamble of the United Nations Charter declares that the
peoples of the United Nations are determined “to reaffirm faith in
fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human
person, in the ,equal rights of men and women”. As a reflection of
this determination, the United Nations in 1948 adopted the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights. Since that date some 15 separate
conventions or treaties have been sponsored by the U.N. dealing
with particular rights of a more specialized character. Only last year,
however, were those rights which are generally regarded as “fundamental”
formulated into two Covenants, (The International Covenant
on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; The International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights) open for signature and
ratification by all states.
It is the hopeful expectation of the General Assembly that in
1968 an aroused awareness by all peoples will result in government
action everywhere. Canada has the opportunity to take a lead in
this respect.
CHAPTER II
A Constitutional Bill of Rights
Canada’s main constitutional documents-the British North
America Act, 1867 and its amendments-contain few guarantees of
specific liberties. The courts have from time to time been invited
t;o find in the B.N.A. Act some implied guarantee that fundamental
rights are constitutionally protected from either federal or provincial
encroachment, but such an interpretation has never since been the
basis of a majority judgment in the higher courts. At this time in
their history, Canadians are not afforded any guarantees of fundamental
rights which (a) limit governmental power and (b) possess a
brge measure of permanence because of the requirement that it be
amended not by ordinary legislative process but only by the more
rigorous means of constitutional amendment.
The 1960 Canadian Bill of Rights has served to inhibit Parliament
from amending the terms of that Bill and from violating its
principles, but this is not a constitutional limitation on Parliament,
only an influence. Additionally, that Bill has in practice had a limited
application because the Courts have held that it does not expressly
over-ride any provisions inconsistent with it which may be contained
in earlier federal statutes. While conceivably the 1960 Bill could have
been interpreted so as to alter previously enacted statutes, the courts
have not done this. There have been some conflicting opinions in
various lower courts, but there has on the whole been a strong
judicial tendency to assume that Parliament did not intend by the
Bill of Rights to alter specific, pre-existing, inconsistent statutory
provisions. The Courts have said instead that Parliament would have
made an express amendment had it intended to alter its own previously
enacted laws. A Supreme Court Judge did on one occasion
deal with this point, and held that the Bill of Rights would prevail
over conflicting statutory provisions even if those had been enacted
prior in time to the Canadian Bill of Rights, but his judgment dissented
from the majority view to the contrary. In the result, the
position remains unsatisfactory.
Nor can any other human rights legislation (federal or provincial)
be considered truly “constitutional”: all of it is subject to
amendment or repeal by the enacting legislature; none of it attempts
to affect the validity or effect of other conflicting laws. Such legislation,
in addition, is generally directed against the invasion of human
rights by individuals, not by governments or legislatures (though in
some cases it does bind the Crown).
To overcome these shortcomings while preserving the essential
purpose of the present Bill, a constitutionally entrenched Bill of
Rights is required which will declare invalid any existing or future
statute in conflict with it. Language in this form would possess a
degree of permanence and would over-ride even unambiguous legislation
purporting to violate the protected rights.
In addition to these considerations of permanency, there is an
even more pressing reason why a bill of rights, in order to be effective,
must assume a constitutional-rather than a merely legislativeform.
This arises out of the Canadian constitutional division of legislative
competence as between Parliament and the provincial legislatures.
In Canada, authority to legislate with respect to some of the
rights regarded as fundamental lies with the provinces, authority to
legislate with respect to others of these rights lies with Parliament,
and authority with respect to the balance is shared by the two. Only
by a single constitutional enactment will the fundamental rights of
all Canadians be guaranteed equal protection. A bill of rights so
enacted would identify clearly the various rights to be protected,
and remove them henceforth from governmental interference. Such
an amendment, unlike most proposed constitutional amendments,
would not involve a transfer of legislative power from one government
to another. Instead, it would involve· a common agreement to
restrict the power of governments. The basic human values of all
Canadians-political, legal, egalitarian, linguistic-would in this way
be guaranteed throughout Canada in a way that the 1960 Canadian
Bill of Rights, or any number of provincial bills of rights, is incapable
of providing.
CHAPTER III
The Contents of a Canadian Charter of Human Rights
There are many different systems of classification used by writers
to group and describe the various human rights. There is perhaps no
classification system which is completely free of difficulties. The system
employed here is but one of many and is used for the sake of
nonvenience only.
Existing human rights measures in Canada are limited in scope.
The Canadian Bill of Rights emphasizes political freedoms (speech,
assembly, religion) and legal rights (freedom from arbitrary deprivation of life, liberty or property, and equality before the law). Other
federal legislation and most provincial legislation is confined to prohibitions
against discrimination in employment, admission to trade
against membership, or the provision of accommodation. Some do go
further. The Saskatchewan Bill of Rights, for example, embraces
political and legal rights as well as a wider range of egalitarian rights,
and the old Freedom of Worship Act (enacted during the pre-Confmleration
Union and still in effect in Ontario and Quebec) gives some
guarantee of freedom of religion.
It is now suggested that there be included in a constitutional bill
those rights which have been legislatively protected in Canada, and to
add to them those linguistic rights which are recommended by the
Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism in the first
volume of the Commission’s report.
Rights which may be included in a bill of the sort under consideration
here fall into five broad categories: political, legal, egalitarian,
linguistic, and economic. They are discussed in that order
below.
1. POLITICAL RIGHTS
This term is used in a broad sense to cover matters of belief, their
expression and advocacy. The several political rights (here called
“freedoms”) are enumerated; following each there is a short discussion
of the major legal considerations which attach thereto.
(a) Freedom of expression
These freedoms are presently protected legislatively in Section 1
of the Canadian Bill of Rights and in section 4 of the Saskatchewan
Bill of Rights. The cases which have been decided to date indicate
that these freedoms are largely subject to control by Parliament in
the exercise of its criminal law power. There are, however, aspects of
freedom of expression which may be subject to provincial limitation,
as for example through the law of defamation, or through laws regulating
advertising in provincial and municipal elections. For this
reason adequate protection can only be offered in the form of a constitutional
bill.
The means of definition of this freedom are of equal importance
to its declaration. The question arises whether freedom of expression
is best guaranteed in simple terms without qualification, or whether
the limitations of this freedom ought to be specified. Opponents of an
unconditional declaration fear that such wording might restrict the
application of Criminal Code prohibitions against obscene or seditious
publications, or provincial laws pertaining to defamation or film
censorship. This is unlikely, however, for free speech as it developed
in England was never equated with complete license. It has long been
recognized, even before the Americans expressly guaranteed this right
in their constitution, that free speech was subject to limitations for
the protection of public order and morals. The United States courts
have given the guarantees of the First Amendment very wide scope,
but have upheld laws which prohibit speech inciting to unlawful acts,
and laws which punish the publication of matter which is purely
obscene with no significant redeeming social value. Defamation laws
have also been allowed to operate.
In Canada, existing federal laws against sedition and obscenity
have been construed so narrowly that it is unlikely they would be
held to conflict with a guarantee of free speech. The obscenity pro-
visions of the Criminal Code have been applied since the enactment
of the Canadian Bill of Rights without any conflict being recognized.
It is also unlikely that existing provincial laws against defamation
would be upset by a free speech guarantee. As long as such legislation
is confined to protecting long-recognized private rights of reputation
there would be no conflict with the concept of “free speech”.
Nor is it anticipated that infringements of provincial laws relating to
the regulation of advertising, so long as these are clearly related to
some legitimate business regulation, would result. (A provincial protection
of a right to privacy, now contemplated in some provinces,
should also be possible.)
The alternative to a broad, unqualified description of “freedom
of speech” is an enumeration of specific exceptions. An example of
this more detailed type of language is found in Article 10 of the European
Convention on Human Rights:
Article 10
(1) Everyone has the right to freedom of expression. This right shall
include freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information
and ideas without interference by public authority
and regardless of frontiers. This Article shall not prevent States
from requiring the licensing of broadcasting, television or cinema
enterprises.
(2) The exercise of these freedoms, since it carries with it duties
and responsibilities, may be subject to such formalities, conditions,
restrictions or penalties as are prescribed by law and are
necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national
security, territorial integrity or public safety, for the prevention
of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals, for
the protection of the reputation of rights of others, for preventing
the disclosure of information received in confidence, or
for maintaining the authority and impartiality of the judiciary.
A similar, detailed, approach has been taken in several constitutions
patterned after the European Convention. By specifying the grounds
for permissible limitations upon the right, possible uncertainties
have been removed. The disadvantage of this technique, however, is
its lack of flexibility and the difficulty of adapting the language to
changed circumstances. For this reason the simple form of description
is recommended.
(b) Freedom of conscience and religion
There is some legislative protection now. The Canadian Bill of
Rights, section 1, recites “freedom of religion”. The Saskatchewan
Bill of Rights, section 3, declares the right to “freedom of conscience,
opinion, and belief, and freedom of religious association, teaching,
practice and worship”. The Freedom of Worship Act (applicable in
Ontario and Quebec) declares the right to “the free exercise and
enjoyment of religious profession and worship”. It is arguable, ·however,
that a guarantee of “freedom o~ religion” does not protect the
freedom of the person who chooses to have no religion. To protect
such persons, consideration could be given to widening the guarantee
to protect, for example, “freedom of conscience”.
Freedom with respect to the individual’s internal belief or conscience
might well be considered absolute and not qualified in any
way. It is the external manifestation of the exercise or furtherance
of beliefs which may give rise to problems and the need for limita-
tions in the interest of public safety and order.
In these areas, for example, no one would dispute that federal
laws should be able to prevent acts in the exercise of religious beliefs
which would constitute obscenity, sedition, bigamy, or homicide. It
is more debatable, however, what further powers Parliament should
possess to permit it to restrict other religiously-motivated acts. An
example is the imposition of Sunday closing of businesses on Christians
and non-Christians alike.· The Supreme Court of Canada has
said that The Lord’s Day Act is not a denial of freedom of religion
but this is not to say that such limitations are consistent with freedom
of “conscience”.
The extent of provincial jurisdiction over matters of religion is
far from clear, but it is evident from Sec. 93 of the B.N.A. Act that
the provincial legislatures have some competence and responsipility
in respect of the religious aspects of education.
Thus, constitutional action is required in order to protect all
Canadians from legislative interference with their religous beliefs.
(c) Freedom of assembly and association
These freedoms are now legislatively protected by section 1 of
the Canadian Bill of Rights and by section 5 of the Saskatchewan
Bill of Rights. They are closely related to freedom of expression and
many of the comments made with respect to legislative jurisdiction
over freedom of expression are equally applicable here. As with .
freedom of expression, they are not usually considered to be absolute
but rather are subject to limitations in the interest of public order.
Present federal limitations of this nature are mainly found in the
Criminal Code relating to unlawful assembly, riot, conspiracy, watching
and besetting, and disturbing the peace. Provincial limitations
exist in laws dealing with the incorporation or regulation of commereiaJ,
educational, charitable and other organizations otherwise within
provincial control, in the use of roads and parks for public assemblies,
and the like. All these limitations appear to be consistent with
freedom of assembly and association so long as they are clearly
related to the preservation of public safety and order.
2. LEGAL RIGHTS
These rights go to the very root of the concept of the liberty of
the individual, so highly prized in Canada. They are dealt with now,
to a certain extent, in sections 1 and 2 of the Canadian Bill of Rights
and in section 6 of The Saskatchewan Bill of Rights. They are recognized as well by other statutory provisions and by rules of statutory
interpretation developed by the courts. There is not, however, any
constitutional protection of the rights.
These rights and their protection fall within both federal and
provincial jurisdiction, depending on the context. Both federal and
provincial legislation can deal with deprivations of liberty and property,
and with judicial and administrative procedures affecting the
citizen’s interests,, Any constitutional guarantee of security of life,
liberty and property, or of fair legal procedures, will affect equally the
federal and provincial governments.
The Canadian Bill of Rights lists most of the legal rights which
need protection; with modification its provisions could form the basis
for similar guarantees in a constitutional bill. Using it as a frame of
reference, it is suggested that the rights enumerated below should be
guaranteed:
(a) General security of life, liberty and property
The Canadian Bill of Rights declares
The right of the individual to life, liberty, security of the person and
enjoyment of property, and the right not to be deprived thereof
except by due process of law.
The phrases “due process of law” and “according to law” or
“according to the law of the land” have their origin in Magna Carta.
They have been employed in one form or another in England, the
United States and many other countries. The words “due process of
law” have been given a double interpretation in the United States.
The first of these is as a guarantee of procedural fairness. In this
respect, similar words used in the Canadian Bill of Rights are inUmded
to guarantee the specific requirements of fair procedure. The
words “due process” have, in addition, been given a substantive interpretation
in the United States’ courts with the result that the
words have been employed as a standard by which the propriety of all
legislation is judged. At one time the words used in this latter sense
resulted in the judicial invalidation of minimum wage legislation,
laws against child labour, and hours-of-work statutes. They were also
used as a basis for courts to review public utility rates set by legislatures
or regulatory agencies in order to ensure that the rates were, in
the view of. the courts, adequately compensatory. While more recently
the substantive effect given to “due process” has diminished considerably
in the United States, the demonstrated potential of this
phrase could create some uncertainty in Canada unless its meaning
was clearly recited.
In examining American experience with “due process”, it appears
that the guarantee as applied to protection of “life” and personal
“liberty” has been generally satisfactory, whereas substantive due
process as applied to “liberty” of contract and to “property” has
created the most controversy. It might therefore be possible to apply
the due process guarantee only to “life”, personal “liberty” and
“security of the person”. The specific guarantees of procedural fairness
set out elsewhere in the bill would continue to apply to any
interference with contracts or property. In this fashion the possibility
of any substantive “due process” problems would be avoided.
In the alternative, if “due process” is to remain applicable to
“liberty” of contract and to “property”, there should be spelled out
in some detail what is involved. The European Convention and some
modern constitutions use this technique with respect to each of the
guarantees of life, liberty and property.
(b) Equal protection of the law
The Canadian Bill of Rights, section 1(b) declares “the right of
the individual to equality before the law and the protection of the
law”.
It might be argued that this wording serves to overlap other
provisions: “protection of the law” is already assured, for example,
by the “due process” clause; “equality” would likely also be protected
by a general prohibition against discrimination (such as
appears in the Canadian Bill of Rights, and as is proposed for the
constitutional bill of rights). There may, however, be rights implied
in a general guarantee of equality before the law which are not
otherwise specified. Because the basic concept is sound, it is desirable
to retain some such guarantee.
The phrase “equality before the law” has at least once been
construed narrowly in Canada. It was there taken to mean that if
one person is treated the same as all others of his race, this is
“equality” even if his race is treated differently from other races.
The comparable provision in the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S.
Constitution guarantees “the equal protection of the laws”. This
has generally been construed in the American courts to prohibit
legislative distinctions as between various classes. of persons except
those rationally related to some legitimate legislative object. If this
is the result which is desired, there would likely be some advantage
in using the American wording.
(c) Cruel punishment, etc.
Section 2(b) of the Canadian Bill of Rights now provides that
no law of Canada is to be deemed to “impose or authorize the imposition
of cruel and unusual treatment or punishment”. This provision
is similar to one in the English Bill of Rights of 1689. A guarantee
against such treatment or punishment is also found in the Eighth
Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, where it has caused few difficulties.
While a court would likely be extremely reluctant to substitute
its opinion of a proper punishment for that of the legislature,
the power to do so could prove useful in extreme cases.
(d) Rights of an arrested person
Section 2(c) of the Canadian Bill of Rights states that no law
of Canada shall be deemed to
deprive a person who has been arrested or detained
(i) of the right to be informed promptly of the reason for his arrest
or detention,
(ii) of the right to retain and instruct counsel without delay, or
(iii) of the remedy by way of habeas corpus for the determination
of the validity of his detention and for his release if the detention
is not lawful. ..
It is recommended that the same rights be protected in a constitutional
bill.
The scope of Clause (ii) has not yet been determined by the
eourts, but this jurisprudence will develop in due course. One aspect
might better be dealt with more specifically, however, than was done
in the 1960 Canadian Bill of Rights. This involves the effect of the
denial to an accused of the opportunity to retain counsel. Judicial
decisions to date under the Canadian Bill of Rights have held that,
in instances where counsel is denied, such denial does not affect the
admissibility of evidence obtained from an accused interrogated or
examined without benefit of counsel. It might be preferable, and
more in keeping with the spirit of the bill, to provide that evidence
so obtained is inadmissible and that the resulting convictions are
invalid if they cannot stand in the absence of the inadmissible
evidence.
(e) Right of a witness to counsel
Section 2(d) of the Canadian Bill of Rights provides that no
law of Canada is to be deemed to
authorize a court, tribunal, commission, board or other authority to
compel a person to give evidence if he is denied counsel, protection
against self-crimination or other constitutional safeguards …
and this right should appear in a constitutional bill.
(f) Fair hearing
Section 2(e) of the Canadian Bill of Rights provides that no law
of Canada shall be deemed to
deprive a person of the right to a fair hearing in accordance with
the principles of fundamental justice for the determination of his
rights and obligations …
This is a fundamental requirement which is already generally recognized
in the public law of Canada. In a new constitutional bill of
rights it might well be placed in association with the fundamental
rights to life, liberty and property.
This kind of guarantee is fundamental to the impartial administration
of justice. The general requirements of a “fair hearing” are
well known. There are some uncertainties, however, as to where a
“fair hearing” is required. The language of the Canadian Bill of
Rights indicates that it is required when a person’s “rights and
obligations” are being determined. These words appear also in the
European Convention on Human Rights and some other constitutions
drawing upon it. If construed narrowly, such words would apply
only to situations involving a dispute between two parties over preexisting
rights. Wider language may be needed if it is the intention
that “fair hearing” requirements be extended to such activities as
the granting or withdrawal of licences by government agencies, the
certification or decertification of unions, or the conduct of a hearing
in an investigation under the Income Tax Act or under a provincial
Securities Act.
(g) Presumption of innocence
Section 2(f) of the Canadian Bill of Rights states that no law
or Canada is to be deemed to
deprive a person charged with a criminal offence of the right to be
presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a fair and
public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, or of the
right to reasonable bail without just cause …
The reference to “according to law”, “fair hearing”, and “independent
and impartial tribunal” reiterate rights guaranteed elsewhere.
The requirement of a “public” hearing need not create difficulties.
The courts have not construed the Canadian Bill of Rights as preventing
the closed court sittings now authorized by the Criminal
Code in cases involving, for example, the protection of young accused
persons or the security of the state. If desired, however, specific
exceptions could be made along the lines of those contained in the
European Convention, and in the constitutions patterned on it.
The presumption of innocence is a fundamental ingredient of·
Canadian criminal justice, and must be guaranteed. This is not to say
that the various federal and provincial penal statutes which contain
“reverse onus” clauses (clauses which take the existence of certain
facts to be proof of other facts unless the accused can produce evidence
to the contrary) will be declared unconstitutional. So far the
eourts have distinguished this kind of factual presumption from a
presumption of guilt, and have allowed such federal statutory provisions
to apply in spite of the Canadian Bill of Rights.
A constitutional bill of rights will assure that these provisions
regarding presumption of innocence, and fair and public hearings
will apply equally to prosecutions under provincial legislation as to
prosecutions under federal law. Such protection is not afforded by
the 1960 Canadian Bill of Rights.
(h) The right to an interpreter
Section 2(g) of the Canadian Bill of Rights states that no law of
Canada is to be deemed to
deprive a person of the right to the assistance of an interpreter in
any proceedings in which he is involved or in which he is a party or a
witness, before a court, commission, board or other tribunal, if he
does not understand or speak the language in which such proceedings
are conducted.
This is an important right, and should be retained.
(i) Other legal rights for possible inclusion
There are other legal rights which might be included in a constitutional
bill of rights which were not included in the 1960 Canadian
Bill. Following are some examples.
(i) Guarantee against ex post facto laws creating crimes retroactively.
Article I, section 9 of the U.S. Constitution gives
such a guarantee, as does Article 7 of the European Convention.
(ii) Guarantee against unreasonable searches and seizures. The
Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution provides such
a guarantee. Article 8 of the European Convention and some
constitutions based on it appear to emphasize protection of
the private home against interference. At the present time in
Canada, evidence obtained not only by means of an unreasonable
search but by actual illegal means (as, for example,
by theft) is genera.lly completely admissible in the
Courts. It is suggested that this double standard of conduct
should no longer be tolerated on the part of law enforcement
agencies. Illegally obtained evidence should be as inadmissible
as an illegally obtained confession.
(iii) Guarantee of the right of a citizen not to be exiled. This
may be provided for in section 2(a) of the Canadian Bill of
Rights where it refers to “exile”, but that clause only prohibits
“arbitrary” exile. It is suggested that any exile,
whether arbitrary or not, should be prohibited. Apart from
the inhumanity of exile there is serious doubt that, in international
law, any country is entitled to banish its own citizens.
(“Exile”, as used here, is to be distinguished from
“deportation”, which applies only .to aliens. If desired, the
definition of exile could be extended to include deprivation
of citizenship. If this is done, however, the qualification of
“arbitrary” should be retained.)
3. EGALITARIAN RIGHTS
This term as used here refers to guarantees against governmental
action which would tend to distinguish certain persons or groups of
persons for different treatment on the basis of their race, national
origin, or other factors unrelated to the purpose for which the distinction
is made.
Existing legislation shows a widespread concern about racial and
similar discrimination. The Canadian Bill of Rights declares that the
rights listed in Section 1 (due process; equality before the law; freedom
of religion, speech, assembly, and the press) exist without discrimination
by “race, national origin, colour, religion or sex”. Federal
legislation and legislation in eight provinces and both territories prohibit
discrimination in employment. Seven provinces and the two
territories also prohibit discrimination in public accommodation. The
greater number of these statutory provisions, however, are designed
to affect only private conduct. A constitutional bill of rights would
serve to limit discriminatory activities on the part of governments
as well.
The prohibited criteria of discrimination, as well as the areas of
activity where discrimination is forbidden, should be considered in
any anti-discrimination elauses:
(a) Prohibited criteria of discrimination
It is suggested that the bill should provide that the criteria listed
in section 1 of the Canadian Bill of Rights-race, national origin,
colour, religion, sex-should be retained as prohibited criteria for
discrimination. Additional prohibited criteria might be considered,
as for example, ethnic origin.
(b) Areas of activity where discrimination might be forbidden
(i) voting or the holding of public office;
(ii) employment-here it is suggested that there be added a
qualification to the effect that distinctions based on a bona
fide occupational qualification are not prohibited. In this
way, possible difficulties concerning, for example, provincial
legislation authorizing the hiring of teachers for denominational
schools on the basis of their religious belief will be
avoided;
(iii) admission to professions where admission is controlled by
professional bodies acting under legislative authority;
(iv) education-special provisions will be required here to avoid
inconsistencies with the guarantees of separate or denominational
schools contained in section 93 of the B.N.A. Act and
corresponding sections in other constitutional statutes relating
to other provinces, for in some cases these school
guarantees authorize religious distinctions in student admission
policies. An exception to cover situations where a
system of separate or denominational schools exists will
suffice if there is added to it a provision for educational institutions
run exclusively by religious bodies;
(v) use of public accommodation, facilities and services;
(vi) contracting with public agencies;
(vii) acquiring of property and interests in property.
Admittedly, these anti-discrimination provisions might be considered
to be embodied in the “equality before the law” clause. But
just as it has been found desirable to detail certain aspects of “due
process”, it may also be useful to detail certain aspects of “equality”.
4. LINGUISTIC RIGHTS
Section 133 of the British North America Act, 1867 provides as
follows:
Either the English or the French Language may be used by any
Person in the Debates of the Houses of the Parliament of Canada
and of the Houses of the Legislature of Quebec; and both those
Languages shall be used in the respective Records and Journals of
those Houses; and either of those Languages may be used by any
Person or in any Pleading or Process in or issuing from any Court
of Canada established under this Act, and in or from all or any of
the Courts of Quebec. ‘
The Acts of the Parliament of Canada and of the Legislature of
Quebec shall be printed and published in both those Languages.
Thus there already exists a constitutional guarantee of. the use of
both languages in governmental processes, but this extends only to
the legislature and courts of Quebec and to the Parliament and courts
of Canada. In matters of education, it has been held that the guarantees
of separate or denominational schools do not include any
guarantee of the right to use either language as a medium of instruction.
It is submitted that these language guarantees be extended to
other institutions of government and to education as has been recommended
by the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism.
These guarantees would prove effective, it is suggested, if
incorporated into a constitutional bill of rights.
If expressed widely, the proposed rights would obviously give
rise at the present time to serious practical problems of implementation.
The problems are to a large degree overcome, however, through
the employment of a formula based upon population proportions on
a unit basis as recommended by the Royal Commission, and here
endorsed.
The rights fall into two categories:
(a) Communication with governmental institutions—guaranteeing
the right of the individual to deal with agencies of government
in either official language. It would be necessary to decide whether
this should apply to all agencies-legislative, executive, and judicial
—and to all governments—federal, provincial and municipal.
(b) Education—guaranteeing the right of the individual to
education in institutions using as a medium of instruction the official
language of his choice.
5. ECONOMIC RIGHTS
The kind of rights referred to here are those which seek to ensure
some advantage to the individual and which require positive action
by the state. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, for example,
included such rights as the right to work, the right to protection
against unemployment, the right to form and join trade unions,
Lhe right to sociahecurity, the right to rest and leisure, the right to
an adequate standard of living, the right to education, and the right
to participate in the cultural life of the community. The United
Nations Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights adopted
by the General Assembly in 1966 included and elaborated upon these
rights.
The guarantee of such economic rights is desirable and should
be an ultimate objective for Canada. There are, however, good
reasons for putting aside this issue at this stage and proceeding with
the protection of political, legal, egalitarian and linguistic rights. It
might take considerable time to reach agreement on the rights to be
guaranteed and on the feasibility of implementation. The United
Nations recognized these problems when it prepared two separate
Covenants on Human Rights-one on Civil and Political Rights and
one on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, thus giving nations
an opportunity to accede to them one at a time.
It is therefore suggested that it is advisable not to attempt to
include economic rights in the constitutional bill of rights at this
time.
CHAPTER IV
The Form of the Charter
The rights to be protected in the proposed constitutional bill
fall broadly into one of two types:
(i) rights which are expressed in terms of restrictions on the
power of Parliament and the legislatures, and which require
no enabling or implementing legislation in order to become
effective (the rights described as ‘political’ and ‘legal’ fit
into this category), and
(ii) rights which in order to be fully effective must rely on the
support of enabling or implementing legislation because
they either anticipate sanctions for their enforcement or
require positive government assistance, (the rights described
as ‘egalitarian’ and ‘linguistic’ fit into this category).
In order not to be inconsistent with the present constitutional
division of powers, an entrenched bill of rights must recognize that
any required legislation falls within the competence of Parliament in
some respects and within the competence of the provincial legislatures
in others. And in order to be effective, the proposed bill must
anticipate the varying rates of speed at which the various legislatures
may feel able to introduce this legislation.
For these reasons it is suggested that the proposed constitutional
bill of rights should assume a form which recognizes these variations,
and accommodates them. The first portion of the bill could list the
several political and legal rights. Two further parts could follow.
One would be concerned with egalitarian rights, the protection of
which will require in most respects implementing legislation which
does not now exist in all provinces. The further part would deal
with linguistic rights as recommended by the Royal Commission on
Bilingualism and Biculturalism.
A discussion about implementation of rights calls of necessity
for a discussion as well of their limitation in time of emergency. On
the occasion of war or other national crisis, western democracies have
found it necessary to interfere drastically with normal private rights.
No matter what the constitutional context, the courts have generally
permitted this interference because they recognized the necessities
of state involved. Some consideration should therefore be given at
the outset to the extent to which the legislative authority of Parliament
should be restored in times of emergency, and the means by
which this may be accomplished.
One of three approaches might be employed: (i) some general
exemption in the nature of the amendment to the War Measures
Act enacted as part of the 1960 Canadian Bill of Rights; ( ii) a
precise specification of the several rights which may be infringed
and, perhaps, to what extent (in this way the political and legal
rights requiring abridgement could be dealt with while egalitarian
and linguistic rights could continue unimpaired); (iii) no mention
of any exemption, thus permitting the courts to determine what
limitations are made necessary in times of crisis (many of the
guarantees in the United States Bill of Rights are stated without
qualification yet the American courts have recognized that some of
them may be limited in time of war).
APPENDIX I
The British North America Acts, 1867 to 1965
FOREWORD
The law embodied in the British North America Act, 1867 has been
altered many times otherwise than by direct amendment, not only by
the Parliament of the United Kingdom, but also by the Parliament of
Canada and the legislatures of the provinces in those eases where
provisions of the British North America Act are expressed to be subject
to alteration by Parliament or the legislatures, as the case may be. A
eonsolidation of the British North America Acts with only such
subsequent enactments as directly alter the text of the Act would
therefore not produce a true statement of the law.
In preparing this consolidation an attempt has been made to reflect
accurately the substance of the law contained in the series of enactments
known as the British North America Acts and other enactments modifying
the provisions of the original British North America Act, 1867.
The various classes of enactments modifying the original text of the
British North America Act, 1867, have been dealt with as follows.
I. DIRECT AMENDMENTS
1. Repeals
Repealed provisions (e.g. section 2) have been deleted from the
text and quoted in a footnote.
2. Amendments
Amended provisions (e.g. section 4) are reproduced in the text in
their amended form and the original provisions are quoted in a footnote.
3. Additions
Added provisions (e.g. section 51A) are included in the text.
4. Substitutions
Substituted provisions (e.g. section 18) are included in the text, and
the former provision is quoted in a footnote.
II. INDIRECT AMENDMENTS
1. Alterations by United Kingdom Parliament
Provisions altered by the United Kingdom Parliament otherwise
than by direct amendment (e.g. section 21) are included in the text in
their altered form, and the original provision is quoted in a footnote.
2. Additions by United Kingdom Parliament
Constitutional provisions added otherwise than by the insertion of
additional provisions in the British North America Act (e.g. provisions
of the British North America, 1871 authorizing Parliament to legislate
for any territory not included in a province) are not incorporated in the
text, but the additional provisions are quoted in an appropriate footnote.
3. Alterations by Parliament of Canada
Provisions subject to alteration by the Parliament of Canada (e.g.
section 37) have been included in the text in their altered form, wherever
possible, but where this was not feasible (e.g. section 40) the original
section has been retained in the text and a footnote reference made to
the Act of the Parliament of Canada effecting the alteration.
4. Alterations by the Legislatures
Provisions subject to alteration by legislatures of the provinces
(e.g. sections 70, 72, 83, 84) have been included in the text in their
original form, but the footnotes refer to the provincial enactments
effecting the alteration. Amendments to provincial enactments are not
referred to; these may be readily found by consulting the indexes to
provincial statutes. The enactments of the original provinces only are
referred to; there are corresponding enactments by the provinces created
at a later date.
III. SPENT PROVISIONS
Footnote references are made to those sections that are spent or are
probably spent. For example, section 119 became spent by lapse of time
and the footnote reference so indicates; on the other hand, section 140
is probably spent, but short of examining all statutes passed before
Confederation there would be no way of ascertaining definitely whether
or not the section is spent; the footnote reference therefore indicates
the section as being probably spent.
THE BRITISH NORTH AMERICA ACT, 1867
30 & 31 Victoria, c. 3.
(Consolidated with amendments)
An Act for the Union of Canada, Nova Scotia, and
New Brunswick, and the Government thereof; and for
Purposes connected therewith.
(29th March, 1867.)
WHEREAS the Provinces of Canada, Nova Scotia and
New Brunswick have expressed their Desire to be federally
united into One Dominion under the Crown of the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, with a Constitution
similar in Principle to that of the United Kingdom:
And whereas such a Union would conduce to the Welfare
of the Provinces and promote the Interests of the British
Empire:
And whereas on the Establishment of the Union by
Authority of Parliament it is expedient, not only that the
Constitution of the Legislative Authority in the Dominion
be provided for, but also that the Nature of the Executive
Government therein be declared:
And whereas it is expedient that Provision be made for
the eventual Admission into the Union of other Parts of
British North America: (1)
I.—PRELIMINARY.
1. This Act may be cited as The British North America
Act, 1867.
2. Repealed. (2)
II.—UNION.
3. It shall be lawful for the Queen, by and with the
Advice of Her Majesty’s Most Honourable Privy Council,
to declare by Proclamation that, on and after a Day therein
appointed, not being more than Six Months after the
passing of this Act, the Provinces of Canada, Nova Scotia,
and New Brunswick shall form and be One Dominion under
the Name. of Canada; and on and after that Day those
Three Provinces shall form and be One Dominion under
that Name accordingly. (3)
4. Unless it is otherwise expressed or implied, the Name
Canada shall be taken to mean Canada as constituted
under this Act. (4)
5. Canada shall be divided into Four Provinces, named
Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick. (5)
6. The Parts of the Province of Canada (as it exists at
the passing of this Act) which formerly constituted
respectively the Provinces of Upper Canada and Lower
Canada shall be deemed to be severed, and shall form Two
separate Provinces. The Part which formerly constituted
the Province ofUpper Canada shall constitute the Province
of Ontario; and the Part which formerly constituted the
Province of Lower Canada shall constitute the Province of
Quebec.
7. The Provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick
shall have the same Limits as at the passing of this Act.
8. In the general Census of the Population of Canada Decennial
which is hereby required to be taken in the Year One census.
thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, and in every
Tenth Year thereafter, the respective Populations of the
Four Provinces shall be distinguished.
III.—EXECUTIVE POWER.
9. The Executive Government and Authority of and Declaration
over Canada is hereby declared to continue and be vested
in the Queen.
10. The Provisions of this Act referring to the Governor
General extend and apply to the Governor General for the
Time being of Canada, or other the Chief Executive Office
or Administrator for the Time being carrying on the
Government of Canada on behalf and in the Name of the
Queen, by whatever Title he is designated.
11. There shall be a Council to aid and advise in the
Government of Canada, to be styled the Queen’s Privy
Council for Canada; and the Persons who are to be Members
of that Council shall be from Time to Time chosen and
summoned by the Governor General and sworn in as Privy
Councillors, and Members thereof may be from Time to
Time removed by the Governor General.
12. All Powers, Authorities, and Functions which under
any Act of the Parliament of Great Britain, or of the ·
Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, or of the Legislature of Upper Canada, Lower
Canada, Canada, Nova Scotia, or New Brunswick, are at
the Union vested in or exerciseable by the respective
Governors or Lieutenant Governors of those Provinces,
with the Advice, or with the Advice and Consent, of the
respective Executive Councils thereof, or in conjunction
with those Councils, or with any Number of Members
thereof, or by those Governors or Lieutenant Governors
individually, shall, as far as the same continue in existence
and capable of being exercised after the Union in relation
to the Government of Canada, be vested in and exerciseable
by the Governor General, with the Advice or with the
Advice and Consent of or in conjunction with the Queen’s
Privy Council for Canada, or any Member thereof, or by
the Governor General individually, as the Case requires,
subject nevertheless (except with respect to such as exist
under Acts of the Parliament of Great Britain or of the
Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland) to be abolished or altered by the Parliament of
Canada. (6)
13. The Provisions of this Act referring to the Governor
General in Council shall be construed as referring to the
Governor General acting by and with the Advice of the
Queen’s Privy Council for Canada.
14. It shall be lawful for the Queen, if Her Majesty
thinks fit, to authorize the Governor General from Time
to Time to appoint any Person or any Persons jointly or
severally to be his Deputy or Deputies within any Part
or Parts of Canada, and in that Capacity to exercise during
the Pleasure of the Governor General such of the Powers,
Authorities, and Functions of the Governor General as
the Governor General deems it necessary or expedient to
assign to him or them, subject to any Limitations or
Directions expressed or given by the Queen; but the
Appointment of such a Deputy or Deputies shall not affect
the Exercise by the Governor General himself of any Power,
Authority or Function.
15. The Command-in-Chief of the Land and Naval
Militia, and of all Naval and Military Forces, of and in
Canada, is hereby declared to continue and be vested in
the Queen.
16. Until the Queen otherwise directs, the Seat
Government of Canada shall be Ottawa.
IV.—LEGISLATIVE POWER.
17. There shall be One Parliament for Canada, consisting of the Queen, an Upper House styled the Senate,
and the House of Commons.
18. The privileges, immunities, and powers to be held,
enjoyed, and exercised by the Senate and by the House
of Commons, and by the Members thereof respectively,
shall be such as are from time to time defined by Act of
the Parliament of Canada, but so that any Act of the
Parliament of Canada defining such privileges, immunities,
and powers shall not confer any privileges, immunities, or
powers exceeding those at the passing of such Act held,
enjoyed, and exercised by the Commons House of Parliament
of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,
and by the Members thereof. (7)
19. The Parliament of Canada shall be called together
not later than Six Months after the Union. (8)
20. There shall be a Session of the Parliament of
Canada once at least in every Year, so that Twelve Months
shall not intervene between the last Sitting of the Parlia-
ment in one Session and its first Sitting in the next
Session. (9)
The Senate .
21. The Senate shall, subject to the Provisions of this
Act, consist of One Hundred and Two Members, who shall
be styled Senators. (10)
22. In relation to the Constitution of the Senate
Canada shall be deemed to consist of Four Divisions:—
1. Ontario;
2. Quebec;
3. The Maritime Provinces, Nova Scotia and New
Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island;
4.. The Western Provinces of Manitoba, British
Columbia, Saskatchewan, and Alberta;
which Four Divisions shall (subject to the Provisions of this
Act) be equally represented in the Senate as follows:
Ontario by twenty-four senators; Quebec by twenty-four
senators; the Maritime Provinces and Prince Edward Island
by twenty-four senators, ten thereof representing Nova
Scotia, ten thereof representing New Brunswick, and four
thereof representing Prince Edward Island; the Western
Provinces by twenty-four senators, six thereof representing
Manitoba, six thereof representing British Columbia, six
thereof representing Saskatchewan, and six thereof representing
Alberta; Newfoundland shall be entitled to be
represented in the Senate by six members.
In the Case of Quebec each of the Twenty-four Senators
representing that Province shall be appointed for One of
the Twenty-four Electoral Divisions of Lower Canada
specified in Schedule A. to Chapter One of the Consolidated
statutes of Canada. (11)
23. The Qualification of a Senator shall be as follows:
(1) He shall be of the full age of Thirty Years:
(2) He shall be either a natural-born Subject of the
Queen, or a Subject of the Queen naturalized by an
Act of the Parliament of Great Britain, or of the
Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland, or of the Legislature of One of the
Provinces of Upper Canada, Lower Canada, Canada,
Nova Scotia, or New Brunswick, before the Union,
or of the Parliament of Canada, after the Union:
(3) He shall be legally or equitably seised as of Freehold
for his own Use and Benefit of Lands or Tenements
held in Free and Common Socage, or seised or
possessed for his own Use and Benefit of Lands or
Tenements held in Franc-alleu or in Roture, within
the Province for which he is appointed, of the Value
of Four thousand Dollars, over and above all Rents,
Dues, Debts, Charges, Mortgages, and Incumbrances
due or payable out of or charged on or affecting
the same:
(4) His Real and Personal Property shall be together
worth Four thousand Dollars over and above his
Debts and Liabilities:
(5) He shall be resident in the Province for which he
is appointed:
(6) In the Case of Quebec he shall have his Real
Property Qualification in the Electoral Division for
which he is appointed, or shall be resident in that
Division.
24. The Governor General shall from Time to Time, in
the Queen’s Name, by Instrument under the Great Seal of
Canada, summon qualified Persons to the Senate; and,
subject to the Provisions of this Act, every Person so
summoned shall become and be a Member of the Senate
and a Senator.
25. Repealed. (12)
26. If at any Time on the Recommendation of the
Governor General the Queen thinks fit to direct that Four
or Eight Members be added to the Senate, the Governor
General may by Summons to Four or Eight qualified
Persons (as the Case may be), representing equally the Four
Divisions of Canada, add to the Senate accordingly. (13)
27. In case of such Addition being at any Time made,
the Governor General shall not summon any Person to the
Senate, except upon a further like Direction by the Queen
on the like Recommendation, to represent one of the Four
Divisions until such Division is represented by Twenty-four
Senators and no more. (14)
28. The Number of Senators shall not at any Time
exceed One Hundred and ten. (15)
29. (1) Subject to subsection (2), a Senator shall,
subject to the provisions of this Act, hold his place in the
Senate for life.
(2) A Senator who is summoned to the Senate after
the coming into force of this subsection shall, subject to this
Act, hold his place in the Senate until he attains the age
of seventy-five years. (15A)
30. A Senator may by Writing under his Hand
addressed to the Governor General resign his Place in the
Senate, and thereupon the same shall be vacant.
31. The Place of a Senator shall become vacant in any
of the following Cases:
(1) If for Two consecutive Sessions of the Parliament
he fails to give his Attendance in the Senate:
(2) If he takes an Oath or makes a Declaration or
Acknowledgment of Allegiance, Obedience, or
Adherence to a Foreign Power, or does an Act
whereby he becomes a Subject or Citizen, or entitled
to the Rights or Privileges of a Subject or Citizen,
of a Foreign Power:
(3) If he is adjudged Bankrupt or Insolvent, or applies
for the Benefit of any Law relating to Insolvent
Debtors, or becomes a public Defaulter:
( 4) If he is attainted of Treason or convicted of Felony
or of any infamous Crime:
( 5) If he ceases to be qualified in respect of Property
or of Residence; provided, that a Senator shall not
be deemed to have ceased to be qualified in respect
of Residence by reason only of his residing at the
Seat of the Government of Canada while holding
an Office under that Government requiring his
Presence there.
32. When a Vacancy happens in the Senate by Resigna-
tion, Death, or otherwise, the Governor General shall
Summons to a fit and qualified Person fill the Vacancy.
33. If any Question arises respecting the Qualification
of a Senator or a Vacancy in the Senate the same shall be
heard and determmed by the Senate.
34. The Governor General may from Time to Time, by
Instrument under the Great Seal of Canada, appoint a
Senator to be Speaker of the Senate, and may remove him
and appoint another in his Stead. (16)
35. Until the Parliament of Canada otherwise provides,
the Presence of at least Fifteen Senators, including the
Speaker, shall be necessary to constitute a Meeting of the
Senate for the Exercise of its Powers.
36. Questions arising in the Senate shall be decided by
a Majority of Voices, and the Speaker shall in all Cases have
a Vote, and when the Voices are equal the Decision shall be
deemed to be in the Negative.
The House of Commons.
37. The House of Commons shall, subject to the Provisions of this Act, consist of Two Hundred and sixty-five
Members of whom Eighty-five shall be elected for Ontario,
Seventy-five for Quebec, Twelve for Nova Scotia, Ten for
New Brunswick, Fourteen for Manitoba, Twenty-two for
British Columbia, Four for Prince Edwardisland, Seventeen
for Alberta, Seventeen for Saskatchewan, Seven for
Newfoundland, One for the Yukon Territory and One for
the Northwest Territories. (17)
38. The Governor General shall from Time to Time, in
the Queen’s Name, by Instrument under the Great Seal of
Canada, summon and call together the House of Commons.
39. A Senator shall not be capable of being elected or
of sitting or voting as a Member of the House of Commons.
40. Until the Parliament of Canada otherwise provides,
Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick shall,
for the Purposes of the Election of Members to serve in
the House of Commons, be divided into Electoral Districts
as follows:
1.—ONTARIO.
Ontario shall be divided into the Counties, Ridings of
Counties, Cities, Parts of Cities, and Towns enumerated
in the First Schedule to this Act, each whereof shall be
an Electoral District, each such District as numbered in
that Schedule being entitled to return One Member.
2.—QUEBEC.
Quebec shall be divided into Sixty-five Electoral Districts,
composed of the Sixty-five Electoral Divisions into
which Lower Canada is at the passing of this Act divided
under Chapter Two of the Consolidated Statutes of Canada,
Chapter Seventy-five of the Consolidated Statutes for Lower
Canada, and the Act of the Province of Canada of the
Twenty-third Year of the Queen, Chapter One, or any other
Act amending the same in force at the Union, so that each
such Electoral Division shall be for the Purposes of this Act
an Electoral District entitled to return One Member.
3—NOVA SCOTIA.
Each of the Eighteen Counties of Nova Scotia shall be
an Electoral District. The County of Halifax shall be entitled
to return Two Members, and each of the other Counties
One Member.
4.—NEW BRUNSWICK.
Each of the Fourteen Counties into which New
Brunswick is divided, including the City and County of
St. John, shall be an Electoral District. The City of St. John
shall also be a separate Electoral District. Each of those
Fifteen Electoral Districts shall be entitled to return One
Member. (18)
41. Until the Parliament of Canada otherwise provides,
all Laws in force in the several Provinces at the Union
relative to the followmg Matters or any of them, namely,
—the Qualifications and Disqualifications of Persons to be
elected or to sit or vote as Members of the House of
Assembly or Legislative Assembly in the several Provinces,
the Voters at Elections of such Members, the Oaths to be
taken by Voters, the Returning Officers, their Powers and
Duties, the Proceedings at Elections, the Periods during
which Elections may be continued, the Trial of controverted
Elections, and Proceedings incident thereto, the
vacating of Seats of Members, and the Execution of new
Writs in case of Seats vacated otherwise than by Dissolution,—
shall respectively apply to Elections of Members to
serve in the House of Commons for the same several
Provinces.
Provided that, until the Parliament of Canada otherwise
provides, at any Election for a Member of the House of
Commons for the District of Algoma, in addition to Persons
qualified by the Law of the Province of Canada to vote,
every Male British Subject, aged Twenty-one Years or
upwards, being a Householder, shall have a Vote. (19)
42. Repealed. (20)
43. Repealed. (21)
44. The House of Commons on its first assembling
after a General Election shall proceed with all practicable
Speed to elect One of its Members to be Speaker.
45. In case of a Vacancy happening in the Office of
Speaker by Death, Resignation, or otherwise, the House of
Commons shall with all practicable Speed proceed to elect
another of its Members to be Speaker.
46. The Speaker shall preside at all Meetings of the
House of Commons.
47. Until the Parliament of Canada otherwise provides,
in case of the Absence for any Reason of the Speaker from
the Chair of the House of Commons for a Period of Forty-eight
consecutive Hours, the House may elect another of its
Members to act as Speaker, and the Member so elected
shall during the Continuance of such Absence of the Speaker
have and execute all the Powers, Privileges, and Duties of
Speaker. (22)
48. The Presence of at least Twenty Members of the
House of Commons shall be necessary to constitute a
Meeting of the House for the Exercise of its Powers, and for
that Purpose the Speaker shall be reckoned as a Member.
49. Questions arising in the House of Commons shall
be decided by a Majority of Voices other than that of the
Speaker, and when the Voices are equal, but not otherwise,
the Speaker shall have a Vote.
50. Every House of Commons shall continue for Five
Years from the Day of the Return of the Writs for choosing
the House (subject to be sooner dissolved by the Governor
General), and no longer.
51. (1) Subject as hereinafter provided, the number of
members of the House of Commons shall be two hundred
and sixty-three and the representation of the provinces
therein shall forthwith upon the coming into force of this
section and thereafter on the completion of each decennial
census be readjusted by such authority, in such manner,
and from such time as the Parliament of Canada from time
to time provides, subject and according to the following
rules:
1. There shall be assigned to each of the provinces a Rules.
number of members computed by dividing the total
population of the provinces by two hundred and sixty-one
and by dividing the population of each province by the
quotient so obtained, disregarding, except as hereinafter
in this section provided, the remainder, if any, after the
said process of division.
2. If the total number of members assigned to all the
provinces pursuant to rule one is less than two hundred
and sixty-one, additional members shall be assigned to
the provinces (one to a province) having remainders in
the computation under rule one commencing with the
province having the largest remainder and continuing
with the other provinces in the order of the magnitude
of their respective remainders until the total number of
members assigned is two hundred and sixty-one.
3. Notwithstanding anything in this section, if upon
completion of a computation under rules one and two,
the number of members to be assigned to a province is
less than the number of senators representing the said
province, rules one and two shall cease to apply in respect
of the said province, and there shall be assigned to the
said province a number of members equal to the said
number of senators.
4. In the event that rules one and two cease to apply
in respect of a province then, for the purposes of com-
puting the number of members to be assigned to the
provinces in respect of which rules one and two continue
to apply, the total population of the provinces shall be
reduced by the number of the population of the province
in respect of which rules one and two have ceased to
apply and the number two hundred and sixty-one shall
be reduced by the number of members assigned to such
province pursuant to rule three.
5. On any such readjustment the number of members
for any province shall not be reduced by more than
fifteen per cent below the representation to which such
province was entitled under rules one to four of this
subsection at the last preceding readjustment of the
representation of that province, and there shall be no
reduction in the representation of any province as a
result of which that province would have a smaller
number of members than any other province that according
to the results of the then last decennial census did
not have a larger population; but for the purposes of any
subsequent readjustment of representation under this
section any increase in the number of members of the
House of Commons resulting from the application of this
rule shall not be included in the divisor mentioned in
rules one to four of this subsection.
6. Such readjustment shall not take effect until the
termination of the then existing Parliament.
(2) The Yukon Territory as constituted by chapter
forty-one of the statutes of Canada, 1901, shall be entitled
to one member, and such other part of Canada not comprised
within a province as may from time to time be defined
by the Parliament of Canada shall be entitled to one
member. (23)
[Page 47]
This page contains only footnotes.
[Page 48]
51A. Notwithstanding anything in this Act a province
shall always be entitled to a number of members in the
House of Commons not less than the number of senators
representing such province. (24)
52. The Number of Members of the House of Commons
may be from Time to Time increased by the Parliament of
Canada, provided the proportionate Representation of the
Provinces prescribed by this Act is not thereby disturbed.
Money Votes; Royal Assent.
53. Bills for appropriating any Part of the Public
Revenue, or for imposing any Tax or Impost, shall originate
in the House of Commons.
54. It shall not be lawful for the House of Commons to
adopt or pass any Vote, Resolution, Address, or Bill for the
Appropriation of any Part of the Public Revenue, or of any
Tax or Impost, to any Purpose that has not been first
recommended to that House by Message of the Governor
General in the Session in which such Vote, Resolution,
Address, or Bill is proposed.
55. Where a Bill passed by the Houses of the Parliament
is presented to the Governor General for the Queen’s
Assent, he shall declare, according to his Discretion, but
subject to the Provisions of this Act and to Her Majesty’s
Instructions, either that he assents thereto in the Queen’s
Name, or that he withholds the Queen’s Assent, or that he
reserves the Bill for the Signification of the Queen’s
Pleasure.
56. Where the Governor General assents to a Bill in
the Queen’s Name, he shall by the first convenient Opportunity
send an authentic Copy of the Act to one of Her
Majesty’s Principal Secretaries of State, and if the Queen
in Council within Two Years after Receipt thereof by the
Secretary of State thinks fit to disallow the Act, such
Disallowance (with a Certificate of the Secretary of State
of the Day on which the Act was received by him) being
signified by the Governor General, by Speech or Message
to each of the Houses of the Parliament or by Proclamation,
shall annul the Act from and after the Day of such
Signification.
[Page 49]
57. A Bill reserved for the Signification of the Queen’s
Pleasure shall not have any Force unless and until, within
Two Years from the Day on which it was presented to the
Governor General for the Queen’s Assent, the Governor
General signifies, by Speech or Message to each of the
Houses of the Parliament or by Proclamation, that it has
received the Assent of the Queen in Council.
An Entry of every such Speech, Message, or Proclamation
shall be made in the Journal of each House, and a
Duplicate thereof duly attested shall be delivered to the
proper Officer to be kept among the Records of Canada.
V.—PROVINCIAL CONSTITUTIONS.
Executive Power.
58. For each Province there shall be an Officer, styled
the Lieutenant Governor, appointed by the Governor
General in Council by Instrument under the Great Seal of
Canada.
59. A Lieutenant Governor shall hold Office during the
Pleasure of the Governor General; but any Lieutenant
Governor appointed after the Commencement of the First
Session of the Parliament of Canada shall not be removeable
within Five Years from his Appointment, except for Cause
assigned, which shall be communicated to him in Writing
within One Month after the Order for his Removal is made,
and shall be communicated by Message to the Senate and
to the House of Commons within One Week thereafter if
the Parliament is then sitting, and if not then within One
Week after the Commencement of the next Session of the
Parliament.
60. The Salaries of the Lieutenant Governors shall be
fixed and provided by the Parliament of Canada. (25)
61. Every Lieutenant Governor shall, before assuming
the Duties of his Office, make and subscribe before the
Governor General or some Person authorized by him Oaths
of Allegiance and Office similar to those taken by the
Governor General.
62. The Provisions of this Act referring to the
Lieutenant Governor extend and apply to the Lieutenant
Governor for the Time being of each Province, or other the
Chief Executive Officer or Administrator for the Time being
carrying on the Government of the Province, by whatever
Title he is designated.
63. The Executive Council of Ontario and of Quebec
shall be composed of such Persons as the Lieutenant
Governor from Time to Time thinks fit, and in the first
instance of the following Officers, namely,—the Attorney
General, the Secretary and Registrar of the Province, the
Treasurer of the Province, the Commissioner of Crown
Lands, and the Commissioner of Agriculture and Public
Works, with in Quebec the Speaker of the Legislative
Council and the Solicitor General. (26)
64. The Constitution of the Executive Authority in
each of the Provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick
shall, subject to the Provisions of this Act, continue as it
exists at the Union until altered under the Authority of
this Act. (26A)
65. All Powers, Authorities; and Functions which under
any Act of the Parliament of Great Britain, or of the
Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, or of the Legislature of Upper Canada, Lower
Canada, or Canada, were or are before or at the Union
vested in or exerciseable by the respective Governors or
Lieutenant Governors of those Provinces, with the Advice
or with the Advice and Consent of the respective Executive
Councils thereof, or in conjunction with those Councils,
or with any Number of Members thereof, or by those
Governors or Lieutenant Governors individually, shall, as
far as the same are capable of being exercised after the
Union in relation to the Government of Ontario and Quebec
respectively, be vested in and shall or may be exercised by
the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario and Quebec respectively,
with the Advice or with the Advice and Consent of
or in conjunction with the respective Executive Councils,
or any Members thereof, or by the Lieutenant Governor
individually, as the Case requires, subject nevertheless
(except with respect to such as exist under Acts of the
Parliament of Great Britain, or of the Parliament of the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,) to be
abolished or altered by the respective Legislatures of
Ontario and Quebec. (27)
66. The Provisions of this Act referring to the Lieuten-
ant Governor m Council shall be construed as referring to
the Lieutenant Governor of the Province acting by and
with the Advice of the Executive Council thereof.
67. The Governor General in Council may from Time to
Time appoint an Administrator to execute the Office and
Functions of Lieutenant Governor during his Absence,
Illness, or other Inability.
68. Unless and until the Executive Government of any
Province otherwise directs with respect to that Province,
the Seats of Government of the Provinces shall be as
follows, namely,—of Ontario, the City of Toronto; of
Quebec, the City of Quebec; of Nova Scotia, the City of
Halifax; and of New Brunswick, the City of Fredericton.
Legislative Power.
1.—ONTARIO.
69. There shall be a Legislature for Ontario consisting
of the Lieutenant Governor and of One House, styled the
Legislative Assembly of Ontario.
70. The Legislative Assembly of Ontario shall be com-
posed of Eighty-two Members, to be elected to represent
the Eighty-two Electoral Districts set forth in the First
Schedule to this Act.(28)
2.—QUEBEC.
71. There shall be a Legislature for Quebec consisting
of the Lieutenant Governor and of Two Houses, styled the
Legislative Council of Quebec and the Legislative Assembly
of Quebec.
72. The Legislative Council of Quebec shall be composed
of Twenty-four Members, to be appointed by the Lieutenant
Governor, in the Queen’s Name, by Instrument under the
Great Seal of Quebec, One being appointed to represent
each of the Twenty-four Electoral Divisions of Lower
Canada in this Act referred to, and each holding Office for
the Term of his Life, unless the Legislature of Quebec
otherwise provides under the Provisions of this Act. (29)
73. The Qualifications of the Legislative Councillors of
Quebec shall be the same as those of the Senators for
Quebec. (30)
74. The Place of a Legislative Councillor of Quebec
shall become vacant in the Cases, mutatis mutandis, in
which the Place of Senator becomes vacant.
75. When a Vacancy happens in the Legislative Council
of Quebec by Resignation, Death, or otherwise, the
Lieutenant Governor, in the Queen’s Name, by Instrument
under the Great Seal of Quebec, shall appoint a fit and
qualified Person to fill the Vacancy.
76. If any Question arises respecting the Qualification
of a Legislative Councillor of Quebec, or a Vacancy in the
Legislative Council of Quebec, the same shall be heard
and determined by the Legislative Council.
77. The Lieutenant Governor may from Time to Time,
by Instrument under the Great Seal of Quebec, appoint
a Member of the Legislative Council of Quebec to be
Speaker thereof, and may remove him and appoint another
in his Stead. (31)
78. Until the Legislature of Quebec otherwise provides,
the Presence of at least Ten Members of the Legislative
Council, including the Speaker, shall be necessary to constitute
a Meeting for the Exercise of its Powers.
79. Questions arising in the Legislative Council of
Quebec shall be decided by a Majority of Voices, and the
Speaker shall in all Cases have a Vote, and when the Voices
are equal the Decision shall be deemed to be in the Negative.
80. The Legislative Assembly of Quebec shall be com-
posed of Sixty-five Members, to be elected to represent the
Sixty-five Electoral Divisions or Districts of Lower Canada
in this Act referred to, subject to Alteration thereof by the
Legislature of Quebec: Provided that it shall not be lawful
to present to the Lieutenant Governor of Quebec for Assent
any Bill for altering the Limits of any of the Electoral
Divisions or Districts mentioned in the Second Schedule to
this Act, unless the Second and Third Readings of such
Bill have been passed in the Legislative Assembly with the
Concurrence of the Majority of the Members representing
all those Electoral Divisions or Districts, and the Assent
shall not be given to such Bill unless an Address has been
presented by the Legislative Assembly to the Lieutenant
Governor stating that it has been so passed. (32)
3.—ONTARIO AND QUEBEC.
81. Repealed. (33)
82. The Lieutenant Governor of Ontario and of Quebec
shall from Time to Time, in the Queen’s Name, by Instru-
ment under the Great Seal of the Province, summon and
call together the Legislative Assembly of the Province.
83. Until the Legislature of Ontario or of Quebec Restriction on
otherwise provides, a Person accepting or holding in Ontario
or in Quebec any Office, Commission, or Employment,
permanent or temporary, at the Nomination of the Lieutenant
Governor, to which an annual Salary, or any Fee,
Allowance, Emolument, or Profit of any Kind or Amount
whatever from the Province is attached, shall not be eligible
as a Member of the Legislative Assembly of the respective
Province, nor shall he sit or vote as such; but nothing in
this Section shall make ineligible any Person being a
Member of the Executive Council of the respective Province,
or holding any of the following Offices, that is to say, the
Offices of Attorney General, Secretary and Registrar of the
Province, Treasurer of the Province, Commissioner of Crown
Lands, and Commissioner of Agriculture and Public Works,
and in Quebec Solicitor General, or shall disqualify him to
sit or vote in the House for which he is elected, provided
he is elected while holding such Office. (34)
84. Until the Legislatures of Ontario and Quebec
respectively otherwise provide, all Laws which at the Union
are in force in those Provinces respectively, relative to the
following Matters, or any of them, namely,—the Qualifications
and Disqualifications of Persons to be elected or to sit
or vote as Members of the Assembly of Canada, the Qualifications
or Disqualifications of Voters, the Oaths to be
taken by Voters, the Returning Officers, their Powers and
Duties, the Proceedings at Elections, the Periods during
which such Elections may be continued, and the Trial of
controverted Elections and the Proceedings incident thereto,
the vacating of the Seats of Members and the issuing and
execution of new Writs in case of Seats vacated otherwise
than by Dissolution,—shall respectively apply to Elections
of Members to serve in the respective Legislative Assemblies
of Ontario and Quebec.
Provided that, until the Legislature of Ontario otherwise
provides, at any Election for a Member of the Legislative
Assembly of Ontario for the District of Algoma, in addition
to Persons qualified by the Law of the Province of Canada
to vote, every male British Subject, aged Twenty-one Years
or upwards, being a Householder, shall have a vote. (35)
85. Every Legislative Assembly of Ontario and every
Legislative Assembly of Quebec shall continue for Four
Years from the Day of the Return of the Writs for choosing
the same (subject nevertheless to either the Legislative
Assembly of Ontario or the Legislative Assembly of Quebec
being sooner dissolved by the Lieutenant Governor of the
Province), and no longer. (36)
86. There shall be a Session of the Legislature of
Ontario and of that of Quebec once at least in every Year,
so that Twelve Months shall not intervene between the
last Sitting of the Legislature in each Province m one
Session and its first Sitting in the next Session.
87. The following Provisions of this Act respecting the
House of Commons of Canada shall extend and apply to
the Legislative Assemblies of Ontario and Quebec, that is
to say,—the Provisions relating to the Election of a Speaker
originally and on Vacancies, the Duties of the Speaker, the
Absence of the Speaker, the Quorum, and the Mode of
voting, as if those Provisions were here re-enacted and made
applicable in Terms to each such Legislative Assembly.
4.—NOVA SCOTIA AND NEW BRUNSWICK.
88. The Constitution of the Legislature of each of the
Provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick shall, subject
to the Provisions of this Act, continue as it exists at the
Union until altered under the Authority of this Act. (37)
89. Repealed. (38)
6.—THE FOUR PROVINCES.
90. The following Provisions of this Act respecting the
Parliament of Canada, namely,—the Provisions relating
to Appropriation and Tax Bills, the Recommendation of
Money Votes, the Assent to Bills, the Disallowance of Acts,
and the Signification of Pleasure on Bills reserved,—shall
extend and apply to the Legislatures of the several
Provinces as if those Provisions were here re-enacted and
made applicable in Terms to the respective Provinces
and the Legislatures thereof, with the Substitution of
the Lieutenant Governor of the Province for the Governor
General, of the Governor General for the Queen and for
a Secretary of State, of One Year for Two Years, and of
the Province for Canada.
VI.—DISTRIBUTION OF LEGISLATIVE POWERS.
Powers of the Parliament.
91. It shall be lawful for the Queen, by and with the
Advice and Consent of the Senate and House of Commons,
to make Laws for the Peace, Order, and good Government
of Canada, in relation to all Matters not coming within
the Classes of Subjects by this Act assigned exclusively
to the Legislatures of the Provinces; and for greater
Certainty, but not so as to restrict the Generality of the
foregoing Terms of this Section, it is hereby declared that
(notwithstanding anything in this Act) the exclusive
Legislative Authority of the Parliament of Canada extends
to all Matters coming within the Classes of Subjects next
herein-after enumerated; that is to say,—
1. The amendment from time to time of the Constitution
of Canada, except as regards matters coming within
the classes of subjects by this Act assigned exclusively
to the Legislatures of the provinces, or as regards rights
or privileges by this or any other Constitutional Act
granted or secured to the Legislature or the Government
of a province, or to any class of persons with respect to
schools or as regards the use of the English or the
French language or as regards the requirements that
there shall be a session of the Parliament of Canada at
least once each year, and that no House of Commons
shall continue for more than five years from the day
of the return of the Writs for choosing the House:
provided, however, that a House of Commons may in
time of real or apprehended war, invasion or insurrection
be continued by the Parliament of Canada if such
continuation is not opposed by the votes of more than
one-third of the members of such House. (39)
1A. The Public Debt and Property. (40)
2. The Regulation of Trade and Commerce.
2A. Unemployment insurance. (41)
3. The raising of Money by any Mode or System of
Taxation.
4. The borrowing of Money on the Public Credit.
5 . Postal Service.
6. The Census and Statistics.
7. Militia, Military and Naval Service, and Defence.
8. The fixing of and providing for the Salaries and
Allowances of Civil and other Officers of the Government
of Canada.
9. Beacons, Buoys, Lighthouses, and Sable Island.
10. Navigation and Shipping.
11. Quarantine and the Establishment and Maintenance
of Marine Hospitals.
12. Sea Coast and Inland Fisheries.
13. Ferries between a Province and any British or
Foreign Country or between Two Provinces.
14. Currency and Coinage.
15. Banking, Incorporation of Banks, and the Issue
of Paper Money.
16. Savings Banks.
17. Weights and Measures.
18 . Bills of Exchange and Promissory Notes.
19. Interest.
20. Legal Tender.
21. Bankruptcy and Insolvency.
22. Patents of Invention and Discovery.
23. Copyrights.
24. Indians, and Lands reserved for the Indians.
25. Naturalization and Aliens.
26. Marriage and Divorce.
27. The Criminal Law, except the Constitution of
Courts of Criminal Jurisdiction, but including the
Procedure in Criminal Matters.
28. The Establishment, Maintenance, and Management
of Penitentiaries.
29. Such Classes of Subjects as are expressly excepted
in the Enumeration of the Classes of Subjects by
this Act assigned exclusively to the Legislatures of
the Provinces.
And any Matter coming within any of the Classes of
Subjects enumerated in this Section shall not be deemed
to come within the Class of Matters of a local or private
Nature comprised in the Enumeration of the Classes of
Subjects by this Act assigned exclusively to the Legislatures
of the Provinces. ( 42)
[Page 59]
Exclusive Powers of Provincial Legislatures.
92. In each Province the Legislature may exclusively
make Laws in relation to Matters coming within the Classes
of Subject next herein-after enumerated; that is to say,—
1. The Amendment from Time to Time, notwithstanding
anything in this Act, of the Constitution
of the Province, except as regards the Office of
Lieutenant Governor.
2. Direct Taxation within the Province in order to
the raising of a Revenue for Provincial Purposes.
3. The borrowing of Money on the sole Credit of the
Province.
4. The Establishment and Tenure of Provincial
Offices and the Appointment and Payment of
Provincial Officers.
5. The Management and Sale of the Public Lands
belonging to the Province and of the Timber and
Wood thereon.
6. The Establishment, Maintenance, and Management
of Public and Reformatory Prisons in and
for the Province.
7. The Establishment, Maintenance, and Management
of Hospitals, Asylums, Charities, and Eleemosynary
Institutions in and for the Province,
other than Marine Hospitals.
8. Municipal Institutions in the Province.
9. Shop, Saloon, Tavern, Auctioneer, and other
Licences in order to the raising of a Revenue for
Provincial, Local, or Municipal Purposes.
10. Local Works and Undertakings other than such
as are of the following Classes:—
(a) Lines of Steam or other Ships, Railways,
Canals, Telegraphs, and other Works and Under-
takings connecting the Province with any other
or others of the Provinces, or extending beyond
the Limits of the Province;
(b) Lines of Steam Ships between the Province and
any British or Foreign Country;
(c) Such Works as, although wholly situate within
the Province, are before or after their Execution
declared by the Parliament of Canada to be for
the general Advantage of Canada or for the
Advantage of Two or more of the Provinces.
11. The Incorporation of Companies with Provincial
Objects.
12. The Solemnization of Marriage in the Province.
13. Property and Civil Rights in the Province.
14. The Administration of Justice in the Province,
including the Constitution, Maintenance, and
Organization of Provincial Courts, both of Civil
and of Criminal Jurisdiction, and including Procedure
in Civil Matters in those Courts.
15. The Imposition of Punishment by Fine, Penalty,
or Imprisonment for enforcing any Law of the
Province made in relation to any Matter coming
within any of the Classes of Subjects enumerated
in this Section.
16. Generally all Matters of a merely local or private
Nature in the Province.
Education.
93. In and for each Province the Legislature may
exclusively make Laws in relation to Education, subject
and accotding to the following Provisions:—
(1) Nothing in any such Law shall prejudicially affect
any Right or Privilege with respect to Denominational
Schools which any Class of Persons have by
Law in the Province at the Union:
(2) All the Powers, Privileges, and Duties at the Union
by Law conferred and imposed in Upper Canada on
the Separate Schools and School Trustees of the Queen’s Roman Catholic Subjects shall be and the
same are hereby extended to the Dissentient Schools
of the Queen’s Protestant and R0man Catholic
Subjects in Quebec:
(3) Where in any Province a System of Separate or
Dissentient Schools exists by Law at the Union or
is thereafter established by the Legislature of the
Province, an Appeal shall lie to the Governor
General in Council from any Act or Decision of
any Provincial Authority affecting any Right or
Privilege of the Protestant or Roman Catholic
Minority of the Queen’s Subjects in relation to
Education:
(4) In case any such Provincial Law as from Time to
Time seems to the Governor General in Council
requisite for the due Execution of the Provisions
of this Section is not made, or in case any Decision
of the Governor General in Council on any Appeal
under this Section is not duly executed by the proper
Provincial Authority in that Behalf, then and in
every such Case, and as far only as the Circumstances
of each Case require, the Parliament of Canada
may make remedial Laws for the due Execution of
the Provisions of this Section and of any Decision
of the Governor General in Council under this
Section. (43)
[Page 62]
Uniformity of Laws in Ontario, Nova Scotia and
New Brunswick.
94. Notwithstanding anything in this Act, the Parliament
of Canada may make Provision for the Uniformity
of all or any of the Laws relative to Property and Civil
[Page 63]
Rights in Ontario, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, and
of the Procedure of all or any of the Courts in Those Three
Provinces, and from and after the passing of any Act in
that Behalf the Power of the Parliament of Canada to
make Laws in relation to any Matter comprised in any
such Act shall, notwithstanding anything in this Act, be
unrestricted; but any Act of the Parliament of Canada
making Provision for such Uniformity shall not have effect
in any Province unless and until it is adopted and enacted
as Law by the Legislature thereof.
Old Age Pensions.
94A. The Parliament of Canada may make laws in relation to old age pensions and supplementary benefits, including survivors’ and disability benefits irrespective of age, but
no such law shall affect the operation of any law present or
future of a provincial legislature in relation to any such
matter. (44)
Agriculture and Immigration
95. In each Province the Legislature may make Laws in
relation to Agriculture in the Province, and to Immigration into the Province; and it is hereby declared that the
Parliament of Canada may from Time to Time make Laws
in relation to Agriculture in all or any of the Provinces,
and to Immigration into all or any of the Provinces; and
any Law of the Legislature of a Province relative to Agriculture
or to Immigration shall have effect in and for the
Province as long and as far only as it is not repugnant to
any Act of the Parliament of Canada.
VIII.—JUDICATURE.
96. The Governor General shall appoint the Judges of
the Superior, District, and County Courts in each Province,
except those of the Courts of Probate in Nova Scotia and
New Brunswick.
97. Until the laws relative to Property and Civil
Rights in Ontario, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, and
the Procedure of the Courts in those Provinces, are made
uniform, the Judges of the Courts of those Provinces
appointed by the Governor General shall be selected from
the respective Bars of those Provinces.
98. The Judges of the Courts of Quebec shall be
selected from the Bar of that Province.
99. (1) Subject to subsection two of this section, the
Judges of the Superior Courts shall hold office during good
behaviour, but shall be removable by the Governor General
on Address of the Senate and House of Commons.
(2) A Judge of a Superior Court, whether appointed
before or after the coming into force of this section, shall
cease to hold office upon attaining the age of seventy-five
years, or upon the coming into force of this section if at
that time he has already attained that age. ( 44A)
100. The Salaries, Allowances, and Pensions of the
Judges of the Superior, District, and County Courts (except
the Courts of Probate in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick),
and of the Admiralty Courts in Cases where the Judges
thereof are for the Time being paid by Salary, shall be
fixed and provided by the Parliament o. Canada. (45)
101. The Parliament of Canada may, notwithstanding
anything in this Act, from Time to Time provide for the
Constitution, Maintenance, and Organization of a General
Court of Appeal for Canada, and for the Establishment
of any additional Courts for the better Administration of
the Laws of Canada. (46)
VIII.—REVENUES; DEBTS; ASSETS; TAXATION.
102. All Duties and Revenues over which the respective
Legislatures of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick
before and at the Union had and have Power of
Appropriation, except such Portions thereof as are by this
Act reserved to the respective Legislatures of the Provinces,
or are raised by them in accordance with the special
Powers conferred on them by this Act, shall form One
Consolidated Revenue Fund, to be appropriated for the
Public Service of Canada in the Manner and subject to
the Charges in this Act provided.
103. The Consolidated Revenue Fund of Canada shall
be permanently charged with the Costs, Charges, and
Expenses incident to the Collection, Management, and
Receipt thereof, and the same shall form the First Charge
thereon, subject to be reviewed and audited in such Manner
as shall be ordered by the Governor General in Council
until the Parliament otherwise provides.
104. The annual Interest of the Public Debts of the Interest of
several Provinces of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Bruns-
wick at the Union shall form the Second Charge on the
Consolidated Revenue Fund of Canada.
105. Unless altered by the Parliament of Canada, the
Salary of the Governor General shall be Ten thousand
Pounds Sterling Money of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, payable out of the Consolidated
Revenue Fund of Canada, and the same shall form the
Third Charge thereon. ( 47)
106. Subject to the several Payments by this Act
charged on the Consolidated Revenue Fund of Canada,
the same shall be appropriated by the Parliament of Canada
for the Public Service.
107. All Stocks, Cash, Banker’s Balances, and Securities Transfer of
for Money belonging to each Province at the Time of the
Union, except as in this Act mentioned, shall be the
Property of Canada, and shall be taken in Reduction of
the Amount of the respective Debts of the Provinces at
the Union.
108. The Public Works and Property of each Province,
enumerated in the Third Schedule to this Act, shall be
the Property of Canada.
109. All Lands, Mines, Minerals, and Royalties be-
longing to the several Provinces of Canada, Nova Scotia,
and New Brunswick at the Union, and all Sums then
due or payable for such Lands, Mines, Minerals, or Royalties,
shall, belong to the several Provinces of Ontario,
Quebec, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick in which the
same are situate or arise, subject to any Trusts existing
in respect thereof, and to any Interest other than that of
the Province in the same. (48)
110. All Assets connected with such Portions of the
Public Debt of each Province as are assumed by that Province
shall belong to that Province.
111. Canada shall be liable for the Debts and Liabilities
of each Province existing at the Union.
112. Ontario and Quebec conjointly shall be liable to
Canada for the Amount (if any) by which the Debt of
the Province of Canada exceeds at the Union Sixty-two
million five hundred thousand Dollars, and shall be charged
with Interest at the Rate of Five per Centum per Annum
thereon.
113. The Assets enumerated in the Fourth Schedule
to this Act belonging at the Union to the Province of
Canada shall be the Property of Ontario and Quebec conjointly.
114. Nova Scotia shall be liable to Canada for the
Amount (if any) by which its Public Debt exceeds at
the Union Eight million Dollars, arid shall be charged
with Interest at the Rate of Five per Centum per Annum
thereon. (49)
115. New Brunswick shall be liable to Canada for the
Amount (if any) by which its Public Debt exceeds at the
Union Seven million Dollars, and shall be charged with
Interest at the Rate of Five per Centum per Annum
thereon.
116. In case the Public Debts of Nova Scotia and
New New Brunswick do not at the Umon amount to Eight
million and Seven million Dollars respectively, they shall
respectively receive by half-yearly Payments in advance
from the Government of Canada Interest at Five per
Centum per Annum on the Difference between the actual
Amounts of their respective Debts and such stipulated
Amounts.
117. The several Provinces shall retain all their respective
Public Property not otherwise disposed of in
this Act, subject to the Right of Canada to assume any
Lands or Public Property required for Fortifications or
for the Defence of the Country.
[Page 67]
This page contains only footnotes.
[Page 68]
118. Repealed. (50)
119. New Brunswick shall receive by half-yearly Payments
in advance from Canada for the Period of Ten Years
from the Union an additional Allowance of Sixty-three
thousand Dollars per Annum; but as long as the Public
Debt of that Province remains under Seven million Dollars,
a Deduction equal to the Interest at Five per Centum per
Annum on such Deficiency shall be made from that Allowance
of Sixty-three thousand Dollars. (51)
120. All Payments to be made under this Act, or in
discharge of Liabilities created under any Act of the
Provinces of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick
respectively, and assumed by Canada, shall, until the
Parliament of Canada otherwise directs, be made in such
Form and Manner as may from Time to Time be ordered
by the Governor General in Council.
121. All Articles of the Growth, Produce, or Manufacture
of any one of the Provinces shall, from and after
the Union, be admitted free into each of the other Provinces.
122. The Customs and Excise Laws of each Province
shall, subject to the Provisions of this Act, continue in
force until altered by the Parliament of Canada. (52)
123. Where Customs Duties are, at the Union, leviable
on any Goods, Wares, or Merchandises in any Two Provinces,
those Goods, Wares, and Merchandises may, from and
after the Union, be imported from one of those Provinces
into the other of them on Proof of Payment of the Customs
Duty leviable thereon in the Province of Exportation, and
on Payment of such further Amount (if any) of Customs
Duty as is leviable thereon in the Province of Importation.
(53)
124. Nothing in this Act shall affect the Right of
New Brunswick to levy the Lumber Dues provided in
Chapter Fifteen of Title Three of the Revised Statutes
of New Brunswick, or. in any Act amending that Act
before or after the Union, and not increasing the Amount
of such Dues; but the Lumber of any of the Provinces
other than New Brunswick shall not be subject to such
Dues. (54)
125. No Lands or Property belonging to Canada or any
Province shall be liable to Taxation.
126. Such Portions of the Duties and Revenues over
which the respective Legislatures of Canada, Nova Scotia,
and New Brunswick had before the Union Power of Appropriation
as are by this Act reserved to the respective
Governments or Legislatures of the Provinces, and all
Duties and Revenues raised by them in accordance with
the special Powers conferred upon them by this Act, shall
in each Province form One Consolidated Revenue Fund to
be appropriated for the Public Service of the Province.
IX.—MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS.
General.
127. Repealed. (55)
128. Every Member of the Senate or House of Com-
mons of Canada shall before taking his Seat therein take
and subscribe before the Governor General or some Person
authorized by him, and every Member of a Legislative
Council or Legislative Assembly of any Province shall
before taking his Seat therein take and subscribe before
the Lieutenant Governor of the Province or some Person
authorized by him, the Oath of Allegiance contained in
the Fifth Schedule to this Act; and every Member of the
Senate of Canada and every Member of the Legislative
Council of Quebec shall also, before taking his Seat therein,
take and subscribe before the Governor General, or some
Person authorized by him, the Declaration of Qualification
contained in the same Schedule.
129. Except as otherwise provided by this Act, all
Laws in force in Canada, Nova Scotia, or New Brunswick
at the Union, and all Courts of Civil and Criminal Jurisdiction,
and all legal Commissions, Powers, and Authorities,
and all Officers, Judicial, Administrative, and Ministerial,
existing therein at the Union, shall continue in Ontario,
Quebec, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick respectively,
as if the Union had not been made; subject nevertheless
(except with respect to such as are enacted by or exist
under Acts of the Parliament of Great Britain or of the
Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland,) to be repealed, abolished, or altered by the
Parliament of Canada, or by the Legislature of the respec-
tive Province, according to the Authority of the Parliament
or of that Legislature under this Act. (56)
130. Until the Parliament of Canada otherwise provides,
all Officers of the several Provinces· having Duties
to discharge in relation to Matters other than those coming
within the Classes of Subjects by this Act assigned exclusively
to the Legislatures of the Provinces shall be Officers
of Canada, and shall continue to discharge the Duties
of their respective Offices under the same Liabilities, Responsibilities,
and Penalties as if the Union had not been
made. (57)
131. Until the Parliament of Canada otherwise provides,
the Governor General in Council may from Time
to Time appoint such Officers as the Governor General in
Council deems necessary or proper for the effectual Execution
of this Act.
132. The Parliament and Government of Canada shall
have all Powers necessary or proper for performing the
Obligations of Canada or of any Province thereof, as Part
of the British Empire, towards Foreign Countries, arising
under Treaties between the Empire and such Foreign
Countries.
133. Either the English or the French Language may
be used by any Person in the Debates of the Houses of
the Parliament of Canada and of the Houses of the Legislature
of Quebec; and both those Languages shall be used
in the respective Records and Journals of those Houses;
and either of those Languages may be used by any Person
or in any Pleading or Process in or issuing from any Court
of Canada established under this Act, and in or from all
or any of the Courts of Quebec.
The Acts of the Parliament of Canada and of the
Legislature of Quebec shall be printed and published in
both those Languages.
Ontario and Quebec.
134. Until the Legislature of Ontario or of Quebec
otherwise provides, the Lieutenant Governors of Ontario
and Quebec may each appoint under the Great Seal of the
Province the following Officers, to hold Office during
Pleasure, that is to say,—the Attorney General, the Secretary
and Registrar of the Province, the Treasurer of the
Province, the Commissioner of Crown Lands, and the Commissioner
of Agriculture and Public Works, and in the
Case of Quebec the Solicitor General, and may, by Order
of the Lieutenant Governor in Council, from Time to Time
prescribe the Duties of those Officers, and of the several
Departments over which they shall preside or to which they
shall belong, and of the Officers and Clerks thereof, and
may also appoint other and additional Officers to hold
Office during Pleasure, and may from Time to Time prescribe
the Duties of those Officers, and of the several
Departments over which they shall preside or to which
they shall belong, and of the Officers and Clerks thereof. (58)
135. Until the Legislature of Ontario or Quebec other-
wise provides, all Rights, Powers, Duties, Functions, Re-
sponsibilities, or Authorities at the passing of this Act Officers.
vested in or imposed on the Attorney General, Solicitor
General, Secretary and Registrar of the Province of Canada,
Minister of Finance, Commissioner of Crown Lands, Commissioner
of Public Works, and Minister of Agriculture
and Receiver General, by any Law, Statute, or Ordinance
of Upper Canada, Lower Canada, or Canada, and not
repugnant to this Act, shall be vested in or imposed on
any Officer to be appointed by the Lieutenant Governor
for the Discharge of the same or any of them; and the
Commissioner of Agriculture and Public Works shall perform
the Duties and Functions of the Office of Minister
of Agriculture at the passing of this Act imposed by the
Law of the Province of Canada, as well as those of the
Commissioner of Public Works. (59)
136. Until altered by the Lieutenant Governor in
Council, the Great Seals of Ontario and Quebec respectively
shall be the same, or of the same Design, as those used
in the Provinces of Upper Canada and Lower Canada
respectively before their Union as the Province of Canada.
137. The words “and from thence to the End of the
then next epsumg Session of the Legislature,” or Words
to the same Effect, used in any temporary Act of the
Province of Canada not expired before the Union, shall
be construed to extend and apply to the next Session of
the Parliament of Canada if the Subject Matter of the
Act is within the Powers of the same as defined by this
Act, or to the next Sessions of the Legislatures of Ontario
and Quebec respectively if the Subject Matter of the
Act is within the Powers of the same as defined by this
Act.
138. From and after the Union the Use of the Words
“Upper Canada” instead of “Ontario,” or “Lower Canada”
instead of “Quebec,” in any Deed, Writ, Process, Pleading,
Document, Matter, or Thing, shall not invalidate the same.
139. Any Proclamation under the Great Seal of the
Province of Canada issued before the Union to take effect
at a Time which is subsequent to the Union, whether
relating to that Province, or to Upper Canada, or to
Lower Canada, and the several Matters and Things therein
proclaimed, shall be and continue of like Force and Effect
as if the Union had not been made. (60)
140. Any Proclamation which is authorized by any Act
of the Legislature of the Province of Canada to be issued
under the Great Seal of the Province of Canada, whether
relating to that Province, or to Upper Canada, or to Lower
Canada, and which is not issued before the Union, may
be issued by the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario or of
Quebec, as its Subject Matter requires, under the Great
Seal thereof; and from and after the Issue of such Proclamation
the same and the several Matters and Things
therein proclaimed shall be and continue of the like Force
and Effect in Ontario or Quebec as if the Union had not
been made. (61)
141. The Penitentiary of the Province of Canada shall,
until the Parliament of Canada otherwise provides, be and
continue the Penitentiary of Ontario and of Quebec. (62)
142. The Division and Adjustment of the Debts,
Credits, Liabilities, Properties, and Assets of Upper Can-
ada and Lower Canada shall be referred to the Arbitrament
of Three Arbitrators, One chosen by the Government
of Ontario, One by the Government of Quebec, and
One by the Government of Canada; and the Selection
of the Arbitrators shall not be made until the Parliament
of Canada and the Legislatures of Ontario and Quebec
have met; and the Arbitrator chosen by the Government
of Canada shall not be a Resident either in Ontario or in
Quebec. (63)
143. The Governor General in Council may from Time
to Time order that such and so many of the Records,
Books, and Documents of the Province of Canada as he
thinks fit shall be appropriated and delivered either to
Ontario or to Quebec, and the same shall thenceforth be
the Property of that Province; and any Copy thereof or
Extract tnerefrom, duly certified by the Officer having
charge of the Original thereof, shall be admitted as
Evidence. (64)
144. The Lieutenant Governor of Quebec may from
Time to Time, by Proclamation under the Great Seal of
the Province, to take effect from a Day to be appointed
therein, constitute Townships in those Parts of the Province
of Quebec in which Townships are not then already constituted,
and fix the Metes and Bounds thereof.
145. Repealed. (65)
XI.—ADMISSION OF OTHER COLONIES
146. It shall be lawful for the Queen by and with the
Advice of Her Majesty’s Most Honourable Privy Council,
on Addresses from the Houses of the Parliament of Canada,
and from the Houses of the respective Legislatures of the
Colonies or Provinces of Newfoundland, Prince Edward
Island, and British Columbia, to admit those Colonies or
Provinces, or any of them, into the Union, and on Address
from the Houses of the Parliament of Canada to admit
Rupert’s Land and the North-western Territory, or either
of them, into the Union, on such Terms and Conditions
in each Case as are in the Addresses expressed and as the
Queen thinks fit to approve, subject to the Provisions of
this Act; and the Provisions of any Order in Council
in that Behalf shall have effect as if they had been enacted
by the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland. (66)
147. In case of the Admission of Newfoundland and
Prince Edward Island, or either of them, each shall be
entitled to a Representation in the Senate of Canada of
Four Members, and (notwithstanding anything in this
Act) in case of the Admission of Newfoundland the normal
Number of Senators shall be Seventy-six and their maximum
Number shall be Eighty-two; but Prince Edward
Island when admitted shall be deemed to be comprised
in the Third of the Three Divisions into which Canada
is, in relation to the Constitution of the Senate, divided
by this Act, and accordingly, after the Admission of
Prince Edward Island, whether Newfoundland is admitted
or not, the Representation of Nova Scotia and New Bruns-
wick in the Senate shall, as Vacancies occur, be reduced
from Twelve to Ten Members respectively, and the
Representation of each of those Provinces shall not be
increased at any Time beyond Ten, except under the
Provisions of this Act for the Appointment of Three or
Six additional Senators under the Direction of the Queen.
(67)
SCHEDULES
THE FIRST SCHEDULE. (68)
Electoral Districts of Ontario.
A.
EXISTING ELECTORAL DIVISIONS.
COUNTIES.
1 . Prescott. 6. Carleton.
2. Glengarry. 7. Prince Edward.
3. Stormont. 8. Halton.
4. Dundas. 9. Essex.
5. Russell
RIDINGS OF COUNTIES.
10. North Riding of Lanark.
11. South Riding of Lanark.
12. North Riding of Leeds and North Riding of Grenville.
13. South Riding of Leeds.
14. South Riding of Grenville.
15. East Riding of Northumberland.
16. West Riding of Northumberland (excepting therefrom the Township
of South Monaghan).
17. East Riding of Durham.
18. West Riding of Durham.
19. North Riding of Ontario.
20. South Riding of Ontario.
21. East Riding of York.
22. West Riding of York.
23. North Riding of York.
24. North Riding of Wentworth.
25. South Riding of Wentworth.
26. East Riding of Elgin.
27. West Riding of Elgin.
28. North Riding of Waterloo.
29. South Riding of Waterloo.
30. North Riding of Brant.
31. South Riding of Brant.
32. North Riding of Oxford.
33. South Riding of Oxford.
34. East Riding of Middlesex.
CITIES, PARTS OF CITIES, AND TOWNS.
35. West Toronto.
36. East Toronto.
37. Hamilton.
38. Ottawa.
39. Kingston.
40. London.
41. Town of Brockville, with the Township of Elizabeth town thereto.
attached.
42. Town of Niagara, with the Township of Niagara, thereto
attached.
43. Town of Cornwall, with the Township of Cornwall thereto
attached.
B.
NEW ELECTORAL DISTRICTS.
44. The Provisional.Judicial District of ALGOMA.
The County of BRUCE, divided into Two Ridings, to be called
respectively the North and South Ridings:
45. The North Riding of Bruce to consist of the Townships of
Bury, Lindsay, Eastnor, Albermarle, Amable, Arran, Bruce,
Elderslie, and Saugeen, and the Village of Southampton.
46. The South Riding of Bruce to consist of the Townships of
Kincardine (including the Village of Kincardine), Greenock,
Brant, Huron, Kinloss, Culross; and Carrick.
The County of HURON, divided into Two Ridings, to be called
respectively the North and South Ridings:—
47. The North Riding to consist of the Townships of Ashfield~
Wawanosh, Turnberry, Howick, Morris, Grey, Colborne, Hullett,
including the Village of Clinton, and McKillop.
48. The South Riding to consist of the Town of Goderich and the
Townships of Goderich, Tuckersmith, Stanley, Hay, Usborne,
and Stephen.
The County of MIDDLESEX, divided into three Ridings, to be called
respectively the North, West, and East Ridings:—
49. The North Riding to consist of the Townships of McGillivray
and Biddulph (taken from the County of Huron), and Williams
East, Williams West, Adelaide, and Lobo.
50. The West Riding to consist of the Townships of Delaware,
Carradoc, Metcalfe, Mosa and Ekfrid, and the Village of Strathroy.
(The East Riding to consist of the Townships now embraced
therein, and be bounded as it is at present.)
51. The County of LAMBTON to consist of the Townships of Bosanquet,
Warwick, Plympton, Sarnia, Moore, Enniskillen, and
Brooke, and the Town of Sarnia.
52. The County of KENT to consist of the Townships of Chatham,
Dover, East Tilbury, Romney, Raleigh, and Harwich, and the
Town of Chatham.
53. The County of BOTRWELL to consist of the Townships of Sombra,
Dawn, and Euphemia (taken from the County of Lambton),
and the Townships of Zone, Camden with the Gore thereof),
Orford, and Howard (taken from the County of Kent).
The County of GREY, divided into Two Ridings, to be called
respectively the South and North Ridings:—
54. The South Riding to consist of the Townships of Bentinck,
Glenelg, Artemesia, Osprey, Normanby, Egremont, Proton, and
Melancthon.
55. The North Riding to consist of the Townships of Collingwood,
Euphrasia, Holland, Saint-Vincent, Sydenham, Sullivan, Derby,
and Keppel, Sarawak and Brooke, and the Town of Owen Sound.
The County of PERTH, divided into Two Ridings, to be called
respectively the South and North Ridings:—
56. The North Riding to consist of the Townships of W allace, Elma,
Logan, Ellice, Mornington, and North Easthope, and the Town
of Stratford.
57. The South Riding to consist of the Townships of Blanchard,
Downie, South Easthope, Fullarton, Hibbert, and the Villages
of Mitchell and Ste. Mary’s.
The County of WELLINGTON, divided into Three Ridings, to be
called respectively North, South and. Centre Ridings:—
58. The North Riding to consist of the Townships of Amaranth,
Arthur, Luther, Minto, Maryborough, Peel, and the Village
of Mount Forest.
59. The Centre Riding to consist of the Townships of Garafraxa,
Erin, Eramosa, Nichol, and Pilkington, and the Villages of
Fergus and Elora.
60. The South Riding to consist of the Town of Guelph, and the
Townships of Guelph and Puslinch.
The County of NORFOLK, divided into Two Ridings, to be called
respectively the South and North Ridings:—
61. The South Riding to consist of the Townships of Charlotteville,
Houghton, Walsingham, and Woodhouse, and with the Gore
thereof.
62. The North Riding to consist of the Townships of Middleton,
Townsend, and Windham, and the Town of Simcoe.
63. The County of HALDIMAND to consist of the Townships of
Oneida, Seneca, Cayuga North, Cayuga South, Rainham, Walpole,
and Dunn.
64. The County of MONCK to consist of the Townships of Canborough
and Moulton, and Sherbrooke, and the Village of
Dunnville (taken from the County of Haldimand), the Townships
of Caister and Gainsborough (taken from the County of
Lincoln), and the Townships of Pelham and Wainfleet (taken
from the County of Welland).
65. The County of LINCOLN to consist of the Townships of Clinton,
Grantham, Grimsby, and Louth, and the Town of St. Catherines.
66. The County of WELLAND to consist of the Townships of Bertie,
Crowland, Humberstone, Stamford, Thorold, and Willoughby,
and the Villages of Chippewa, Clifton, Fort Erie, Thorold, and
Welland.
67. The County of PEEL to consist of the Townships of Chinguacousy,
Toronto, and the Gore of Toronto, and the Villages of
Brampton and Streetsville.
68. The County of CARDWELL to consist of the Townships of Albion
and Caledon (taken from the County of Peel), and the Townships
of Adjala and Mono (taken from the County of Simcoe).
The County of SIMCOE, divided into Two Ridings, to be called
respectively the South and North Ridings:—
69. The South Riding to consist of the Townships of West Gwillimbury,
Tecumseth, Innisfil, Essa, Tossorontio, Mulmur, and
the Village of Bradford.
70. The North Riding to consist of the Townships of Nottawasaga,
Sunnidale, Vespra, Flos, Oro, Medonte, Orillia and Matchedash,
Tiny and Tay, Balaklava and Robinson, and the Towns of
Barrie and Collingwood.
The County of VICTORIA, divided into Two Ridings, to be ca.lled
respectively the South and North Ridings:—
71. The South Riding to consist of the Townships of Ops, Mariposa,
Emily, Verulam, and the Town of Lindsay.
72. The North Riding to consist of the Townships of Anson, Bexley,
Garden, Dalton, Digby, Eldon, Fenelon, Hindon, Laxton, Lutterworth,
Macaulay and Draper, Sommerville, and Morrison,
Muskoka, Monck and Watt (taken from the County of Simcoe),
and any other surveyed Townships lying to the North of the
said North Riding.
The County of PETERBOROUGH, divided into Two Ridings, to be
called respectively the West and East Ridings:—
73. The West Riding to consist of the Townships of South
Monaghan (taken from the County of Northumberland), North
Monaghan, Smith, and Ennismore, and the Town of Peterborough.
7 4. The East Riding to consist of the Townships of Asphodel,
Belmont and Methuen, Douro, Dummer, Galway, Harvey,
Minden, Stanhope and Dysart, Otonabee, and Snowden, and
the Village of Ashburnham, and any other surveyed Townships
lying to the North of the said East Riding.
The County of HASTINGS, divided into Three Ridings, to be called
respectively the West, East, and North Ridings:—
75. The West Riding to consist of the Town of Belleville, the Township
of Sydney, and the Village of Trenton.
76. The East Riding to consist of the Townships of Thurlow,
Tyendinaga, and Hungerford.
77. The North Riding to consist of the Townships of Rawdon,
Huntingdon, Madoc, Elzevir, Tudor, Marmora, and Lake, and
the Village of Stirling, and any other surveyed Townships lying
to the North of the said North Riding.
78. The County of LENNOX, to consist of the Townships of Richmond,
Adolphustown, North Fredericksburgh, South Fredericksburgh,
Ernest Town, and Amherst Island, and the Village of
Napanee.
79. The County of ADDINGTON to consist of the Townships of Camden,
Portland, Sheffield, Hinchinbrooke, Kaladar, Kennebec,
Olden, Oso, Anglesea, Barrie, Clarendon, Palmerston, Effingham,
Abinger, Miller, Canonto, Denbigh, Loughborough, and Bedford.
80. The County of FRONTENAC to consist of the Townships of
Kingston, Wolfe Island, Pittsburgh and Howe Island, and Storrington.
The County of RENFREW, divided into two Ridings, to be called
respectively the South and North Ridings:—
81. The South Riding to consist of the Townships of McNab, Bagot,
Blithfield, Brougham, Horton, Admaston, Grattan, Matawatchan,
Griffith, Lyndoch, Raglan, Radcliffe, Brudenell, Sebastopol,
and the Villages of Arnprior and Renfrew.
82. The North Riding to consist of the Townships of Ross, Bromley,
Westmeath, Stafford, Pembroke, Wilberforce, Alice, Petawawa,
Buchanan, South Algoma, North Algoma, Fraser, McKay, Wylie,
Rolph, Head, Maria, Clara, Haggerty, Sherwood, Burns, and
Richards, and any other surveyed Townships lying Northwesterly
of the said North Riding.
Every Town and incorporated Village existing at the Union, not
especially mentioned in this Schedule, is to be taken as Part of the
County or Riding within which it is locally situate.
THE SECOND SCHEDULE.
Electoral Districts of Quebec specially fixed.
COUNTIES OF—
Pontiac.
Ottawa.
Argenteuil.
Huntingdon.
Missisquoi.
Brome.
Shefford.
Stanstead.
Compton.
Wolfe and
Richmond.
Megantic.
TOWN of Sherbrooke.
THE THIRD SCHEDULE.
Provincial Public Works and Property to be the
Property of Canada.
1. Canals, with Lands and Water Power connected therewith.
2. Public Harbours.
3. Lighthouses and Piers, and Sable Island.
4. Steamboats, Dredges, and public Vessels.
5. Rivers and Lake Improvements.
6. Railways and Railway Stocks, Mortgages, and other Debts due
by Railway Companies.
7. Military Roads.
8. Custom Houses, Post Offices, and all other Public Buildings,
except such as the Government of Canada appropriate for the
Use of the Provincial Legislature and Governments.
9. Property transferred by the Imperial Government, and known
as Ordnance Property.
10. Armouries, Drill Sheds, Military Clothing, and Munitions of
War, and Lands set apart for general Public Purposes.
THE FOURTH SCHEDULE.
Assets to be the Property of Ontario and Quebec conjointly.
Upper Canada Building Fund.
Lunatic Asylums.
Normal School.
Court Houses,
in
Aylmer,
Montreal,
Kamouraska.
Lower Canada
Law Society, Upper Canada.
Montreal Turnpike Trust.
University Permanent Fund.
Royal Institution.
Consolidated Municipal Loan Fund, Upper Canada.
Consolidated Municipal Loan Fund, Lower Canada.
Agricultural Society, Upper Canada.
Lower Canada Legislative Grant.
Quebec Fire Loan.
Temiscouata Advance Account.
Quebec Turnpike Trust.
Education—East.
Building and Jury Fund, Lower Canada.
Municipalities Fund.
Lower Canada Superior Education Income Fund
THE FIFTH SCHEDULE.
OATH OF ALLEGIANCE.
I, A. B. do swear, That I will be faithful and bear true Allegiance
to Her Majesty Queen Victoria.
Note.—The Name of the King or Queen of the United Kingdom
of Great Britain and Ireland for the Time being is to be
substituted from Time to Time, with Proper Terms of
Reference thereto.
DECLARATION OF QUALIFICATION.
I, A. B., do declare and testify, That I am by Law duly qualified
to be appointed a Member of the Senate of Canada [or as the Case
may be], and that I am legally or equitably seised as of Freehold
for my own Use and Benefit of Lands or Tenements held in Free and
Common Socage [or seised or possessed for my own Use and Benefit
of Lands or Tenements held in Franc-alleu or in Roture (as the Case
may be),] in the Province of Nova Scotia [or as the Case may be]
of the Value of Four thousand Dollars over and above all Rents,
Dues, Debts, Mortgages, Charges, and Incumbrances due or payable
out of or charged on or affecting the same, and that I have not collusively
or colourably obtained a Title to or become possessed of the
said Lands and Tenements or any Part thereof for the Purpose of
enabling me to become a Member of the Senate of Canada [or as the
Case may be], and that my Real and Personal Property are together
worth Four thousand Dollars over and above my Debts and Liabilities.
(1) The enacting clause was repealed by the Statute Law Revision Act, 1893,
56-57 Vict., c. 14 (U.K.). It read as follows:
Be it therefore enacted and declared by the Queen’s Most Excellent
Majesty, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Lords Spiritual
and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled,
and by the Authority of the same, as follows:
(2) Section 2, repealed by the Statute Law Revision Act, 1893, 56-57 Vict.,
c. 14 (U.K.), read as follows:
2. The Provisions of this Act referring to. Her Majesty the Queen
extend also to the Heirs and Successors of Her Majesty, Kings and
Queens of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
(3) The first day of July, 1867, was fixed by proclamation dated May 22,
1867.
(4) Partially repealed by the Statute Law Revision Act, 1893, 56-57 Vict.,
c. 14 (U.K.). As originally enacted the section read as follows:
4. The subsequent Provisions of this Act shall, unless it is otherwise
expressed or implied, commence and have effect on and after
the Union, that is to say, on and after the Day appointed for the
Union taking effect in the Queen’s Proclamation; and in the same
Provisions, unless it is otherwise expressed or implied, the Name
Canada shall be taken to mean Canada as constituted under this Act.
(5) Canada now consists of ten provinces (Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia,
New Brunswick, Manitoba, British Columbia, Prince Edward Island, Alberta,
Saskatchewan and Newfoundland) and two territories (the Yukon Territory
and the Northwest Territories).
The first territories added to the Union were Rupert’s Land and the NorthWestern
Territory, (subsequently designated the Northwest Territories), which
were admitted pursuant to section 146 of the British North America Act, 1867
and the Rupert’s Land Act, 1868, 31-32 Vict., c. 105 (U.K.), by Order in Council
of June 23, 1870, effective July 15, 1870. Prior to the admission of these territories
‘the Parliament of Canada enacted the Act for the temporary Government of
Rupert’s Land and the North-Western Territory when united with Canada (32-33
Vict., c. 3), and the Manitoba Act (33 Vict., c. 3), which provided for the formation
of the Province of Manitoba.
British Columbia was admitted into the Union pursuant to section 146 of
the British North America Act, 1867, by Order in Council of May 16, 1871, effective
July 20, 1871.
Prince Edward Island was admitted pursuant to section 146 of the British
North America Act, 1867, by Order in Council of June 26, 1873, effective July 1,
1873.
On June 29, 1871, the United Kingdom Parliament enacted the British North
America Act, 1871 (34-35 Vict., c. 28) authorizing the creation of additional
provinces out of territories not included in any province. Pursuant to this statute,
the Parliament of Canada enacted The Alberta Act, (July 20, 1905, 4-5 Edw. VII,
c. 3) and The Saskatchewan Act, (July 20, 1905, 4-5 Edw. VII, c. 42), providing for
the creation of the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan respectively. Both these
Acts came into force on Sept. 1, 1905.
Meanwhile, all remaining British possessions and territories in North America
and the islands adjacent thereto, except the colony of Newfoundland and its
dependencies, were admitted into the Canadian Confederation by Order in Council
dated July 31, 1880.
The Parliament of Canada added portions of the Northwest Territories to the
adjoining provinces in 1912 by The Ontario Boundaries Extension Act, 2 Geo. V,
c. 40, The Quebec Boundaries Extension Act, 1912, 2 Geo. V, c. 45, and The
Manitoba Boundaries Extension Act, 1912, 2 Geo. V, c. 32, and further additions
were made to Manitoba by The Manitoba Boundaries Extension Act, 1930, 20-21
Geo. V, c. 28.
The Yukon Territory was created out of the Northwest Territories in 1898 by
The Yukon Territory Act, 61 Vict., c. 6, (Canada).
Newfoundland was added on March 31, 1949, by the British North America
Act, 1949, (U.K.), 12-13 Geo. VI, c. 22, which ratified the Terms of Union between
Canada and Newfoundland.
(6) See the notes to section 129, infra.
(7) Repealed and re-enacted by the Parliament of Canada Act, 1875, 38-39
Vict., c. 38 (U.K.). The original section read as follows:
18. The Privileges Immunities, and Powers to be held, enjoyed,
and exercised by the Senate and by the House of Commons and
by the Members thereof respectively shall be such as are from Time
to Time defined by Act of the Parliament of Canada, but so that the
same shall never exceed those at the . passing of this Act held,
enjoyed, and exercised by the Commons House of Parliament of the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland arid by the Members
thereof.
(8) Spent. The first session of the first Parliament began on November 6,
1867.
(9) The term of the twelfth Parliament was extended by the British North
America Act, 1916, 6-7 Geo. V, c. 19 (U.K.), which Act was repealed by the
Statute Law Revision Act, 1927, 17-18 Geo. V, c. 42 (U.K.).
(10) As amended by the British North America Act, 1915, 5-6 Geo. V, c. 45
(U.K.), and modified by the British North America Act, 1949, 12-13 Geo. VI,
c. 22 (U.K.).
The original section read as follows:
21. The Senate shall, subject to the Provisions of this Act, consist
of Seventy-two Members, who shall be styled Senators.
The Manitoba Act added two for Manitoba; the Order in Council admitting
British Columbia added three; upon admission of Prince Edward Island four
more were provided by section 147 of the British North America Act, 1867; The
Alberta Act and The Saskatchewan Act each added four. The Senate was reconstituted
at 96 by the British North America Act, 1915, and six more Senators were
added upon union with Newfoundland.
(11) As amended by the British North America Act, 1915, and the British
North America Act, 1949, 12-13 Geo. VI, c. 22 (U.K.). The original section read as
follows:
22. In relation to the Constitution of the Senate, Canada shall
be deemed to consist of Three Divisions:
1. Ontario;
2. Quebec;
3. The Maritime Provinces, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick;
which Three Divisions shall (subject to the Provisions of this Act)
be equally represented in the Senate as follows: Ontario by Twentyfour
Senators; Quebec by Twenty-four Senators; and the Maritime
Provinces by Twenty-four Senators, Twelve thereof representing
Nova Scotia, and Twelve thereof representing New Brunswick.
In the Case of Quebec each of the Twenty-four Senators representing
that Province shall be appointed for One of the Twenty-
four Electoral Divisions of Lower Canada specified in Schedule A.
to Chapter One of the Consolidated Statutes of Canada.
(12) Repealed by the Statute Law Revision Act, 1893, 56-57 Vict., c. 14 (U.K.).
The section read as follows:
25. Such Persons shall be first summoned to the Senate as the
Queen by Warrant under Her Majesty’s Royal Sign Manual thinks fit
to approve, and their Names shall be inserted in the Queen’s Proclamation
of Union.
(13) As amended by the British North America Act, 1915, 5-6 Geo. V, c. 45
(U.K.). The original section read as follows:
26. If at any Time on the Recommendation of the Governor
General the Queen thinks fit to direct that Three or Six Members be
added to the Senate, the Governor General may by Summons to
Three or Six qualified Persons (as the Case may be), representing
equally the Three Divisions of Canada, add to the Senate accordingly.
(14) As amended by the British North America Act, 1915, 5-6 Geo. V, c. 45
(U.K.). The original section read as follows:
27. In case of such Addition being at any Time made the Governor
General shall not summon any Person to the Senate, except on a
further like Direction by the Queen on the like Recommendation,
until each of the Three Divisions of Canada is represented by Twenty-four
Senators and no more.
(15) As amended by the British North America Act, 1915, 5-6 Geo. V, c. 45
(U.K.). The original section read as follows:
28. The Number of Senators shall not at any Time exceed
Seventy-eight.
(15A) As enacted by the British North America Act, 1965, Statutes of Canada,
1965, c. 4 which came into force on the 1st of June, 1965. The original section read
as follows:
29. A Senator shall, subject to the Provisions of this Act, hold his
Place in the Senate for Life.
(16) Provision for exercising the functions of Speaker during his absence is
made by the Speaker of the Senate Act, R.S.C. 1952, c. 255, Doubts as to the power
of Parliament to enact such an Act were removed by the Canadian Speaker
(Appointment of Deputy) Act, 1895, 59 Vict., c. 3,. (U.K.).
(17) As altered by the Representation Act, R.S.C. 1952, c. 334, as amended by
S.C. 1962, c. 17. The original section read as follows:
37. The House of Commons shall, subject to the Provisions of this
Act, consist of the One hundred and eighty-one Members, of whom
Eighty-two shall be elected for Ontario, Sixty-five for Quebec,
Nineteen for Nova Scotia, and Fifteen for New Brunswick.
See now the Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Act, Statutes of Canada,
1964-65, c. 31.
(18) Spent. The electoral districts are now set out in the Representation Act,
R.S.C. 1952, c. 334, as amended. See also the Electoral Boundaries Readjustment
Act, Statutes of Canada, 1964-65, c. 31.
(19) Spent. Elections are now provided for by the Canada Elections Act,
S.C. 1960, c. 38; controverted elections by the Dominion Controverted Elections
Act, R.S.C. 1952, c. 87; qualifications and disqualifications of members by the
House of Commons Act, R.S.C. 1952, e. 143 and the Senate and House of Commons
Act, R.S.C. 1952, c. 249.
(20) Repealed by the Statute Law Revision Act, .1893, 56-57 Vict., c. 14 (U.K.).
The section read as follows:
42. For the First Election of Members to serve in the House of
Commons the Governor General shall cause Writs to be issued by
such Person, in such Form, and addressed to such Returning Officers
as he thinks fit.
The Person issuing Writs under this Section shall have the like
Powers as are possessed at the Union by the Officers charged with
the issuing of Writs for the Election of Members to serve in the
respective House of Assembly or Legislative Assembly of the Province
of Canada, Nova Scotia, or New Brunswick; and the Returning
Officers to whom Writs are directed under this Section shall have
the like Powers as are possessed at the Union by the Officers charged
with the returning of Writs for the Election of Members to serve in
the same respective House of Assembly or Legislative Assembly.
(21) Repealed by the Statute Law Revision Act, 1893,56-57 Vict., c. 14 (U.K.).
The section read as follows:
43. In case a Vacancy in the Representation in the House of
Commons of any Electoral District happens before the Meeting of
the Parliament. or after the Meeting of the Parliament before
Provision is made by the Parliament in this Behalf, the Provisions
of the last foregoing Section of this Act shall extend and apply to
the issuing and returning of a Writ in respect of such vacant District.
(22) Provision for exercising the functions of Speaker during his absence
is now made by the Speaker of the House of Commons Act, R.S.C. 1952, c. 254.
(23) As enacted by the British North America Act, 1952, R.S.C. 1952, c. 304,
which came into force on June 18, 1952. The section, as originally enacted, read as
follows:
51. On the Completion of the Census in the Year One Thousand
eight hundred and seventy-one, and of each subsequent decennial
Census, the Representation of the Four Provinces shall be readjusted
by such Authority, in such Manner, and from such Time,
as the Parliament of Canada from Time to Time provides, subject and
according to the following Rules:
(1) Quebec shall have the fixed Number of Sixty-five Members:
(2) There shall be assigned to each of the other Provinces such
a Number of Members as will bear the same Proportion to the
Number of its Population (ascertained at such Census) as the
Number Sixty-five bears to the Number of the Population of
Quebec (so ascertained) :
(3) In the Computation of the Number of Members for a Province
a fractional Pa’rt not exceeding One Half of the whole Number
requisite for entitling the Province to a Member shall be disre-
garded; but a fractional Part exceeding One Half of that
Number shall be equivalent to the whole Number:
(4) On any such Re-adjustment the Number of Members for a
Province shall not be reduced unless the Proportion which the
Number of the Population of the Province bore to the Number
of the aggregate Population of Canada at the then last preceding
Re-adjustment of the Number of Members for the Province
is ascertained at the then latest Census to be diminished by
One Twentieth Part or upwards:
(5) Such Re-adjustment shall not take effect until the Termination
of the then existing Parliament.
The section was amended by the Statute Law Revision Act, 1893, 56-57 Vict.,
c. 14 (U.K) by repealing the words from “of, the census” to “seventy-one and”
and the word “subsequent”.
By the British North America Act, 1943, 6-7 Geo. VI, c. 30 (U.K.) redistribution
of seats following the 1941 census was postponed until the first session of Parliament
after the war. The section was re-enacted by the British North America Act, 1946,
9-10 Geo. VI, c. 63 (U.K.) to read as follows:
51. (1) The number of members of the House of Commons shall
be two hundred and fifty-five and the representation of the provinces
therein shall forthwith upon the coming into force of this section
and thereafter on the completion of each decennial census be
readjusted by such authority, in such manner, and from such time
as the Parliament of Canada from time to time provides, subject and
according to the following rules:-
(1) Subject as hereinafter provided, there shall be assigned to
each of the provinces a number of members computed by
dividing the total population of the provinces by two hundred
and fifty-four and by dividing the population of each province
by the quotient so obtained, disregarding, except as hereinafter
in this section provided, the remainder, if any, after the said
process of division.
(2) If the total number of members assigned to all the provinces
pursuant to rule one is less than two hundred and fifty-four,
additional members shall be assigned to the provinces (one to
a province) having remainders in the computation under rule
one commencing with the province havjng the largest remainder
and continuing with the other provinces in the order of the
magnitude of their respective remainders until the total number
of members assigned is two hundred and fifty-four.
(3)Notwithstanding anything in this section, if upon completion
of a computation under rules one and two, the number of
members to be assigned to a province is less than the number
of senators representing the said province, rules one and two
shall cease to apply in respect of the said province, and there
shall be assigned to the said province a number of members
equal to the said number of senators.
(4) In the event that rules one and two cease to apply in respect
of a province then, for the purpose of computing the number
of members to be assigned to the provinces in respect of which
rules one and two continue to apply, the total population of
the provinces shall be reduced by the number of the population
of the province in respect of which rules one and two have
ceased to apply and the number two hundred and fifty-four
shall be reduced by the number of members assigned to such
province pursuant to rule three.
(5) Such readjustment shall not take effect until the termination
of the then existing Parliament.
(2) The Yukon Territory as constituted by Chapter forty-one of
the Statutes of Canada, 1901, together with any Part of Canada not
comprised within a province which may from time to time be included
therein by the Parliament of Canada for the purposes of representation
in Parliament, shall be entitled to one member.
(24) As enacted by the British North America Act, 1915, 5-6 Geo. V, c. 45
(U.K.).
(25) Provided for by the Salaries Act, R.S.C. 1952, c. 243 as amended by S.C.
1963, c. 41.
(26) Now provided for in Ontario by the Executive Council Act, R.S.O. 1960,
c. 127, and in Quebec by the Executive Power Act, R.S.Q. 1964, c. 9.
(26A) A similar provision was included in each of the instruments admitting
British Columbia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland. The Executive
Authorities for Manitoba, Alberta and Saskatchewan were established by the
statutes creating those provinces. See the footnotes to section 5, supra.
(27) See the notes to section 129, infra.
(28) Spent. Now covered by the Representation Act, R.S.O. 1960, c. 353, as
amended by S.O. 1962-63, c. 125, which provides that the Assembly shall consist
of 108 members, representing the electoral distTicts set forth in the Schedule to
that Act.
(29) Spent. Now covered by the Legislature Act, R.S.Q. 1964, c. 6 as amended
by S.Q. 1965, c. 11; the membership remains at twenty-four, representing the
divisions set forth in the Territorial Division Act, R.S.Q. 1964, c. 5, as amended by
S.Q. 1965, c. 12.
(30) Altered by the Legislature Act, R.S.Q. 1964, c. 6, s. 7, which provides that
it shall be sufficient for any member to be domiciled, and to possess his property
qualifications, within the Province of Quebec.
(31) Spent. Now covered by the Legislature Act, R.S.Q. 1964, c. 6.
(32) Altered by the Legislature Act, R.S.Q. 1964, c. 6 as amended by S.Q.
1965, c. 11 and the Territorial Division Act, R.S.Q. 1964, c. 5 as amended by S.Q.
1965, c. 10; there are now 108 members representing the districts set out in the
Territorial Division Act.
(33) Repealed by the Statute Law Revision Act, 1893, 56-57 Vict., c. 14 (U.K.).
The section read as follows:
81. The Legislatures of Ontario and Quebec respectively shall be
called together not later than Six Months after the Union.
(34) Probably spent. The subject-matter of this section is now covered in
Ontario by the Legislative Assembly Act, R.S.O. 1960, c. 208, and in Quebec by
the Legislature Act, R.S.Q. 1964, c. 6.
(35) Probably spent. The subject-matter of this section is now covered in
Ontario by the Election Act, R.S.O. 1960, c. 118, the Controverted Elections Act,
R.S.O. 1960, c. 65 and the Legislative Assembly Act, R.S.O. 1960, c. 208, in Quebec
by the Elections Act, R.S.Q. 1964, c. 7, the Provincial Controverted Elections Act,
R.S.Q. 1964, c. 8 and the Legislature Act, R.S.Q. 1964, c. 6.
(36) The maximum duration of the Legislative Assembly for Ontario and
Quebec has been changed to five years by the Legislative Assembly Act, R.S.O.
1960, c. 208, and the Legislature Act, R.S.Q. 1964, c. 6 respectively.
(37) Partially repealed by the Statute .Law Revision Act, 1893, 56-57 Vict.,
c. 14 (U.K.) which deleted the following concluding words of the original
enactment:
and the House of Assembly of New Brunswick existing at the
passing of this Act shall, unless sooner dissolved, continue for the
Period for which it was elected.
A similar provision was included in each of the instruments admitting British
Columbia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland. The Legislatures of Manitoba,
Alberta and Saskatchewan were established by the statutes creating those
provinces. See the footnotes to section 5, supra.
(38) Repealed by the Statute Law Revision Act, 1893, 56-57 Vict., c. 14 (U.K.).
The section read as follows:
5.—ONTARIO, QUEBEC, AND NOVA SCOTIA.
89. Each of the Lieutenant Governors of Ontario, Quebec and
Nova Scotia shall cause Writs to be issued for the First Election
of Members of the Legislative Assembly thereof in such Form and
by such, Person as he thinks fit, and at such Time and addressed to
such Returning Officer as the Governor General directs, and so that
the First Election of Member of Assembly for any Electoral District
or any Subdivision thereof shall be held at the same Time and at
the same Places as the Election for a Member to serve in the House
of Commons of Canada for that Electoral District.
(39)Added by the British .North America (No. 2) Act, 1949, 13 Geo. VI, c. 81
(U.K.).
(40) Re-numbered by the British North America (No. 2) Act, 1949.
(41) Added by the British North America Act, 1940, 3-4 Geo. VI, c. 36 (U.K.).
(42) Legislative authority has been conferred on Parliament by other Acts as
follows:
1. The British North America Act, 1871, 34-35 Vict., c. 28 (U.K.).
2. The Parliament of Canada may from time to time establish
new Provinces in any territories forming for the time being part
of the Dominion of Canada, but not included in any Province thereof,
and may, at the time of such establishment, make provision for
the constitution and administration of any such Province, and for the
passing of Jaws for the peace, order, and good government of such
Province, and for its representation in the said Parliament.
3. The Parliament of Canada may from time to time, with the
consent of the Legislature of any Province of the said Dominion,
increase, diminish, or otherwise alter the limits of such Province,
upon such terms and conditions as may be agreed to by the said
Legislature, and may, with the like consent, make provision respecting
the effect and operation of any such increase or diminution or
alteration of territory in relation to any Province affected thereby.
4. The Parliament of Canada may from time to time make provision
for the administration, peace, order, and good government of any
territory not for the time being included in any Province.
5. The following Acts passed by the said Parliament of Canada,
and intituled respectively,—”An Act for the temporary government
of Rupert’s Land and the North Western Territory when united with
Canada”; and “An Act to amend and continue the Act thirty-two
and thirty-three Victoria, chapter three, and to establish and provide
for the government of “the Province of Manitoba,” shall be and
be deemed to have been valid and effectual for all purposes whatsoever
from the date at which they respectively received the assent,
in the Queen’s name, of the Governor General of the said Dominion
of Canada.”
6. Except as provided by the third section of this Act, it shall
not be competent for the Parliament of Canada to alter the provisions
of the last-mentioned Act of the said Parliament in so far as it
relates to the Province of Manitoba, or of any other Act hereafter
establishing new Provinces in the said Dominion, subject always to
the right of the Legislature of the Province of Manitoba to alter
from time to time the provisions of any Jaw respecting the qualification
of electors and members of the Legislative Assembly, and to
make Jaws respecting elections in the said Province.
The Rupert’s Land Act, 1868, 31-32 Vict., c. 105 (U.K.) (repealed by the Statute
Law Revision Act, 1893, 56-57 Vict., c. 14 (U.K.)) had previously conferred similar
authority in relation to Rupert’s Land and the North-Westem Territory upon
admission of those areas.
2. The British North America Act, 1886, 49-50 Vict., c. 35, (U.K.).
1. The Parliament of Canada may from time to time make provision
for the representation in the Senate and House of Commons of
Canada, or in either of them, of any territories which for the time
being form part of the Dominion of Canada, but are not included
in any province thereof.
3. The Statute of Westminster, 1931, 22 Geo. V. c. 4, (U.K.).
3. It is hereby declared and enacted that the Parliament of
a Dominion has full power to make laws having extra-territorial
operation.
(43) Altered for Manitoba by section 22 of the Manitoba Act, 33 Vict., c. 3
(Canada), (confirmed by the British North America Act, 1871), which reads as
follows:
22. In and for the Province, the said Legislature may exclusively
make Laws in relation to Education, subject and according to the
following provisions:—
(1) Nothing in any such Law shall prejudicially affect any right
or privilege with respect to Denominational Schools which any class
of persons have by Law or practice in the Province at the Union:
(2) An appeal shall lie to the Governor General in: Council from
any Act or decision of the Legislature of the Province. or of any
Provincial Authority, affecting any right or privilege, of the Protestant
or Roman Catholic minority of the Queen’s subjects in
relation to Education:
(3) In case any such Provincial Law, as from time to time
seems to the Governor General in Council requisite for the due
execution of the provisions of this section, is not made, or in case
any decision of the Governor General in Council on any appeal
under this section is not duly executed by the proper Provincial
Authority in that behalf, then, and in every such case, and as far
only as the circumstances of each case require, the Parliament of
Canada may make rem.edial Laws for the due execution of the
provisions of this section, and of any decision of the Governor
General in Council under this section.
Altered for Alberta by section 17 of The Alberta Act, 4-5 Edw. VII, c. 3 which
reads as follows:
17. Section 93 of The British North America Act, 1867, shall apply to
the said province, with the substitution for paragraph (1) of the
said section 93 of the following paragraph:—
(1) Nothing in any such law shall prejudicially affect any right or
privilege with respect to separate schools which any class of persons
have at the date of the passing of this Act, under the terms of
chapters 29 and 30 of the Ordinances of the Northwest Territories,
passed in the year 1901, or with respect to religious instruction in
any public or separate school as provided for in the said ordinances.
2. In the appropriation by the Legislature or distribution by the
Government of the province of any moneys for the support of schools
organized and carried on in accordance with the said chapter 29 or
any Act passed in amendment thereof. or in substitution therefor,
there shall be no discrimination against schools of any class described
in the said chapter 29.
3. Where the expression “by law” is employed in paragraph 3
of the said section 93, it shall be held to mean the law as set out in
the said chapters 29 and 30, and where the expression “at the Union”
is employed, in the said paragraph 3, it shall be held to mean the
date at which this Act comes into force.”
Altered for Saskatchewan by section 17 of The Saskatchewan Act, 4-5 Edw.
VII, c. 42, which reads as follows:
17. Section 93 of the British North America Act, 1867, shall
apply to the said province, with the substitution for paragraph (1)
of the said section 93, of the following paragraph:—
(1) Nothing in any such law shall prejudicially affect any right
or privilege with respect to separate schools which any class of
persons have at the date of the passing of this Act, under the terms
of chapters 29 and 30 of the Ordinances of the Northwest Territories,
passed in the year 1901, or with respect to religious instruction in any
public or separate school as provided for in the said ordinances.
2. In the appropriation by the Legislature or distribution by the
Government of the province of any moneys for the support of schools
organized and carried on in accordance with the said chapter 29,
or any Act passed in amendment thereof or in substitution therefor,
there shall be no discrimination against schools of any class described
in the said chapter 29.
3. Where the expression “by law” is employed in paragraph (3)
of the said section 93, it shall be held to mean the law as set out in
the said chapters 29 and 30; and where the expression “at the Union”
is employed in the said paragraph (3), it shall be held to mean the
date •at which this Act comes into force.
Altered by Term 17 of the Terms of Union of Newfoundland with Canada
(confirmed by the British North America Act, 1949, 12-13 Geo. VI, c. 22 (U.K.)),
which reads as follows:
17. In lieu of section ninety-three of the British North America
Act, 1867, the following tenn shall apply in respect of the Province
of Newfoundland:
In and for the Province of Newfoundland the Legislature shall
have exclusive authority to make laws in relation to education. but
the Legislature will not have authority to make laws prejudicially
affecting any right or privilege with respect to denominational schools,
common (amalgamated) schools, or denominational colleges, that any
class or classes of persons have by law in Newfoundland .at the date
of Union, and out of public funds of the Province of Newfoundland,
provided for education,
(a) all such schools shall receive their share of such funds in
accordance with scales determined on a non-discriminatory
basis from time to time by the Legislature for all schools
then being conducted under authority of the Legislature; and
(b) all such colleges shall receive their share of any grant from
time to time voted for all colleges then being conducted under
authority of the Legislature, such grant being distributed
on a non-discriminatory basis.
(44) Added by the British North America Act, 1964, 12-13, Eliz. II, c. 73
(U.K.). Originally enacted by the British North America Act, 1951, 14-15 Geo. VI,
c. 32 (U.K.), as follows:
“94A. It is hereby declared that the Parliament of Canada may
from time to time make laws in relation to old age pensions in Canada,
but no law made by the Parliament of Canada in relation to old age
pensions shall affect the operation of any law present or future of a
Provincial Legislature in relation to old age pensions.”
(44A) Repealed and re-enacted by the British North America Act, 1960,
9 Eliz. II, c. 2 (U.K.), which came into force on the 1st day of March, 1961. The
original section read as follows:
99. The Judges of the Superior Courts shall hold Office during good
Behaviour, but shall be removable by the Governor General on Address
of the Senate and House of Commons.
(45) Now provided for in the Judges Act, R.S.C. 1952, c. 159, as amended by
S.C. 1963, c. 8, 1964-65, c. 36 and 1966-67, c. 76.
(46) See the Supreme Court Act, R.S.C. 1952, c. 259, and the Exchequer Court
Act, R.S.C. 1952, c. 98.
(47) Now covered by the Governor General’s Act, R.S.C. 1952, c. 139.
(48) The four western provinces were placed in the same position as the
original provinces by the British North America Act, 1930, 21 Geo. V, c. 26 (U.K.).
(49) The obligations imposed by this section, sections 115 and 116, and similar
obligations under the instruments creating or admitting other provinces, have been
carried into legislation of the Parliament of Canada and are now to be found in
the Provincial Subsidies Act, R.S.C. 1952, c. 221.
(50) Repealed by the Statute Law Revision Act, 1950, 14 Geo. VI, c. 6 (U.K.).
As originally enacted, the section read as follows:
118. The following Sums . shall be paid yearly by Canada to the
several Provinces for the Support of their Governments and
Legislatures:
Dollars
Ontario ……………………………………… Eighty thousand.
Quebec …………………………………….. Seventy thousand.
Nova Scotia …………………………………… Sixty thousand.
New Brunswick ……………………………….. Fifty thousand.
Two hundred and sixty thousand;
and an annual Grant in aid of each Province shall be made, equal to
Eighty Cents per Head of the Population as ascertained by the Census
of One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, and in the Case of
Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, by each subsequent Decennial
Census . until the Population of each of those two Provinces amounts
to Four hundred thousand Sculs, at which Rate such Grant shall
thereafter remain. Such Grants shall be in full Settlement of all
future Demands on Canada, and shall be paid half-yearly in advance
to each Province; but the Government of Canada shall deduct from
such Grants, as against any Province, all Sums chargeable as Interest
on the Public Debt of that Province In excess of the several Amounts
stipulated in this Act.
The section was made obsolete by the British North America Act, 1907,
7 Edw. VII, c. 11 (U.K.) which provided:
1. (1) The following grants shall be made yearly by Canada to
every province, which at the commencement o:f this Act Is a province
of the Dominion, for. its local purposes and the support of its Government
and Legislature:—
(a) A fixed grant—
where the population of the province Is under one hundred
and fifty thousand, of one hundred thousand dollars;
where the population of the p;rovince is one hundred and
fifty thousand, but does not exceed two hundred thousand,
of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars;
where the population of the province Is two hundred
thousand, but does not exceed four hundred thousand,
of one hundred and eighty thousand dollars;
where the population of the province Is four hundred
thousand, but does not exceed eight hundred thousand,
of one hundred and ninety thousand dollars;
where the population of the province is eight hundred
thousand, but does · not exceed one million. five hundred
thousand, of two hundred and twenty thousand dollars;
where the population of the province exceeds one million
five hundred thousand, of two hundred and forty thousand
dollars; and
(b) Subject to the special provisions of this Act as to the
provinces of British Columbia and Prince Edward Island, a
grant at the rate of eighty cents per head of the population of
the province up to the number of two million five hundred
thousand, and at the rate of sixty cents per head of so
much of the population as exceeds that number.
(2) An additional grant of one hundred thousand dollars shall
be made yearly to the province of British Columbia for a period
of ten years from the commencement of this Act.
(3) The population of a province shall be ascertained from time
to time in the case of the provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and
Alberta respectively by the last quinquennial census or statutory
estimate of population made under the Acts establishing those
provinces or any other Act of the Parliament of Canada making
provision for the purpose, and in the case of any other province
by the last decennial census for the time being.
(4) The grants payable under this Act shall be paid half-yearly
in advance to each province.
(5) The grants payable under this Act shall be substituted for
the grants or subsidies (in this Act referred to as existing grants)
payable for the like purposes at the commencement of this Act to
the several provinces of the Dominion under the provisions of section
one hundred and eighteen of the British North America Act 1867,
or of any Order in Council establishing a province, or of any Act of
the Parliament of Canada containing directions for the payment of
any such grant or subsidy, and those provisions shall cease to have
effect.
(6) The Government of Canada shall have the same power of
deducting sums charged against a province on account of the interest
on public debt in the case of the grant payable under this Act to
the province as they have in the case of the existing grant.
(7) Nothing in this Act shall affect the obligation of the Government
of Canada to pay to any province any grant which is payable
to that province, other than the existing grant for which the grant
under this Act is substituted.
(8) In the case of the provinces of British Columbia and Prince
Edward Island, the amount paid on account of the grant payable
per head of the population to the provinces under this Act shall
not at any time be less than the amount of the corresponding grant
payable at the commencement of this Act, and if it is found on any
decennial census that the population of the province has decreased
since the last decennial census, the amount paid on account of the
grant shall not be decreased below the amount then payable, notwithstanding
the decrease of the population.
See the Provincial Subsidies Act, R.S.C. 1952, c. 221, The Maritime Provinces
Additional Subsidies Act, 1942-43, c. 14, and the Terms of Union of Newfoundland
with Canada, appended to the British North America Act, 1949, and also to An Act
to approve the Terms of Union of Newfoundland with Canada, chapter 1 of the
statutes of Canada, 1949.
(51) Spent.
(52) Spent. Now covered by the Customs Act, R.S.C. 1952, c. 58, the Customs
Tariff, R.S.C. 1952, c. 60, the Excise Act, R.S.C. 1952, c. 99 and the Excise Tax Act,
R.S.C. 1952, c. 100.
(53) Spent.
(54) These dues were repealed in 1873 by ’36 Vict., c. 16 (N.B.). And see An
Act respecting the Export Duties imposed on Lumber, etc., (1873) 36 Vict., c. 41
(Canada), and section 2 of the Provincial Subsidies Act, R.S.C. 1952, c. 221.
(55) Repealed by the Statute Law Revision Act, 1893, 56-57 Vict., c. 14 (U.K.).
The section read as follows:
127. If any Person being at the passing of this’ Act a Member of
the Legislative Council of Canada, Nova Scotia, or New Brunswick to
whom a Place in the Senate is offered, does not within Thirty Days
thereafter, by Writing under his Hand addressed to the Governor
General of the Province of Canada or to the Lieutenant Governor
of Nova Scotia or New Brunswick (as the Case may be), accept the
same, he shall be deemed to have declined the same; and any Person
who, being at the passing of this Act a, Member of the Legislative
Council of Nova Scotia or New Brunswick, accepts a Place in the
Senate, shall thereby vaca,te his Seat in such Legislative Council.
(56) The restriction against altering or repealing laws enacted by or existing
under statutes of the United Kingdom was cremoved by the Statute of Westminster,
1931, 22 Geo. V, c. 4 (U.K.).
(57) Spent.
(58) Spent. Now covered in Ontario by the Executive Councit Act, R.S.O.
1960, c. 127 and in Quebec by the Executive Power Act, R.S.Q. 1964, c. 9 as
amended by 1965, c. 16.
(59) Probably spent.
(60) Probably spent.
(61) Probably spent.
(62) Spent. Penitentiaries are now provided for by the Penitentiary Act,
s.c. 1960-61, c. 53.
(63) Spent. See pages (xi) and (xii) of the Public Accounts, 1902-03.
(64) Probably spent. Two orders were made under this section on the 24th of
January, 1868.
(65) Repealed by the Statute Law Revision Act, 1893, 56-57 Vict., c. 14, (U.K.).
The section reads as follows:
X.—INTERCOLONIAL RAILWAY.
145. Inasmuch as the Provinces of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New
Brunswick have joined in a Declaration that the Construction of
the Intercolonial Railway is essential to the Consolidation of the
Union of British North America, and to the Assent thereto of Nova
Scotia and New Brunswick, and have consequently agreed that
Provision should be made for its immediate Construction by the
Government of Canada: Therefore, in order to give effect to that
Agreement, it shall be the Duty of the Government and Parliament
of Canada to provide for the Commencement, within Six Months after
the Union, of a Railway connecting the River St. Lawrence with
the City of Halifax in Nova Scotia, and for the Construction thereof
without Intermission, and the Completion thereof with all practicable
Speed.
(66) All territories mentioned in this section are now part of Canada. See the
notes to section 5, supra.
(67) Spent. See the notes to sections 21, 22, 26, 27 and 28, supra.
(68) Spent. Representation Act, 1966, Statutes of Ontario 1966, c. 137.
APPENDIX II
The 1960 Canadian Bill of Rights
8-9 ELIZABETH II
CHAP. 44
An Act for the Recognition and Protection of
Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.
[Assented to 10th August, 1960.]
The Parliament of Canada, affirming that the Canadian
Nation is founded upon principles that acknowledge the
supremacy of God, the dignity and worth of the human
person and the position of the family in a society of free
men and free institutions;
Affirming also that men and institutions remain free
only when freedom is founded upon respect for moral and
spiritual values and the rule of law;
And being desirous of enshrining these principles and
the human rights and fundamental freedoms derived from
them, in a Bill of Rights which shall reflect the respect of
Parliament for its constitutional authority and which shall
ensure the protection of these rights and freedoms in
Canada:
THEREFORE Her Majesty, by and with the advice
and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of
Canada, enacts as follows:
PART I
BILL OF RIGHTS.
1. It is hereby recognized and declared that in Canada
there have existed and shall continue to exist without
discrimination by reason of race, national origin, colour,
religion or sex, the following human rights and fundamental
freedoms, namely,
(a) the right of the individual to life, liberty, security of
the person and enjoyment of property, and the right
not to be deprived thereof except by due process
of law;
(b) the right of the individual to equality before the
law and the protection of the law;
(c) freedom of religion;
(d) freedom of speech;
(e) freedom of assembly and association; and
(f) freedom of the press.
2. Every law of Canada shall, unless it is expressly
declared by an Act of the Parliament of Canada that it
shall operate notwithstanding the Canadian Bill of Rights,
be so construed and applied as not to abrogate, abridge or
infringe or to authorize the abrogation, abridgment or
infringement of any of the rights or freedoms herein recognized
and declared, and in particular, no law of Canada
shall be construed or applied so as to
(a) authorize or effect the arbitrary detention, imprisonment
or exile of any person;
(b) impose or authorize the imposition of cruel and
unusual treatment or punishment;
(c) deprive a person who has been arrested or detained
(i) of the right to be informed promptly of the reason
for his arrest or detention,
(ii) of the right to retain and instruct counsel without
delay, or
(iii) of the remedy by way of habeas corpus for the
determination of the validity of his detention
and for his release if the detention is not lawful;
(d) authorize a court, tribunal, commission, board or other
authority to compel a person to give evidence if he is
denied counsel, protection against self crimination or
other constitutional safeguards;
(e) deprive a person of the right to a fair hearing in
accordance with the principles of fundamental justice
for the determination of his rights and obligations;
(f) deprive a person charged with a criminal offence
of the right to be presumed innocent until proved
guilty according to law in a fair and public hearing
by an independent and impartial tribunal, or of
the right to reasonable bail without just cause; or
(g) deprive a person of the right to the assistance of an
interpreter m any proceedings in which he is involved
or in which he is a party or a witness, before a court,
commission, board or other tribunal, if he does not
understand or speak the language in which such
proceedings are conducted.
3. The Minister of Justice shall, in accordance with such
regulations as may be prescribed by the Governor in Council,
examine every proposed regulation submitted in draft form
to the Clerk of the Privy Council pursuant to the Regulations
Act and every Bill introduced in or presented to the House
of Commons, in order to ascertain whether any of the
provisions thereof are inconsistent with the purposes and
provisions of this Part and he shall report any such inconsistency
to the House of Commons at the first convenient
opportunity.
4. The provisions of this Part shall be known as the
Canadian Bill of Rights:
PART II
5. (1) Nothing in Part I shall be construed to abrogate
or abridge any human right or fundamental freedom not
enumerated therein that may have existed in Canada at
the commencement of this Act.
(2) The expression “law of Canada” in Part I means an
Act of the Parliament of Canada enacted before or after
the coming into force of this Act, any order, rule or regulation
thereunder, and any law in force in Canada or in any
part of Canada at the commencement of this Act that is
subject to be repealed, abolished or altered by the Parliament
of Canada.
(3) The provisions of Part I shall be construed as
extending only to matters coming within the legislative
authority of the Parliament of Canada.
6. Section 6 of the War Measures Act is repealed and the
following substituted therefor:
“6. (1) Sections 3, 4 and 5 shall come into force only upon
the issue of a proclamation of the Governor in Council
declaring that war, invasion or insurrection, real or apprehended,
exists.
(2) A proclamation declaring that war, invasion or insurrection,
real or apprehended, exists shall be laid before
Parliament forthwith after its issue, or, if Parliament is
then not sitting, within the first fifteen days next thereafter
that Parliament is sitting.
(3) Where a proclamation has been laid before Parliament
pursuant to subsection (2), a notice of motion in either
House signed by ten members thereof and made in accordance
with the rules of that House within ten days of the
day the proclamation was laid before Parliament, praying
that the proclamation he revoked, shall be debated in that
House at the first convenient opportunity within the four
sitting days next after the day the motion in that House
was made.
(4) If both Houses of Parliament resolve that the proclamation
be revoked, it shall cease to have effect, and
sections 3, 4 and 5 shall cease to be in force until those
sections are again brought into force by a further proclamation
but without prejudice to the previous operation of
those sections or anything duly done or suffered thereunder
or any offence committed or any penalty or forfeiture or
punishment incurred.
(5) Any act or thing done or authorized or any order or
regulation made under the authority of this Act, shall be
deemed not to be an abrogation, abridgement or infringement
of any right or freedom recognized by the Canadian
Bill of Rights.”
APPENDIX III
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
PREAMBLE
Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and
inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of
freedom, justice and peace in the world,
Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in
barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind, and the
advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and
belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest
aspiration of the common people,
Whereas it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse,
as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human
rights should be protected by the rule of law,
Whereas it is essential to promote the development of friendly relations
between nations,
Whereas the peoples of the United Nations have in the Charter
reaffirmed their faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and
worth of the human person and in the equal rights of men and women and
have determined to promote social progress and better standards of life in
larger freedom,
Whereas Member States have pledged themselves to achieve, in cooperation
with the United Nations, the promotion of universal respect for
and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms,
Whereas a common understanding of these rights and freedoms is of
the greatest importance for the full realization of this pledge,
Now, therefore,
The General Assembly
Proclaims this Universal Declaration of Human Rights as a common
standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that
every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly
in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect
for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and
international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance,
both among the peoples of Member States themselves and among the
peoples of territories under their jurisdiction.
ARTICLE 1
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They
are endowed with reason and conscience and ‘Should act towards one another
in a spirit of brotherhood.
ARTICLE 2
Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this
Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex,
language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin,
property, birth or other status.
Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political,
jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a
person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or
under any other limitation of sovereignty.
ARTICLE 3
Everyone has the right to life, liberty and the security of person.
ARTICLE 4
No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave
trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.
ARTICLE 5
No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment or punishment.
ARTICLE 6
Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the
law.
ARTICLE 7
All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination
to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection
against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any
incitement to such discrimination.
ARTICLE 8
Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national
tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the
constitution or by law
ARTICLE 9
No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.
ARTICLE 10
Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an
independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and
obligations and of any criminal charge against him.
ARTICLE 11
1. Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed
innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he
has had all the guarantees necessary for his defence.
2. No one shall be held :guilty of any penal offence on account of any
act or omission which did not constitute a penal offence, under national or
international law, at the time when it was committed. Nor shall a heavier
penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the penal
offence was committed.
ARTICLE 12
No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy,
family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation.
Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such
interference or attacks.
ARTICLE 13
1, Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within
the borders of each State.
2. Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and
to return to his country.
ARTICLE 14
1. Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries
asylum from persecution.
2. This right may not be invoked in the case of prosecutionsr genuinely
arising from non-political crimes or from acts contrary to the purposes and
principles of the United Nations.
ARTICLE 15
1. Everyone has the right to a nationality.
2. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the
right to change his nationality.
ARTICLE 16
1. Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race,
nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family. They
are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its
dissolution.
2. Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of
the intending spouses.
3. The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and
is entitled to protection by society and the State.
ARTICLE 17
1. Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association
with others.
2. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.
ARTICLE 18
Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion;
this right includes freedom to change’ his religion or belief, and freedom,
either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to
manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.
ARTICLE 19
Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right
includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive
and impart information and ideas through any media and ‘regardless of
frontiers.
ARTICLE 20
1. Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and
association.
2. No one may be compelled to belong to an association.
ARTICLE 21
1. Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country,
directly or through freely chosen representatives.
2. Everyone has the right of equal access to public service in his
country.
3. The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government;
this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which
shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or
by equivalent free voting procedures.
ARTICLE 22
Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social security and
is entitled to realization, through national effort and international co-operation
and in accordance with the organization and resources of each State, of
the economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for his dignity and the
free development of his personality.
ARTICLE 23
1. Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to
just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against
unemployment.
2. Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for
equal work.
3. Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration
ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human
dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection.
4. Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the
protection of his interests.
ARTICLE 24
Everyone has: the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation
of working hours and periodic holidays with pay.
ARTICLE 25
1. Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the
health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing,
housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to
security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old
age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.
2. Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance.
All children, whether born in or out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same
social protection.
ARTICLE 26
1. Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least
in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be
compulsmy. Technical and professional education shall be made generally
available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the
basis of merit.
2. Education shall be directed to the full development of the human
personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental
freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship
among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities
of the United Nations’ for the maintenance of peace.
3. Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall
be given to their children.
ARTICLE 27
1. Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of
the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and
its benefits.
2. Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material
interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of
which he is the author.
ARTICLE 28
Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the
rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration can be fully realized.
ARTICLE 29
1. Everyone has duties to the community. in which alone the free and
full development of his personality is possible.
2. In the exercise of his rights and freedoms, everyone shall be subject
only to such limitations as are determined by law solely for the purpose of
securing due recognition and respect for the rights and freedoms of others
and of meeting the just requirements of morality, public order and the
general welfare in a democratic society.
3. These rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised contrary to
the purposes and principles of the United Nations.
ARTICLE 30
Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any
State, group or person any right to engage in any activity or to perform any
act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms set forth
herein.
Hundred and eighty-third plenary meeting.
10 December 1948.
RIGHT OF PETITION
The General Assembly,
Considering that the right of petition is an essential human right, as is
recognized in the Constitutions of a great number of countries,
Having considered the draft article on petitions in document A/C.3/306
and the amendments offered thereto by Cuba and France,
Decides not to take any action on this matter at the present session;
Requests the Economic and Social Council to ask the Commission on
Human Rights to give further examination to the problem of petitions when
studying the draft covenant on human rights and measures nf implementation,
in order to enable the General Assembly to consider what further
action, if any, should be taken at its next regular session regarding the
problem of petitions.
Hundred and eighty-third plenary meeting.
10 December 1948.
FATE OF MINORITIES
The General Assembly,
Considering that the United Nations cannot remain indifferent to the
fate of minorities,
Considering that it is difficult to adopt a uniform solution of this
complex and delicate question, which has special aspects in each State in
which it arises,
Considering the universal character of the Declaration of Human
Rights,
Decides not to deal in a specific provision with the question of minorities
in the text of this Declaration;
Refers to the Economic and Social Council the texts submitted by the
delegations of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, Yugoslavia and
Denmark on this subject contained in document A/C.3/307/Rev. 2, and
requests the Council to ask the Commission on Human Rights and the
Sub-Commission on the Prevention of Discrimination and the Protection of
Minorities to make a thorough study of the problem of minorities, in order
that the United Nations may be able to take effective measures for the
protection of racial, national, religious or linguistic minorities.
Hundred and eighty-third plenary meeting.
10 December 1948.
PUBLICITY TO BE GIVEN TO THE UNIVERSAL
DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS
The General Assembly,
Considering that the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights is an historic act, destined to consolidate world peace through the
contribution of the United Nations towards the liberation of individuals
from the unjustified oppression and constraint to which they are too often
subjected,
Considering that the text of the Declaration should be disseminated
among all peoples throughout the world,
1. Recommends Governments of Member States to show their adherence
to Article 56 of the Charter by using every means within their power
solemnly to publicize the text of the Declaration and to cause it to be
disseminated, displayed, read and expounded principally in ‘Schools and
other educational institutions, without distinction based on the political
status of countries or territories;
2. Requests the Secretary-Gem;ral to have this Declaration widely
disseminated and, to that end, to- publish and distribute texts, not only in
the official languages, but also, using every means at his disposal, in all
languages possible;
3. Invites the specialized agencies and non-governmental organizations
of the world to do their utmost to bring this Declaration to the attention of
their members.
Hundred and eighty-third plenary meeting.
10 December 1948.
PREPARATION OF A DRAFT COVENANT ON HUMAN RIGHTS
AND DRAFT MEASURES OF IMPLEMENTATION
The General Assembly,
Considering that the plan of work of the Commission on Human Rights
provides for an International Bill of Human Rights, to include a Declaration,
a Covenant on Human Rights and mea•sures of implementation,
Requests the Economic and Social Council to ask the Commission on
Human Rights’ to continue to give priority in its work to the preparation of
a draft Covenant on Human Rights and draft measures of implementation.
Hundred and eighty-third plenary meeting.
10 December 1948.
APPENDIX IV
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms
of Racial Discrimination
The States Parties to this Convention,
Considering that the Charter of the United Nations is based on the
principles of the dignity and equality inherent in all human beings, and that
all Member States have pledged themselves to take joint and separate
action, in co-operation with the Organization, for the achieyement of one of
the purposes of the United Nations which is to promote and encourage
universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental
freedoms for all, without distinction as to race, sex, language or religion,
Considering that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights proclaims
that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights and that
everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set out therein, without
distinction of any kind, in particular as to race, colour or national origin,
Considering that all human beings are equal before the law and are
entitled to equal protection of the law against any discrimination and
against any incitement to discrimination,
Considering that the United Nations has condemned colonialism and all
practices of segregation and discrimination associated therewith, in whatever
form and wherever they exist, and that the Declaration on the Granting
of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples of 14 December 1960
(General Assembly resolution 1514 (XV)) has affirmed and solemnly proclaimed
the necessity of bringing them to a speedy and unconditional end,
Considering that the United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of
All Forms of Racial Discrimination of 20 November 1963 (General Assembly
resolution 1904 (XVIII)) solemnly affirms the necessity of speedily
eliminating racial discrimination throughout the world in all its forms and
manifestations and of securing understanding of and respect for the dignity
of the human person,
Convinced that any doctrine of superiority based on racial differentiation
is scientifically false, morally condemnable, socially unjust and dangerous,
and that there is no justification for racial discrimination, in theory or
in practice, anywhere,
Reaffirming that discrimination between human beings on the grounds
of race, colour or ethnic origin is an obstacle to friendly and peaceful
relations among nations and is capable of disturbing peace and security
among peoples and the harmony of persons living side by side even within
one and the same State,
Convinced that the existence of racial barriers is repugnant to the
ideals of any human society,
Alarmed by manifestations of racial discrimination still in evidence in
some areas of the world and by governmental policies based on racial
superiority or hatred, such as policies of apartheid, segregation or
separation,
Resolved to adopt all necessary measures for speedily eliminating
racial discrimination in all its forms and manifestations, and to prevent and
combat racist doctrines and practices in order to promote understanding
between races and to build an international community free from all forms
of racial segregation and racial discrimination,
Bearing in mind the Convention concerning Discrimination in respect
of Employment and Occupations adopted by the International Labour
Organisation in 1958, and the Convention against Discrimination in Education
adopted by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization in 1960,
Desiring to implement the principles embodied in the United Nations
Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and
to secure the earliest adoption of practical measures to that end,
Have agreed as follows:
PART I
ARTICLE 1
1. In this Convention, the term “racial discrimination” shall mean any
distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on race, colour, descent,
or national or ethnic origin which has the purpose or effect of nullifying or
impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of
human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social,
cultural or any other field of public life.
2. This Convention shall not apply to distinctions, exclusions, restrictions
or preferences made by a State Party to this Convention between
citizens and non-citizens.
3. Nothing in this Convention may be interpreted as affecting in any
way the legal provisions of States Parties concerning nationality, citizenship
or naturalization, provided that such provisions do not discriminate against
any particular nationality.
4. Special measures taken for the sole purpose of securing adequate
advancement of certain racial or ethnic groups or individuals requiring such
protection as may be necessary in order to ensure such groups or individuals
equal enjoyment or exercise of human rights and fundamental freedoms
shall not be deemed racial discrimination, provided, however, that such
measures do not, as a consequence, lead to the maintenance of separate
rights for different racial groups and that they shall not be continued after
the objectives for which they were taken have been achieved.
ARTICLE 2
1. States Parties condemn racial discrimination and undertake to pursue
by all appropriate means and without delay a policy of eliminating
rncial discrimination in all its forms and promoting understanding among
all races, and, to this end:
(a) Each State Party undertakes to engage in no act or practice of
racial discrimination against persons, groups of persons or institutions and
to ensure that all public authorities and public institutions, national and
local, shall act in conformity with this obligation;
(b) Each State Party undertakes not to sponsor, defend or support
racial discrimination by any persons or organizations;
(c) Each State Party shall take effective measures to review governmental,
national and local policies; and to amend, rescind or nullify any
laws and regulations which have the effect of creating or perpetuating
racial discrimination wherever it exists;
(d) Each State Party shall prohibit and bring to an end, by all
appropriate means, including legislation as required by circumstances, racial
discrimination by any persons, group or organization;
(e) Each State Party undertakes to encourage, where appropriate,
integrationist multi-racial organizations and movements and other means
of eliminating barriers between races, and to discourage anything which
tends to strengthen racial division.
2. States Parties shall, when the circumstances so warrant, take, in the
social, economic, cultural and other fields, special and concrete measures to
ensure the adequate development and protection of certain racial groups or
individuals belonging to them, for the purpose of guaranteeing them the full
and equal employment of human rights and fundamental freedoms. These
measures shall in no case entail as a consequence the maintenance of
unequal or separate rights for different racial groups after the objectives for
which they were taken have been achieved.
ARTICLE 3
States Parties particularly condemn racial segregation and apartheid
and undertake to prevent, prohibit and eradicate all practices of this nature
in territories under their jurisdiction.
ARTICLE 4
States Parties condemn all propaganda and all organizations which are
based on ideas or theories of superiority of one race or group of persons of
one colour or ethnic origin, or which attempt to justify or promote racial
hatred and discrimination in any form, and undertake to adopt immediate
and positive measures designed to eradicate all incitement to, or acts of,
such discrimination and, to this end, with due regard to the principles
embodied in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the rights
expressly set forth in article 5 of this Convention, inter alia:
(a) Shall declare an offence punishable by law all dissemination of
ideas based on racial superiority or hatred, incitement to racial discrimination,
as well as all acts of violence or incitement to such acts against any
race or group of persons of another colour or ethnic origin, and also the
provision of any assistance to racist activities, including the financing
thereof;
(b) Shall declare illegal and prohibit organizations, and also organized
and all other propaganda activities, which promote and incite racial discrimination,
and shall recognize participation in such organization or activities
as an offence punishable by law;
(c) Shall not permit public authorities or public institutions, national
or local, to promote or incite racial discrimination.
ARTICLE 5
In compliance with the fundamental obligations laid down in article 2
of this Convention, States Parties undertake to prohibit and to eliminate
racial discrimination in all its forms and to guarantee the right of everyone,
without distinction as to race, colour, or national or ethnic origin, to equality
before the law, notably in the enjoyment of the following rights:
(a) The right to equal treatment before the tribunals and all other
organs administering justice;
(b) The right to security of person and protection by the State against
violence or bodily harm, whether inflicted by government officials or by any
individual, group or institution;
(c) Political rights, in particular the rights to participate in elections
—to vote and to stand for election-on the basis of universal and equal
suffrage, to take part in the Government as well as in the conduct of public
affairs at any level and to have equal access to public service;
(d) Other civil rights, in particular:
(i) The right to freedom of movement and residence within the
border of the State;
(ii) The right to leave any country, including one’s own, and to
return to one’s country;
(iii) The right to nationality;
(iv) The right to marriage and choice of spouse;
(v) The right to own property alone as well as in association with
others;
(vi) The right to inherit;
(vii) The right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion;
( viii) The right to freedom of opinion and expression;
(ix) The right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association;
(e) Economic, social and cultural rights, in particular:
(i) The rights to work, to free choice of employment, to just and
favourable conditions of work, to proteetion against unemployment,
to equal pay for equal work, to just and favourable
remuneration;
(ii) The right to form and join trade unions;
(iii) The right to housing;
(iv) The right to public health, medical care, social security and
social services ;
(v) The right to education and training;
(vi) The right to equal participation in cultural activities;
(f) The right of access to any place or service intended for use by the
general public, such as transport, hotels, restaurants, cafes, theatres and
parks.
ARTICLE 6
States Parties shall assure to everyone wit.hin their jurisdiction effective
protection and remedies, through the competent national tribunals and other
State institutions, against any acts of racial discrimination which violate
his human rights and fundamental freedoms contrary to this Convention, as
well as the right to seek from such tribunals just and adequate reparation
or satisfaction for any damage suffered as a result of such discrimination.
ARTICLE 7
States Parties undertake to adopt immediate and effective measures,
particularly in the fields of teaching, education, culture and information,
with a view to combating prejudices which lead to racial discrimination and
to promoting understanding, tolerance and friendship among nations and
racial or ethnical groups, as well as to propagating the purposes and principles
of the Charter of the United Nations, the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights, the United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of All
Forms of Racial Discrimination, and this Convention.
PART II
ARTICLE 8
1. There shall be established a Committee on the Elimination of Racial
Discrimination (hereinafter referred to as the Committee) consisting of
eighteen experts of high moral standing and acknowledged impartiality
elected by States Parties from among their nationals, who shall serve in
their personal capacity, consideration being given to equitable geographical
distribution and to the representation of the different forms of civilization
as well as of the principal legal systems.
2. The members of the Committee shall be elected by secret ballot from
a list of persons nominated by the States Parties. Each State Party may
nominate one person from among its own nationals.
3. The initial election shall be held six months after the date of the
entry into force of this Convention. At least three months before the date of
each election the Secretary-General of the United Nations shall address a
letter to the States Parties inviting them to submit their nominations within
two months. The !Secretary-General shall prepare a list in alphabetical order
of all persons thus nominated, indicating the States Parties which have
nominated them, and shall submit it to the States Parties.
4. Elections of the members of the Committee shall be held at a
meeting of States Parties convened by the Secretary-General at United
Nations Headquarters. At that meeting for which two thirds of the States
Parties shall constitute a quorum, the persons elected to the Committee
shall be those nominees who obtain the largest number of votes and an
absolute majority of the votes of the representatives of States Parties
present and voting.
5. (a) The members of the Committee shall be elected for a term of
four years. However, the terms of nine of the members elected at the first
election shall expire at the end of two years; immediately after the first
election the names of these nine members shall be chosen by lot by the
Chairman of the Committee.
(b) For the filling of casual vacancies, the State Party whose expert
has ceased to function as a member of the Committee shall appoint another
expert from among its nationals, subject to the approval of the Committee.
6. States Parties shall be responsible for the expenses of the members
of the Committee while they are in performance of Committee duties.
ARTICLE 9
1. States Parties undertake to submit to the Secretary-General of the
United Nations, for consideration by the Committee, a report on the legislative,
judicial, administrative or other measures which they have adopted
and which give effect to the provisions of this Convention: (a) within one
year after the entry into force of the Convention for the State concerned;
and (b) thereafter every two years and whenever the Committee so
requests. The Committee may request further information from the States
Parties.
2. The Committee shall report annually, through the Secretary-General,
to the General Assembly of the United Nations on its activities and may
make suggestions and general recommendations based on the examination of
the reports and information received from the States Parties. Such suggestions
and general recommendations shall be reported to the General Assembly
together with comments, if any, from States Parties.
ARTICLE 10
1. The Committee shall adopt its own rules of procedure.
2. The Committee shall elect its officers for a term of two years.
3. The secretariat of the Committee shall be provided by the SecretaryGeneral
of the United Nations.
4. The meetings of the Committee shall normally be held at United
Nations Headquarters.
ARTICLE 11
1. If a State Party considers that another State Party is not giving
effect to the provisions. of this Convention, it may bring the matter to the
attention of the Committee. The Committee shall then transmit the communication
to the State Party concerned. Within three months, the receiving
State shall submit to the Committee written explanations or statements
clarifying the matter and the remedy, if any, that may have been taken by
that State.
2. If the matter is not adjusted to the satisfaction of both parties,
either by bilateral negotiations or by any other procedure open to them,
within six months after the receipt by the receiving State of the initial
communication, either State shall have the right to refer the matter again
to the Committee by notifying the Committee and also the other State.
3. The Committee shall deal with a matter referred to it in accordance
with paragraph 2 of this article after it has ascertained that all available
domestic remedies have been invoked and exhausted in the case, in conformity
with the generally recognized principles of international law. This shall
not be the rule where the application of the remedies is unreasonably
prolonged.
4. In any matter referred to it, the Committee may call upon the States
Parties concerned to supply any other relevant information.
5. When any matter arising out of this article is being considered by
the Committee, the States Parties concerned shall be entitled to send a
representative to take part in the proceedings of the Committee, without
voting rights, while the matter is under consideration.
ARTICLE 12
1. (a) After the Committee has obtained and collated all the information
it deems necessary, the Chairman shall appoint an ad hoc Conciliation
Commission (hereinafter referred to as the Commission) comprising five
persons who may or may not be members of the Committee. The members
of the Commi~sion shall be appointed with the unanimous consent of the
parties to the dispute, and its good offices shall be made available to the
States concerned with a view to an amicable solution of the matter on the
basis of respect for this Convention.
(b) If the States parties to the dispute fail to reach agreement within
three months on all or part of the composition of the Commission, the
members of the Commission not agreed upon by the States parties to the
dispute shall be elected by secret ballot by a two-thirds majority vote of
the Committee from among its own members.
2. The members of the Commission shall serve in their personal capacity.
They shall not be nationals of the States parties to the dispute or of a
State not Party to this Convention.
3. The Commission shall elect its own Chairman and adopt its own
rules of procedure.
4. The meetings of the Commission shall normally be held at United
Nations Headquarters or at any other convenient place as determined by
the Commission.
5. The secretariat provided in accordance with article 10, paragraph 3,
of this Convention shall also service the Commission whenever a dispute
among States Parties brings the Commission into being.
6. The States parties to the dispute shall share equally all the expenses
of the members of the Commission in accordance with estimates to be
provided by the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
7. The Secretary-General shall be empowered to pay the expenses of
the members of the Commission, if necessary, before reimbursement by the
States parties to the dispute in accordance with paragraph 6 of this article.
8. The information obtained all!d collated by the Committee shall be
made available to the Commission, and the Commission may call upon the
States concerned to supply any other relevant information.
ARTICLE 13
1. When the Commission has fully considered the matter, it shall
prepare and submit to the Chairman of the Committee a report embodying
its findings on all questions of fact relevant to the issue between the parties
and containing such recommendations as it may think proper for the amicable
solution of the dispute.
2. The Chairman of the Committee shall communicate the report of the
Commission to each of the States parties to the dispute. These States shall,
within three months, inform the Chairman of the Committee whether or not
they accept the recommendations contained in the report of the
Commission.
3. After the period provided for in paragraph 2 of this article, the
Chairman of the Committee shall communicate the report of the Commission
and the declarations of the States Parties concerned to the other States
Parties to this Convention.
ARTICLE 14
1. A State Party may at any time declare that it recognizes the
competence of the Committee to receive and consider communications from
individuals or groups of individuals within its jurisdiction claiming to be
victims of a violation by that State Party of any of the rights set forth in
this Convention. No communication shall be received by the Committee if it
concerns a State Party which has not made such a declaration.
2. Any State Party which makes a declaration as provided for in
paragraph 1 of this article may establish or indicate a body within its
national legal order which shall be competent to receive and consider petitions
from individuals and groups of individuals within its jurisdiction who
claim to be victims of a violation cif any of the rights set forth in this
Convention and who have exhausted other available local remedies.
3. A declaration made in accordance ·with paragraph 1 of this article
and the name of any body established or indicated in accordance with
paragraph 2 of this article shall be deposited by the .State Party concerned
with the Secretary-General of the United Nations, who shall transmit copies
thereof to the other States Parties. A declaration may be withdrawn at any
time by notification to the Secretary-General, but such a withdrawal shall
not affect communications pending before the Committee.
4. A register of petitions shall be kept by the body established or
indicated in accordance with paragraph 2 of this article, and certified copies
of the register shall be filed annually through appropriate channels with the
Secretary-General on the understanding that the contents shall not be publicly
disclosed.
5. In the event of failure to obtain satisfaction from the body established
or indicated in accordance with paragraph 2 of this article, the
petitioner shall have the right to communicate the matter to the Committee
within six months.
6. (a) The Committee shall confidentially bring any communication
referred to it to the attention of the State Party alleged to be violating any
provision of this Convention, but the identity of the individual or groups of
individuals concerned shall not be revealed without his or their express
consent. The Committee shall not receive anonymous communications.
(b) Within three months, the receiving State shall submit to the Committee
written explanations or statements clarifying the matter and the
remedy, if any, that may have been taken by that State.
7. (a) The Committee shall consider communications in the light of all
information made available to it by the State Party concerned and by the
petitioner. The Committee shall not consider any communication from a
petitioner unless it has ascertained that the petitioner has exhausted all
available domestic remedies. However, this shall not be the rule where the
application of the remedies is unreasonably prolonged.
(b) The Committee shall forward its suggestions and recommendations,
if any, to the State Party concerned and to the petitioner.
8. The Committee shall include in its annual report a summary of such
communications and, where appropriate, a summary of the explanations and
statements of the States Parties concerned and of its own suggestions and
recommendations.
9. The Committee shall be competent to exercise the functions provided
for in this article only when at least ten States Parties to this Convention
are bound by declarations in accordance with paragraph 1 of this article.
ARTICLE 15
1. Pending the achievement of the objectives of the Declaration on the
Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, contained in
General Assembly resolution 1514 (XV) of 14 December 1960, the provi- ·
sions of this Convention shall in no way limit the right of petition granted
to these peoples by other international instruments or by the United Nations
and its specialized agencies.
2. (a) The Committee established under article 8, paragraph 1, of this
Convention shall receive copies of the petitions from, and submit expressions
of opinion and recommendations on these petitions to, the bodies of
the United Nations which deal with matters directly related to the principles
and objectives of this Convention in their consideration of petitions
from the inhabitants of Trust and Non-Self-Governing Territories and all
other territories to which General Assembly resolution 1514 (XV) applies,
relating to matters covered by this Convention which are before these
bodies.
(b) The Committee shall receive from the competent bodies of the
United Nations copies of the reports concerning the legislative, judicial,
administrative or other measures directly related to the principles and
objectives of this Convention applied by the administering Powers within
the Territories mentioned in sub-paragraph (a) of this paragraph, and shall
express opinions and make recommendations to these bodies.
3. The Committee shall include in its report to the General Assembly a
summary of the petitions and reports it has received from United Nations
bodies, and the expressions of opinion and recommendations of the Committee
relating to the said petitions and reports.
4. The Committee shall request from the Secretary-General of the
United Nations all information relevant to the objectives of this Convention
and available to him regarding the Territories mentioned in paragraph 2
(a) of this article.
ARTICLE 16
The provisions of this Convention concerning the settlement of disputes
or complaints shall be applied without prejudice to other procedures for
settling disputes or complaints in the field of discrimination laid down in
the constituent instruments of, or in conventions adopted by, the United
Nations and its specialized agencies, and shall not prevent the States Parties
from having recourse to other procedures for settling a dispute in
accordance with general or special international agreements in force
between them.
PART III
ARTICLE 17
1. This Convention is open for signature by any State Member of the
United Nations or member of any of its specialized agencies, by any State
Party to the Statute of the International Court of Justice, and by any other
State which has been invited by the General Assembly of the United
Nations to become a Party to this Convention.
2. This Convention is subject to ratification. Instruments of ratification
shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
ARTICLE 18
1. This Convention shall be open to accession by any State referred to
in article 17, paragraph 1, of the Convention.
2. Accession shall be effected by the deposit of an instrument of accession
with the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
ARTICLE 19
1. This Convention shall enter into force on the thirtieth day after the
date of the deposit with the Secretary-General of the United Nations of the
twenty-seventh instrument of ratification or instrument of accession.
2. For each State ratifying this Convention or acceding to it after the
deposit of the twenty-seventh instrument of ratification or instrument of
accession, the Convention shall enter into force on the thirtieth day after
the date of the deposit of its own instrument of ratification or instrument of
accession.
ARTICLE 20
1. The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall receive and circulate
to all States which are or may become Parties to this Convention
reservations made by States at the rtime of ratification or accession. Any
State which objects to the reservation shall, within a period of ninety days
from the date of the said communication, notify the Secretary-General that
it does not accept it.
2. A reservation incompatible with the object and purpose of this
Convention shall not be permitted, nor shall a reservation the effect of
which would inhibit the operation of any of the bodies established by this
Convention be allowed. A reservation shall be considered incompatible or
inhibitive if at least two thi:vds of the States Parties to this Convention
object to it.
3. Reservations may be withdrawn at any time by notification to this
effect addressed rto the Secretary-General. Such notification shall take effect
on the date on which it is received.
ARTICLE 21
A State Party may denounce this Convention by written notification to
the Secretary-General of the United Nations. Denunciation shall take
effect one year after the date of receipt of the notification by the
Secretary-General.
ARTICLE 22
Any dispute between two or more States Parties with respect to the
interpretation or application of this Convention, which is not settled· by
negotiation or by the procedures expressly provided for in this Convention,
shall, at the request of any of the parties to the dispute, be referred to the
International Court of Justice for decision, unless the disputants agree to.
another mode of settlement.
ARTICLE 23
1. A request for the revision of this Convention may be made at any
time by any State Party by means of a notification in writing addressed to
the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
2. The General Assembly of the United Nations shall decide upon the
steps, if any, to be taken in respect of such a request.
ARTICLE 24
The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall inform all States
referred to in article 17, paragraph 1, of this Convention of the following
particulars:
(a) Signatures, ratifications and accessions under articles 17 and 18;
(b) The date of ·entry into force of this Convention under article 19;
(c) Communications and declarations received under articles 14, 20
and 23;
(d) Denunciations under article 21.
ARTICLE 25
1. This Convention, of which the Chinese, English, French, Russian and
Spanish texts are equally authentic, shall be deposited in the archives of the
United Nations.
2. The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall transmit certified
copies of this Convention to all States belonging to any of the categories
mentioned in article 17, paragraph 1, of the Convention.
APPENDIX V
International Covenant on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights
PREAMBLE
The States Parties to the present Covenant,
Considering that, in accordance with the principles proclaimed in the
Charter of the United Nations, recognition of the inherent dignity and of
the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the
foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world,
Recognizing that these rights derive from the inherent dignity of the
human person,
Recognizing that, in accordance with the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights, the ideal of free human beings enjoying freedom from fear
and want can only be achieved if conditions are created whereby everyone
may enjoy his economic, social and cultural rights, as well as his civil and
political rights,
Considering the obligation of States under the Charter of the United
Nations to promote universal respect for, and observance of, human rights
and freedoms,
Realizing that the individual, having duties to other individuals and to
the community to which he belongs, is under a responsibility to strive for
the promotion and observance of the rights recognized in the present
Covenant,
Agree upon the following articles:
PART I
ARTICLE 1
1. All peoples have the right of self-determination. By virtue of that
right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their
economic, social and cultural development.
2. All peoples may, for their own ends, freely dispose of their natural
wealth and resources without prejudice to any obligations arising out of
international economic co-operation, based upon the principle of mutual
benefit, and international law. In no case may a people be deprived of its
mvn means of subsistence.
3. The States Parties to the present Covenant, including those having
responsibility for the administration of Non-Self-Governing and Trust Territories,
shall promote the realization of the right of self-determination, and
shall respect that right, in conformity rwith the provisions of the Charter of
the United Nations.
PART II
ARTICLE 2
1. Each State Party to the present Covenant undertakes to take steps,
individually and through international assistance and co-operation, especially
economic and technical, to the maximum of its available resources,
with a view to achieving progressively the full realization of the rights
recognized in the present Covenant by all appropriate means, including
particularly the adoption of legislative measures.
2. The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to guarantee
that the rights enunciated in the present Covenant will be exercised without
discrimination of any kind as to race, colour, sex, language, religion, poiitical
or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other
status.
3. Developing countries, with due regard to human rights and their
national economy, may determine to what extent they would guarantee the
economic rights recognized in the present Covenant to non-nationals.
ARTICLE 3
The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to ensure the
equal right of men and women to the enjoyment of all economic, social and
cultural rights set forth in the present Covenant.
ARTICLE 4
The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize that, in the
enjoyment of those rights provided by the State in conformity with the
present Covenant, the State may subject such rights only to such limitations
as are determined by law only in so far as this may be compatible
with the nature of these rights and solely for the purpose of promoting the
general welfare in a democratic society.
ARTICLE 5
1. Nothing in the present Covenant may be interpreted as implying for
any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity or to perform
any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights or freedoms recognized
herein, or at their limitation to a greater extent than is provided for in the
present Covenant.
2. No crestriction upon or derogation from any of the fundamental
human rights recognized or existing in any country in virtue of law, conventions,
regulations or custom shall be admitted on the pretext that the
present Covenant does not recognize such rights or that it recognizes them
to a lesser extent.
PART III
ARTICLE 6
1. The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right to
work, which includes the right of everyone to the opportunity to gain his
living by work which he freely chooses or accepts, and will take appropriate
steps to safeguard this right.
2. The steps to be taken by a State Party to the present Covenant to
achieve the full realization of this right shall include technical and vocational
guidance and training programmes, policies and techniques to achieve
steady economic, social and cultural development and full and productive
employment under conditions safeguarding fundamental political and economic
freedoms to the individual.
ARTICLE 7
The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of
everyone to the enjoyment of just and favourable conditions of work, which
ensure, in particular:
(a) Remuneration which provides all workers, as a minimum, with:
(i) Fair wages and equal remuneration for work of equal value
without distinction of any kind, in particular women being
guaranteed conditions of work not inferior to those enjoyed by
men, with equal pay for equal work;
(ii) A decent living for themselves and their families in accordance
with the provisions of the present Covenant;
(b) Safe and healthy working conditions;
(c) Equal opportunity for everyone to be promoted in his employment
to an appropriate higher level, subject to no considerations other
than those of seniority and competence;
(d) Rest, leisure and reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic
holidays with pay, as well as remuneration for public holidays.
ARTICLE 8
1. The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to ensure:
(a) The right of everyone to form trade unions and join the trade union
of his choice, subject only to the rules of the organization concerned,
for the promotion and protection of his economic and social
interests. No restrictions may be placed on the exercise of this
right other than those prescribed by law and which are necessary
in a democratic society in the interests of national security or
public order or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of
others;
(b) The right of trade unions to establish national federations or
confederations and the right of the latter to form or join international
trade-union organizations;
(c) The right of trade unions to function freely subject to no limitations
other than those prescribed by law and which are necessary in a
democratic society in the interests of national security or public
order or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others;
(d) The right to strike, provided that it is exercised in conformity with
the laws of the particular country.
2. This article shall not prevent the imposition of lawful restrictions on
the exercise of these rights by members of the armed forces nr of the police
or of the administration of the State.
3. Nothing in this article shall authorize States Parties to the International
Labour Organisation Convention of 1948 concerning Freedom of
Association and Protection of the Right to Organize to take legislative
measures which would prejudice, or apply the law in such a manner as
would prejudice, the guarantees provided for in that Convention.
ARTICLE 9
The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of
everyone to social security, including social insurance.
ARTICLE 10
The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize that:
1. The widest possible protection and assistance should be accorded to
the family, which is the natural and fundamental group unit of society,
particularly for its establishment and while it is responsible for the care and
education of dependent children. Marriage must be entered into with the
free consent of the intending spouses.
2. Special protection should be accorded to mothers during a reasonable
period before and after childbirth. During such period working mothers
should be accorded paid leave or leave with adequate social security
benefits.
3. Special measures of protection and assistance should be taken on
behalf of all children and young persons without any discrimination for
reasons. of parentage or other conditions. Children and young persons should
be protected from economic and social exploitation. Their employment in
work harmful to their morals or health or dangerous to life or likely to
hamper their normal development should be punishable by law. States
should also set age limits below which the paid employment of child labour
should be prohibited and punishable by law.
ARTICLE 11
1. The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of
everyone to an adequate standard of living for himself and his family,
including adequate food, clothing and housing, and to the continuous
improvement of living conditions. The States Parties will take appropriate
steps to ensure the realization of this right, recognizing to this effect the
essential importance of international co-operation based on free consent.
2. The States Parties to the present Covenant, recognizing the fundamental
right of everyone to be free from hunger, shall take, individually
and through international co-operation, the measures, including specific programmes,
which are needed:
(a) To improve methods of production, conservation and distribution of
food by making full use of technical and scientific knowledge, by
disseminating knowledge of the principles of nutrition and by
developing or reforming agrarian systems in such a way as to
achieve the most efficient development and utilization of natural
resources;
(b) Taking into account the problems of both food-importing and foodexporting
countries, to ensure an equitable distribution of world
food supplies in relation to need.
ARTICLE 12
1. The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of
everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical
and mental health.
2. The steps to be taken by the States Parties to the present Covenant
to achieve the full realization of this right shall include those necessary for:
(a) The provision for the reduction of the stillbirth-rate and of infant
mortality and for the healthy development of the child;
(b) The improvement of all aspects of environmental and industrial
hygiene;
(c) The prevention, treatment and control of epidemic, endemic, occupational
and other diseases;
(d) The creation of conditions which would assure to all medical service
and medical attention in the event of sickness.
ARTICLE 13
1. The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of
everyone to education. They agree that education shall be directed to the
full development of the human personality and the sense of its dignity, and
shall strengthen the respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.
They further agree that education shall enable all persons to participate
effectively in a free society, promote understanding, tolerance and friendship
among all nations and all racial, ethnic or religious groups, and further
the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.
2. The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize that, with a
view to achieving the full realization of this right:
(a) Primary education shall be compulsory and available free to all;
(b) Secondary education in its different forms, including technical and
vocational secondary education, shall be made generally available
and accessible to all by every appropriate means, and in particular
by the progressive introduction of free education;
(c) Higher education shall be made equally accessible to all, on the
basis of capacity, by every appropriate means, and in particular
by the progressive introduction of free education;
(d) Fundamental education shall be encouraged or intensified as far as
possible for those persons who have not received or completed the
whole period of their primary education;
(e) The development of a system of schools at all levels shall be actively
pursued, an adequate fellowship system shall be established,
and the material conditions of teaching staff shall be continuously
improved.
3. The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to have
respect for the liberty of parents and, when applicable, legal guardians, to
choose for their children schools, other than those established by the public
authorities, which conform to such minimum educational standards a’s may
be laid down or approved by the State and to ensure the religious and moral
education of their children in conformity with their own convictions.
4. No part of this article shall be construed so as to interfere with the
liberty of individuals and bodies to establish and direct educational institutions,
subject always to the observance of the principles set forth in paragraph
1 of this article and to the requirement that the education given in
such institutions shall conform to such minimum standards as may be laid
down by the State.
ARTICLE 14
Each State Party to the present Covenant which, at the time of becoming
a Party, has not been able to secure in its metropolitan. territory or
other territories under its jurisdiction compulsory primary education, free
of charge, undertakes, within two years, to work out and adopt a detailed
plan of action for the progressive implementation, within a reasonable
number of years, to be fixed in the plan, of the principle of compulsory
education free of charge for all.
ARTICLE 15
1. The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of
everyone:
(a) To take part in cultural life;
(b) To enjoy the benefits of scientific progress and its applications;
(c) To benefit from the protection of the moral and material interests
resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of
which he is the author.
2. The steps to be taken by the States Parties to the present Covenant
to achieve the full realization of this right shall include those necessary for
the conservation, the development and the diffusion of science and culture.
3. The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to respect the
freedom indispensable for scientific research and creative activity.
4. The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the benefits to
be derived from the encouragement and development of international contacts
and co-operation in the scientific and cultural fields.
PART IV
ARTICLE 16
1. The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to submit in
conformity with this part of the Covenant reports on the measures which
they have adopted and the progress made in achieving the observance of the
rights recognized herein.
2. (a) All reports shail be submitted to the Secretary-General of the
United Nations, who shall transmit copies to the Economic and
Social Council for consideration in accordance with the provisions
of the present Covenant.
(b) The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall also transmit to
the specialized agencies copies of the reports, or any relevant parts
therefrom, from States Parties to the present Covenant which are
also members of these specialized agencies in so far as these
reports, or parts therefrom, relate to any matters which fall within
the responsibilities of the said agencies in accordance with their
constitutional instruments.
ARTICLE 17
1. The States Parties to the present Covenant shall furnish their reports
in stages, in accordance with a programme to be established by the Eco-
nomic and Social Council within one year of the entry into force of the
present Covenant after consultation with the States Parties and the specialized
agencies concerned.
2. Reports may indicate factors and difficulties affecting the degree of
fulfilment of obligations under the present Covenant.
3. Where relevant information has previously been furnished to the
United Nations or to any specialized agency by any State Party to the
present Covenant, it will not be necessary to reproduce that information,
but a precise reference to the information so furnished will suffice.
ARTICLE 18
Pursuant to its responsibilities under the Charter of the United Nations
in the field of human rights and fundamental freedoms, the Economic and
Social Council may make arrangements with the specialized agencies in
respect of their reporting to it on the progress made in achieving the observance
of the provisions of the present Covenant falling within the scope of
their activities. These reports may include particulars of decisions and recommendations
on such implementation adopted by their competent organs.
ARTICLE 19
The Economic and Social Council may transmit to the Commission on
Human Rights for study and general recommendation or as appropriate for
information the reports concerning human rights submitted by States in
accordance with articles 16 and 17, and those concerning human rights
submitted by the specialized agencies in accordance with article 18.
ARTICLE 20
The States Parties to the present Covenant and the specialized agencies
concerned may submit comments to the Economic and Social Council on
any general recommendation under article 19 ot reference to such general
recommendation in any report of the Commission on Human Rights or any
documentation referred to therein.
ARTICLE 21
The Economic and Social Council may submit from time to time to the
General Assembly reports with recommendations of a general nature and a
summary of the information received from the States Parties to the present
Covenant and the specialized agencies on the measures taken and the progress
made in achieving general observance of the rights recognized in the
present Covenant.
ARTICLE 22
The Economic and Social Council may bring to the attention of other
organs of the United Nations, their subsidiary organs andspecialized agencies
concerned with furnishing technical assistance any matters arising out
of the reports referred to in this part of the present Covenant which may
assist such bodies in deciding, each within its field of competence, on the
advisability of international measures likely to contribute to the effective
progressive implementation of the present Covenant.
ARTICLE 23
The States Parties to the present Covenant agree that international
action for the achievement of the rights recognized in the present Covenant
includes such methods as the conclusion of conventions, the adoption of
recommendations, the furnishing of technical assistance and the holding of
regional meetings and technical meetings for the purpose of consultation
and study organized in conjunction with the Governments concerned.
ARTICLE 24
Nothing in the present Covenant shall be interpreted as impairing the
provisions of the Charter of the United Nations and of the constitutions of
the specialized agencies which define the respective responsibilities of the
various organs of the United Nations and of the specialized agencies in
regard to the matters dealt with in the present Covenant.
ARTICLE 25
Nothing in the present Covenant shall be interpreted as impairing the
inherent right of all peoples to enjoy and utilize fully and freely their
natural wealth and resources.
PART V
ARTICLE 26
1. The present Covenant is open for signature by any State Member of
the United Nations or member of any of its specialized agencies, by any
State Party to the Statute of the International Court of Justice, and by any
other State which has been invited by the General Assembly of the United
Nations to become a party to the present Covenant.
2. The present Covenant is subject to ratification. Instruments of
ratification shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of the United
Nations.
3. The present Covenant shall be open to accession by any State
referred to in paragraph 1 of this article.
4. Accession shall be effected by the deposit of an instrument of accession
with the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
5. The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall inform all States
which have signed the present Covenant or acceded to it of the deposit of
each instrument of ratification or accession.
ARTICLE 27
1. The present Covenant shall enter into force three months after the
date of the deposit·with the Secretary-General of the United Nations of the
thirty-fifth instrument of ratification or instrument of accession.
2. For each State ratifying the present Covenant or acceding to it after
the deposit of the thirty-fifth instrument of ratification or instrument of
accession, the present Covenant shall: enter into force three months after the
date of the deposit of its own instrument of ratification or instrument of
accession.
ARTICLE 28
The provisions of the present Covenant shall extend to all parts1 of
federal States without any limitations or exceptions.
ARTICLE 29
1. Any State Party to the present Covenant may propose an amendment
and file it with the Secretary-General of the United Nations. The
Secretary-General shall thereupon communicate any proposed amendments
to the States Parties to the present Covenant with a request that they
notify him whether they favour a conference of States Parties for the
purpose of considering and voting upon the proposals. In the event that at
least one third of the States Parties favours such a conference, the Secretary-
General shall convene the conference under the auspices of the United
Nations. Any amendment adopted by a majority of the States Parties
present and voting at the conference shall be submitted to the General
Assembly of the United Nations for approval.
2. Amendments shall come into force when they have been approved by
the General A’ssembly of the United Nations and accepted by a two-thirds
majority of the States Parties to the present Covenant in accordance with
their respective constitutional processes.
3. When amendments come into force they shall be binding on those
States Parties which have accepted them, other States Parties still being
bound by the provisions of the present Covenant and any earlier amendment
which they have accepted.
ARTICLE 30
Irrespective of the notifications made under article 26, paragraph 5, the
Secretary-General of the United Nations shall inform all States referred to
in paragraph 1 of the same article of the following particulars:
(a) Signatures, ratifications and accessions under article 26;.
(b) The date of the entry into force of the present Covenant under
article 27 and the date of the entry into force of any amendments
under article 29.
ARTICLE 31
1. The present Covenant, of which the Chinese, English, French, Russian
and Spanish texts are equally authentic, shall be deposited in the
archives of the United Nations .
2. The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall transmit certified
copies of the present Covenant to all States referred to in article 26.
APPENDIX VI
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
PREAMBLE
The States Parties to the present Covenant,
Considering that, in accordance with the principles proclaimed in the
Charter of the United Nations, recognition of the inherent dignity and of
the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the
foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world,
Recognizing that these rights derive from the inherent dignity of th~
human person,
Recognizing that, in accordance with the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights, the ideal of free human beings enjoying civil and political
freedom and freedom from fear and want can only be achieved if conditions
are created whereby everyone may enjoy his civil and political rights, as
well as his economic, social and cultural rights,
Considering the obligation of States under the Charter of the United
Nations to promote universal respect for, and observance of, human rights
and freedoms,
Realizing that the individual, having duties to other individuals and to
the community to which he belongs, is under a responsibility to strive for
the promotion and observance of the rights :recognized in the present
Covenant,
Agree upon the following articles:
PART I
ARTICLE 1
1. All peoples have the right of self-determination. By virtue of that
right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue ·their
economic, soCial and cultural development.
2. All peoples may, for their own ends, freely dispose of rtheir natural
wealth and resources without prejudice to any obligations arising out of
international economic co-operation, based upon the principle of mutual
benefit, and international law. In no case may a people be deprived of its
own means of subsistence.
3. The States Parties to the present Covenant, including those having
responsibility for the administration of Non-Self-Governing and Trust Territories,
shall promote the realization of the right of self-determination, and
shall respect that right, in conformity with the provisions of the Charter of
the United Nations.
PART II
ARTICLE 2
1. Each State Party to the present Covenant undertakes to respect and
to ensure to all individuals within its territory and subject to its jurisdiction
the rights recognized in the present Covenant, without distinction of any
kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion,
national or social origin, property, birth or other status.
2. Where not already provided for by existing legislative or other
measures, each State Party to the pr·esent Covenant undertakes to take the
necessary steps, in accordance with its constitutional processes and with the
provisions of the present Covenant, to adopt such legislative or other measures
as may be necessary to give effect to the rights recognized in the
present Covenant.
3. Each State Party to the present Covenant undertakes:
(a) To ensure that any person whose rights or freedoms as herein recognized
are violated shall have an effective remedy, notwithstanding
that the violation has been committed by persons acting in
an official capacity;
(b) To ensure that any person claiming such a remedy shall have his
right thereto determined by competent judicial, administrative or
Legislative authorities, or by any other competent authority provided
for by the legal system of the State, and to develop the
possibilities of judicial remedy;
(c) To ensure that the competent authorities shall enforce such remedies
when granted.
ARTICLE 3
The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to ensure the
equal right of men and women to the enjoyment of all civil and political
rights set forth in the present Covenant.
ARTICLE 4
1. In time of public emergency which threatens the life of the nation
and the existence of which is officially proclaimed, the States Parties to the
present Covenant may take measures derogating from their obligations
under the present Covenant to the extent strictly required by the exigencies
of the situation, provided that such measures are not inconsistent with their
other obligations under international law and do not involve discrimination
solely on the ground of race, colour, sex, language, religion or social origin.
2. No derogation from articles 6, 7, 8 (paragraphs 1 and 2), 11, 15, 16
and 18 may be made under this provision.
3. Any State Party to the present Covenant availing itself of the right
of derogation shall immediately inform the other States Parties to the
present Covenant, through the intermediary of the Secretary-General of the
United Nations, of the provisions from which it has derogated and of the
reasons by which it was actuated. A further communication shall be ma’Cle,
through the same intermediary, on the date on which it terminates such
derogation.
ARTICLE 5
1. Nothing in the present Covenant may be interpreted as implying for
any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity or perform
any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms recognized
herein or at their limitation to a greater extent than is provided for in
the present Covenant.
2. There shall be no restriction upon or derogation from any of the
fundamental human rights recognized or existing in any State Party to the
present Covenant pursuant to law, conventions, regulations or custom on the
pretext that the present Covenant does not recognize such rights or that it
recognizes them to a lesser extent.
PART III
ARTICLE 6
1. Every human being has the inherent right to life. This right shall be
protected by law. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his life.
2. In countries which have not abolished the death penalty, sentence of
death may be imposed only for the most serious crimes in accordance with
the law in force at the time of the commission of the crime and not contrary
to the provisions of the present Covenant and to the Convention on the
Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. This penalty can
only be carried out pursuant to a final judgement rendered by a competent
court.
3. When deprivation of life constitutes the crime of genocide, it is
understood that nothing in this article shall authorize any State Party to
the present Covenant to derogate in any way from any obligation assumed
under the provisions of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment
of the Crime of Genocide.
4. Anyone sentenced to death shall have the right to seek pardon or
commutation of the sentence. Amnesty, pardon or commutation of the
sentence of death may be granted in all cases.
5. Sentence of death shall not be imposed for crimes committed by
persons below eighteen years of age and shall not be carried out on pregnant
women.
6. Nothing in this article shall be invoked to delay or to prevent the
abolition of capital punishment by any State Party to the present
Covenant.
ARTICLE 7
No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment or punishment. In particular, no one shall be subjected without
his free consent to medical or scientific experimentation.
ARTICLE 8
1. No one shall be held in slavery; slavery and the slave-trade in all
their forms shall be prohibited.
2. No one shall be held in servitude.
3. (a) No one shall be required to perform forced or compulsory labour;
(b) Paragraph 3 (a) shall not be held to preclude, in countries where
imprisonment with hard labour may be imposed as a punishment
for a crime, the performance of hard labour ·in pursuance of a
sentence to such punishment by a competent court;
(c) For the purpose of this paragraph the term “forced or compulsory
labour” shall not include:
(i) Any work or service, not referred to in sub-paragraph (b),
normally required of a person who is under detention in consequence
of a lawful order of a court, or of a person during
conditional release from such detention;
(ii) Any service of a military character and, in countries where
conscientious objection is recognized, any national service
required by law of conscientious objectors;
(iii) Any service exacted in cases of emergency or calamity threatening
the life or well-being of the community;
(iv) Any work or service which forms part of normal civil obligations.
ARTICLE 9
1. Everyone has the right to liberty and security of person. No one
shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest or detention. No one shall be deprived
of his liberty except on such grounds and in accordance with such procedure
as are established by law.
2. Anyone who is arrested shall be informed, at the time of arrest, of
the reasons for his arrest and shall be promptly informed of any charges
against him.
3. Anyone arrested or detained on a criminal charge shall be brought
promptly before a judge or other officer authorized by law to exercise
judicial power and shall be entitled to trial within a reasonable time or to
release. It shall not be the general rule that persons awaiting trial shall be
detained in custody, but release may be subject to guarantees to appear for
trial, at any other stage of the judicial proceedings, and, should occasion
arise, for execution of the judgement.
4. Anyone who is deprived of his liberty by arrest or detention shall be
entitled to take proceedings before a court, in order that that court may
decide without delay on the lawfulness of his detention and order his release
if the detention is not lawful.
5. Anyone who has been the victim of unlawful arrest or detention shall
have an enforceable right to compensation.
ARTICLE 10
1. All persons deprived of their liberty shall be treated with humanity
and with respect for the inherent dignity of the human person.
2. (a) Accused persons shall, save in exceptional circumstances, be segregated
from convicted persons and shall be subject to separate
treatment appropriate to their status as unconvicted persons;
(b) Accused juvenile persons shall be separated from adults, and
brought as speedily as possible for adjudication.
3. The penitentiary system shall comprise treatment of prisoners the
essential aim of which shall be their reformation and social rehabilitation.
Juvenile offenders shall be segregated from adults and be accorded treatment
appropriate to their age and legal status.
ARTICLE 11
No one shall be imprisoned merely on the ground of inability to fulfil a
contractual obligation.
ARTICLE 12
1. Everyone lawfully within the territory of a State shall, within that
territory, have the right to liberty of movement and freedom to choose his
residence.
2. Everyone shall be free to leave any country, including his own.
3. The above-mentioned rights shall not be subject to any restrictions
except those which are provided by law, are necessary to protect national
security, public order (ordre public), public health or morals or the rights
and freedoms of others, and are consistent with the other rights recognized
in the present Covenant.
4. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of the right to enter his own
country.
ARTICLE 13
An alien lawfully in the territory of a State Party to the present
Covenant may be expelled there from only in pursuance of a decision
reached in accordance with law and shall, except where compelling reasons
of national security otherwise require, be allowed to submit the reasons
against his expulsion and to have hisocase reviewed by, and be represented
for the purpose before, the competent authority or a person or persons
especially designated by the competent authority.
ARTICLE 14
1. All persons shall be equal before the courts and tribunals. In the
determination of any criminal charge against him, or of his rights and
obligations in a suit at law, everyone shall be entitled to a fair and public
hearing by a competent, independent and impartial tribunal established by
law. The Press and the public may be excluded from all or part of a trial
for reasons of morals, public order (ordre public) or national security in a
democratic society, or when the interest of the private lives of the parties so
requires, or to the extent strictly necessary in the opinion of the court in
special circumstances where publicity would prejudic·e the interests of justice;
but any judgement rendered in a criminal case or in a suit at law shall
be made public except where the interest of juvenile persons otherwise
requires or the proceedings concern matrimonial disputes or the guardianship
of children.
2. Everyone charged with a criminal offence shall have the right to be
presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law.
3. In the determination of any criminal charge against him, everyone
shall be entitled to the following minimum guarantees, in full equality:
(a) To be informed promptly and in detail in a language which he
understands of the nature and cause of the charge against him;
(b) To have adequate time and facilities for the preparation of his
defence and to communicate with counsel of his own choosing;
(c) To be tried without undue delay;
(d) To be tried in his presence, and to defend himself in person or
through legal assistance of his own choosing; to be informed, if he
does not have legal assistance, of this right; and to have legal
assistance assigned to him, in any case where the interests of
justice so require, and without payment by him in any such case if
he does not have sufficient means to pay for it;
(e) To examine, or have examined, the witnesses against him and to
obtain the attendance and examination of witnesses on his behalf
under the same conditions as witnesses against him;
(f) To have the free assistance of an interpreter if he cannot understand
or speak the language used in court;
(g) Not to be compelled to testify against himself or to confess guilt.
4. In the case of juvenile persons, the procedure shall be such as will
take account of their age and the desirability of promoting their
rehabilitation.
5. Everyone convicted of a crime shall have the right to his conviction
and sentence being reviewed by a higher tribunal accordingto law.
6. When a person has by a final decision been convicted of a criminal
offence. and when subsequently his conviction has been reversed or he has
been pardoned on the ground that a new or newly discovered fact shows
conclusively that there has been a miscarriage of justice, the person who has
suffered punishment as a result of such conviction shall be compensated
according to law, unless it is proved that the non-disclosure of the unknown
fact in time is wholly or partly attributable to him.
7. No one shall be liable to be tried or punished again for an offence for
which he has already been finally convicted or acquitted in accordance with
the law and penal procedure of each country.
ARTICLE 15
1. No one shall be held guilty of any criminal offence on account of any
act or omission which did not constitute a criminal offence, under national
or international law, at the time when it was committed. Nor shall a
heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time
when the criminal offence was committed. If, subsequent to the commission
of the offence, provision is made by law for the imposition of a lighter
penalty, the offender shall benefit thereby.
2. Nothing in this article shall prejudice the trial and punishment of
any person for any act or omission which, at the time when it was committed,
was criminal according to the general principles of law recognized by
the community of nations.
ARTICLE 16
Everyone shall have the right to recognition everywhere as a person
before the law.
ARTICLE 17
1. No one shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful interference with
his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to unlawful attacks on his
honour and reputation.
2. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such
interference or attacks.
ARTICLE 18
1. Everyone shall have the right to freedom of thought, conscience and
religion. This right shall include freedom to have or to adopt a religion or
belief of his choice, and freedom, either individually or in community with
others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in worship,
observance, practice and teaching.
2. No one shall be subject to coercion which would impair his freedom
to have or to adopt a religion or belief of his choice.
3. Freedom to manifest one’s religion or beliefs may be subject only to
such limitations as are prescribed by law and are necessary to protect
public safety, order, health, or morals or the fundamental rights and freedams
of others.
4. The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to have
respect for the liberty of parents and, when applicable, legal guardians to
ensure the religious and moral education of their children in conformity
with their own convictions.
ARTICLE 19
1. Everyone shall have the right to hold opinions without interference.
2. Everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right
shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of
all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the
form of art, or through any other media of his choice.
3. The exercise of the rights provided for in paragraph 2 of this article
carries with it special duties and responsibilities. It may therefore be subject
to certain restrictions, but these shall only be such as are provided by
law and are necessary:
(a) For respect of the rights or reputations of others;
(b) For the protection of national security or of public order (ordre
public), or of public health or morals.
ARTICLE 20
1. Any propaganda for war shall be prohibited by law.
2. Any advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes
incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence shall be prohibited by
law.
ARTICLE 21
The right of peaceful assembly shall be recognized. No restrictions may
be placed on the exercise of this right other than those imposed in conformity
with the law and which are necessary in a democratic society in the
interests of national security or public safety, public order (ordre public),
the protection of public health or morals or the protection of the rights and
freedoms of others.
ARTICLE 22
1. Everyone shall have the right to freedom of association with others,
including the right to form and join trade unions for the protection of his
interests.
2. No restrictions ni:ay be placed on the exercise of this right other than
those which are prescribed by law and which are necessary in a democratic
society in the interests of national security or public safety, public order
(ordre public) , the protection of public health or morals or the protection of
the rights and freedoms of others. This article shall not prevent the imposition
of lawful restrictions on members of the armed forces and of the police
in their exercise of this right.
3. Nothing in this article shall authorize States Parties to the International
Labour Organisation Convention of 1948 concerning Freedom of
Association and Protection of the Right to Organize to take legislative
measures which would prejudice, or to apply the law in such a manner as to
prejudice, the guarantees provided for in that Convention.
ARTICLE 23
1. The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and
is entitled to protection by society and the State.
2. The right of men and women of marriageable age to marry and to
found a family shall be recognized.
3. No marriage shall be entered into without the free and full consent
of the intending spouses.
4. States Parties to the present Covenant shall take appropriate steps
to ensure equality of rights and responsibilities of spouses ‘as the marriage,
during marriage and at its dissolution. In the case of dissolution, provision
shall be made for the necessary protection of any children.
ARTICLE 24
1. Every child shall have, without any discrimination as to race, colour,
sex, language, religion, national or social origin, property or birth, the right
to such measures of protection as are required by his status as a minor, on
the part of his family, society and the State.
2. Every child shall be registered immediately after birth and shall
have a name.
3. Every child has the right to acquire a nationality.
ARTICLE 25
Every citizen shall have the right and the opportunity, without any of
the distinctions mentioned in article 2 and without unreasonable
restrictions:
(a) To take part in the conduct of public affairs, directly or through
freely chosen representatives;
(b) To vote and to be elected at genuine periodic elections which shall
be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret
ba1lot, guaranteeing the free expression of the will of the electors;
(c) To have access, on general terms of equality, to public service in his
country.
ARTICLE 26
All persons are equal before the law and are entitled without any
discrimination to the equal protection of the law. In this respect, the law
shall prohibit any discrimination and guarantee to all persons equal and
effective protection against discrimination on any ground such as race,
colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social
origin, property, birth or other status.
ARTICLE 27
In those States in which ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities exist,
persons belonging to such minorities shall not be denied the right, in community
with the other members of their group, to enjoy their own culture,
to profess and practise their own religion, or to use their own language.
PART IV
ARTICLE 28
1. There shall be established a Human Rights Committee (hereafter
referred to in the present Covenant as the Committee). It shall consist of
eighteen members and shall carry out the functions hereinafter provided.
2. The Committee shall be composed of nationals of the States Parties
to the present Covenant who shall be persons of high moral character and
recognized competence in the field of human rights, consideration being
given to the usefulness of the participation of some persons having legal
experience.
3. The members of the Committee shall be elected and shall serve in
their personal capacity.
ARTICLE 29
1. The members of the Committee shall be elected by secret ballot
from a list of persons possessing the qualifications prescribed in article 28
and nominated for the purpose by the States Parties to the present
Covenant.
2. Each State Party to the present Covenant may nominate not more
than two persons. These persons shall be nationals of the nominating State.
3. A person shall be eligible for renomination.
ARTICLE 30
1. The initial election shall be held no later than six months after the
date of the entry into force of the present Covenant.
2. At least four months before the date of each election to the Committee,
other than an election to fill a vacancy declared in accordance with
article 34, the Secretary-General of the United Nations shall address a
written invitation to the States Parties to the present Covenant to submit
their nominations for membership of the Committee within three months.
3. The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall prepare a list in
alphabetical order of all the persons thus nominated, with an indication of
the States Parties which have nominated them, and shall submit it to the
States Parties to the present Covenant no later than one month before the
date of each election.
4. Elections of the members of the Committee shall be held at a
meeting of the States Parties to the present Covenant convened by the
Secretary-General of the United Nations at the Headquarters of the United
Nations. At that meeting, for which two thirds of the States Parties to the
present Covenant shall constitute a quorum, the persons elected to the
Committee shall be those nominees who obtain the largest number of votes
and an absolute majority of the votes of the representatives of States
Parties present and voting.
ARTICLE 31
1. The Committee may not include more than one national of the same
State:
2. In the election of the Committee, consideration shall be given to
equitable geographical distribution of membership and to the representation
of the different forms of civilization and of the principal legal systems.
ARTICLE 32
1. The members of the Committee shall be elected for a term of four
years. They shall be eligible for re-election if renominated. However, the
terms of nine of the members elected at the first election shall expire at the
end of two years; immediately after the first election, the names of these
nine members shall be chosen by lot by the Chairman of the meeting
referred to in article 30, paragraph 4.
2. Elections at the expiry of office shall be held in accordance with the
preceding articles of this part of the present Covenant.
ARTICLE 33
1. If, in the unanimous opinion of the other members, a member of the
Committee has ceased to carry out his functions for any cause other than
absence of a temporary character, the Chairman of the Committee shall
notify the Secretary-General of the United Nations, who shall then declare
the seat of that member to be vacant.
2. In the event of the death or the resignation of a member of the
Committee, the Chairman shall immediately notify the Secretary-General
of the United Nations, ·who shall declare the seat vacant from the date of
death or the date on which the resignation takes effect.
ARTICLE 34
1. When a vacancy is declared in accordance with article 33 and if the
term of office of the member to be replaced does not expire within six
months of the declaration of the vacancy, the Secretary-General of the
United Nations shall notify each of the States Parties to the present Covenant,
which may within two months submit nominations in accordance with
article 29 for the purpose of filling the vacancy.
2. The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall prepare a list in
alphabetical order of the persons thus nominated and shall submit it to the
States Parties to the present Covenant. The election to fill the vacancy shall
then take place in accordance with the relevant provisions of this part of
the present Covenant.
3. A member of the Committee elected to fill a vacancy declared in
accordance with article 33 shall hold office for the remainder of the term of
the member who vacated the seat on the Committee under the provisions of
that article.
ARTICLE 35
The members of the Committee shall, with the approval of the General
Assembly of the United Nations, receive emoluments: from United Nations
resources on such terms and conditions as the General Assembly may
decide, having regard to the importance of the Committee’s responsibilities.
ARTICLE 36
The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall provide the necessary
staff and facilities for the effective performance of the functions of the
Committee under the present Covenant.
ARTICLE 37
1. The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall convene the initial
meeting of the Committee at the Headqua,rters of the United Nations.
2. After its initial meeting, the Committee shall meet at such times as
shall be provided in its rules of procedure.
3. The Committee shall normally meet at the Headquarters of the
United Nations or at the United Nations Office at Geneva.
ARTICLE 38
Every member of the Committee shall, before taking up his duties,
make a solemn declaration in open committee that he will perform his
functions impartially and conscientiously.
ARTICLE 39
1. The Committee shall elect its officers for a term of two years. They
may be re-elected.
2. The Committee shall establish its own rules of procedure, but these
rules shall provide, inter alia, that:
(a) Twelve members shall constitute a quorum;
(b) Decisions of the Committee shall be made by a majority vote of
the members present.
ARTICLE 40
1. The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to submit
reports on the measures they have adopted which give effect to the rights
recognized herein and on the progress made in the enjoyment of those
rights:
(a) Within one year of the entry into force of the present Covenant for
the States Parties concerned;
(b) Thereafter whenever the Committee so requests.
2. All reports shall be submitted to the Secretary-General of the United
Nations, who shall transmit them to the Committee for consideration. Reports
shall indicate the factors and difficulties, if any, affecting the
implementation of the present Covenant.
3. The Secretary-General of the United Nations may, after consultation
with the Committee, transmit to the specialized agencies concerned
copies of such parts of the reports as may fall within their field of
competence.
4. The Committee shall study the reports submitted by the States
Parties to the present Covenant. It shall transmit its reports, and such
general comments as it may consider appropriate, to the States Parties. The
Committee may also transmit to the Economic and Social Council these
comments along with the copies of the reports it has received from States
Parties to the present Covenant.
5. The States Parties to the present Covenant may submit to the
Committee observations on any comments that may be made in accordance
with paragraph 4 of this article.
ARTICLE 41
1. A State Party to the present Covenant may at any time declare
under this article that it recognizes the competence of the Committee to
receive and consider communications to the effect that a State Party claims
that another State Party is not fulfilling its obligations under the present
Covenant. Communications under this article may be received and considered
only if submitted by a State Party which has made a declaration
recognizing in regard to itself the competence of the Committee. No communication
shall be received by the Committee if it concerns a State Party
which has not made such a declaration. Communications received under this
article shall be dealt with in accordance with the following procedure:
(a) If a State Party to the present Covenant considers that another
State Party is not giving effect to the provisions of the present
Covenant, it may, by written communication, bring the matter to
the attention of that State Party. Within three months after the
receipt of the communication, the receiving State shall afford the
State which sent the communication an explanation or any other
statement in writing clarifying the matter, which should include, to
the extent possible and pertinent, reference to domestic procedures
and remedies taken, pending, or available in the matter.
(b) If the matter is not adjusted to the satisfaction of both States
Parties concerned within six months after the receipt by the receiving
State of the initial communication, either State shall have the
right to refer the matter to the Committee, by notice given to the
Committee and to the other State.
(c) The Committee shall deal with a matter referred to it only after it
has ascertained that all available domestic remedies have been
invoked and exhausted in the matter, in conformity with the generally
recognized principles of international law. This shall not be
the rule where the application of the remedies is unreasonably
prolonged.
(d) The Committee shall hold closed meetings when examining communications
under this article.
(e) Subject to the provisions of sub-paragraph (c), the Committee shall
make available its good offices to the States Parties concerned with
a view to a friendly solution of the matter on the basis of respect
for human rights and fundamental freedoms as recognized in the
present Covenant.
(f) In any matter referred to it, the Committee may call upon the
States Parties concerned, referred to in sub-paragraph (b), to
supply any relevant information.
(g) The States Parties concerned, referred to in sub-paragraph (b),
shall have the right to be represented when the matter is being
considered in the Committee and to make submissions orally and/
or in writing.
(h) The Committee shall, within twelve months after the date of receipt
of notice under sub-paragraph (b), submit a report:
(i) If a solution within the terms of sub-paragraph (e) is reached,
the Committee shall confine its report to a brief statement of
the facts and of the solution reached;
(ii) If a solution within the terms of sub-paragraph (e) is not
reached, the Committee shall confine its report to a brief
statement of the facts; the written submissions and record of
the oral submissions made by the States Parties concerned
shall be attached to the report.
In every matter, the report shall be communicated to the States Parties
concerned.
2. The provisions of this article shall come into force when ten States
Parties to the present Covenant have made declarations under paragraph 1
of this article. Such declarations shall be deposited by the States Parties
with the Secretary-General of the United Nations, who shall transmit copies
thereof to the other States Parties. A declaration may be withdrawn at any
time by notification to the Secretary-General. Such a withdrawal shall not
prejudice the consideration of any matter which is the subject of a communication
already transmitted under this article; no further communication
by any State Party shall be received after the notification of withdrawal
of the declaration has been received by the Secretary-General, unless the
State Party concerned has made a new declaration.
ARTICLE 42
1. (a) If a matter referred to the Committee in accordance with article
41 is not resolved to the satisfaction of the States Parties concerned,
the Committee may, with the prior consent of the States
Parties concerned, appoint an ad hoc Conciliation Commission
(hereinafter referred to as the Commission). The good offices of
the Commission shall be made available to the States Parties
concerned with a view to an amicable solution of the matter on the
basis of respect for the pres·ent Covenant;
(b) The Commission shall consist of five persons acceptable to the
States Parties concerned. If the States Parties concerned fail to
reach agreement within three months on all or part of the composition
of the Commission the members of the Commission concerning
whom no agreement has been reached shall be elected by secret
ballot by a two-thirds majority vote of the Committee from
among its members.
2. The members of the Commission shall serve in their personal capacity.
They shall not be nationals of the States Parties concerned, or of a State
not party to the present Covenant, or of a State Party which has not made
a declaration under article 41.
3. The Commission shall elect its own Chairman and adopt its own
rules of procedure.
4. The meetings of the Commission shall normally be held at the
Headquarters of the United Nations or at the United Nations Office at
Geneva. However, they may be held at such other convenient places as the
Commission may determine in consultation with the Secretary-General of
the United Nations and the States Parties concerned.
5. The secretariat provided in accordance with article 36 shall also
service the commissions appointed under this article.
6. The information received and collated by the Committee shall be
made available to the Commission and the Commission may call upon the
States Parties concerned to supply any other relevant information.
7. When the Commission has fully considered the matter, but in any
event not later than twelve months after having been seized of the matter,
it shall submit to the Chairman of the Committee a report for communication
to the States Parties concerned.
(a) If the Commission is unable to complete its consideration of the
matter within twelve months, it shall confine its report to a brief
statement of the status of its consideration of the matter;
(b) If an amicable solution to the matter on the basis of respect for
human rights as recognized in the present Covenant is reached, the
Commission shall confine its report to a brief statement of the
facts and of the solution reached;
(c) Ha solution within the terms of sub-paragraph (b) is not reached,
the Commission’s report shall embody its findings on all questions
of fact relevant to the issues between the States Parties concerned,
and its views on the possibilities of an amicable solution of the
matter. This report shall also contain the written submissions and
a record of the oral submissions made by the States Parties
concerned;
(d) If the Commission’s report is submitted under sub-paragraph (c),
the States Parties concerned shall, within three months of the
receipt of the report, notify the Chairman of the Committee
whether or not they accept the contents of the report of the
Commission.
8. The provisions of this article are without prejudice to the responsibilities
of the Committee under article 41.
9. The States Parties concerned shall share equally all the expenses of
the members of the Commission in accordance with estimates to be provided
by the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
10. The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall be empowered to
pay the expenses of the members of the Commission, if necessary, before
reimbursement by the States Parties concerned, in accordance with paragraph
9 of this article.
ARTICLE 43
The members of the Committee, and of the ad hoc conciliation commissions
which may be appointed under article 42, shall be entitled to the
facilities, privileges and immunities of experts on mission for the United
Nations as laid down in the relevant sections of the Convention on the
Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations.
ARTICLE 44
The provisions for the impleinentation of the present Covenant shall
apply without prejudice to the procedures prescribed in the field of human
rights by or under the constituent instruments and the conventions of the
United Nations and of the specialized agencies and shall not prevent the
States Parties to the present Covenant from having recourse to other procedures
for settling a dispute in accordance with general or special international
agreements in force between them.
ARTICLE 45
The Committee shall submit to the General Assembly of the United
Nations through the Economic and Social Council, an annual report on its
activities.
PART V
ARTICLE 46
Nothing in the present Covenant shall be interpreted as impairing the
provisions of the Charter of the United Nations and of the constitutions of
the specialized agencies which define the respective responsibilities of the
various organs of the United Nations and of the specialized agencies in
regard to the matters dealt with in the present Covenant.
ARTICLE 47
Nothing in the present Covenant shall be interpreted as impairing the
inherent right of all peoples to enjoy and utilize fully and freely their
natural wealth and resources.
PART VI
ARTICLE 48
1. The present Covenant is open for signature by any State Member of
the United Nations or member of any of its specialized agencies, by any
State Party to the Statute of the International Court of Justice, and by any
other State which has been invited by the General Assembly of the United
Nations to become a party to the present Covenant.
2. The present Covenant is subject to ratification. Instruments of
ratification shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of the United
Nations.
3. The present Covenant shall be open to accesswn by any State
referred to in paragraph 1 of this article.
4. Accession shall be effected by the deposit of an instrument of accession
with the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
5. The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall inform all States
which have signed this Covenant or acceded to it of the deposit of each
instrument of ratification or accession.
ARTICLE 49
1. The present Covenant shall enter into force three months after the
date of the deposit with the Secretary-General of the United Nations of the
thirty-fifth instrument of ratification or instrument of accession.
2. For each State ratifying the present Covenant or acceding to it after
the deposit of the thirty-fifth instrument of ratification or instrument of
accession, the present Covenant shall enter into force three months after the
date of the deposit of its own instrument of ratification or instrument of
accession.
ARTICLE 50
The provisions of the present Covenant shall extend to all parts of
federal States, without any limitations or exceptions.
ARTICLE 51
1. Any State Party to the present Covenant may propose an amendment
and file it with the Secretary-General of the United Nations. The
Secretary-General of the United Nations shall thereupon communicate any
proposed amendments to the States Parties to the present Covenant with a
request that they notify him whether they favour a conference of States
Parties for the purpose of considering and voting upon the proposals. In the
event that at least one third of the States Parties favours such a conference,
the Secretary-General shall convene the conference under the auspices of the
United Nations. Any amendment adopted by a majority of the States
Parties present and voting at the conference shall be submitted to the
General Assembly of the United Nations for approval.
2. Amendments shall come into force when they have been approved by
the General Assembly of the United Nations and accepted by a two-thirds
majority of the States Parties to the present Covenant in accordance with
their respective constitutional processes.
3. When amendments come into force, they shall be binding on those
States Parties which have accepted them, other States Parties still being
bound by the provisions of the present Covenant and any earlier amendment
which they have accepted.
ARTICLE 52
Irrespective of the notifications made under article 48, paragraph 5, the
Secretary-General of the United Nations shall inform all States referred to
in paragraph 1 of the same article of the following particulars:
(a) Signatures, ratifications and accessions under article 48;
(b) The date of the entry into force of the present Covenant under
article 49 and the date of the entry into force of any amendments
under article 51.
ARTICLE 53
1. The present Covenant, of which the Chinese, English, French, Russian
and Spanish texts are equally authentic, shall be deposited in the
archives of the United Nations.
2. The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall transmit certified
copies of the present Covenant to all States referred to in article 48.
Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil
and Political Rights
The States Parties to the present Protocol,
Considering that in order further to achieve the purposes of the Covenant
on Civil and Political Rights (hereinafter referred to as the Covenant)
and the implementation of its provisions it would be appropriate to enable
the Human Rights Committee set up in part IV of the Covenant (hereinafter
referred to as the Committee) to receive and consider, as provided in the
present Protocol, communications from individuals claiming to be victims of
violations of any of the rights set forth in the Covenant,
Have agreed as follows:
ARTICLE 1
A State Party to the Covenant that becomes a party to the present
Protocol recognizes the competence of the Committee to receive and consider
communications from individuals subject to its jurisdiction who claim to
be victims of a violation by that State Party of any of the rights set forth
in the Covenant. No communication shall be received by the Committee if
it concerns a State Party to the Covenant which is not a party to the
present Protocol.
ARTICLE 2
Subject to the provisions of article 1, individuals who claim that any of
their rights enumerated in the Covenant have been violated and who have
exhausted all available domestic remedies may submit a written communication
to the Committee for consideration.
ARTICLE 3
The Committee shall consider inadmissible any communication under
the present Protocol which is anonymous, or which it considers to be an
abuse of the right of submission of such communications or to be incompatible
with the provisions of the Covenant.
ARTICLE 4
1. Subject to the provisions of article 3, the Committee shall bring any
communications submitted to it under the present Protocol to the attention
of the State Party to the present Protocol alleged to be violating any
provision of the Covenant.
2. Within six months, the receiving State shall submit to the Committee
written explanations or statements clarifying the matter and the
remedy, if any, that may have been taken by that State.
ARTICLE 5
1. The Committee shall consider communications received under the
present Protocol in the light of all written information made available to it
by the individual and by the State Party concerned.
2. The Committee shall not consider any communication from an
individual unless it has ascertained that:
(a) The same matter is not being examined under another procedure of
international investigation or settlement;
(b) The individual has exhausted all available domestic remedies. This
shall not be the rule where the application of the remedies is
unreasonably prolonged.
3. The Committee shall hold closed meetings when examining communications
under the present Protocol.
4. The Committee shall forward its views to the State Party concerned
and to the individual.
ARTICLE 6
The Committee shall include in its annual report under article 45 of the
Covenant a summary of its activities under the present Protocol.
ARTICLE 7
Pending the achievement of the objectives of resolution 1514 (XV)
adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 14 December
1960 concerning the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to
Colonial Countries and Peoples, the provisions of the present Protocol shall
in no way limit the right of petition granted to these peoples by the Charter
of the United Nations and other international conventions and instruments
under the United Nations and its specialized agencies.
ARTICLE 8
1. The present Protocol is open for signature by any State which has
signed the Covenant.
2. The present Protocol is subject to ratification by any State which
has ratified or acceded to the Covenant Instruments of ratifications shall be
deposited with the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
3. The present Protocol shall be open to accession by any State which
has ratified or acceded to the Covenant.
4. Accession shall be effected by the deposit of an instrument of accession
with the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
5. The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall inform all States
which have signed the present Protocol or acceded to it of the deposit of
each instrument of ratification or accession.
ARTICLE 9
1. Subject to the entry into force of the Covenant, the present Protocol
shall enter into force three months aiter the date of the deposit with the
Secretary-General of the United Nations of the tenth instrument of ratification
or instrument of accession.
2. For each State ratifying the present Protocol or acceding to it after
the deposit of the tenth instrument of ratification or instrument of accession,
the present Protocol shall enter into force three months after the date
of the deposit of its own instrument of ratification or instrument of
accession.
ARTICLE 10
The provisions of the present Protocol shall extend to all parts of
federal States without any limitations or exceptions.
ARTICLE 11
1. Any State Party to the present Protocol may propose an amendment
and file it with the Secretary-General of the United Nations. The Secretary-General
shall thereupon commu11icate any proposed amendments to the
States Parties to the present Protocol with a request that they notify him
whether they favour a conference of States Parties for the purpose of
considering and voting upon the proposal. In the event that at least one
third of the States Parties favours such a conference, the Secretary-General
shall convene the conference under the auspices of the United Nations. Any
amendment adopted by a majority of the States Parties present and voting
at the conference shall be submitted to the General Assembly of the United
Nations for approval.
2. Amendments shall come into force when they have been approved by
the General Assembly of the United Nations and accepted by a two-thirds
majority of the States Parties to the present Protocol in accordance with
their respective constitutional processes.
3. When amendments come into force, they shall be binding on those
States Parties which have accepted them, other States Parties still being
bound by the provisions of the present Protocol and any earlier amendment
which they have accepted.
ARTICLE 12
1. Any State Party may denounce the present Protocol at any time by
written notification addressed to the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
Denunciation shall take effect three months after the date of receipt
of the notification by the Secretary-General.
2. Denunciation shall be without prejudice to the continued application
of the provisions of the present Protocol to any communication submitted
under article 2 before the effective date of denunciation.
ARTICLE 13
Irrespective of the notifications made under article 8, paragraph 5, of
the present Protocol, the Secretary-General of the United Nations shall
inform all ,States referred to in article 48, paragraph 1, of the Covenant of
the following particulars:
(a) Signatures, ratifications and accessions under article 8;
(b) The date of the entry into force of the present Protocol under
article 9 and the date of the entry into force of any amendments
under article 11;
(c) Denunciations under article 12.
ARTICLE 14
1. The present Protocol, of which the Chinese, English, French, Russian
and Spanish texts are equally authentic, shall be deposited in the
archives of the United Nations.
2. The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall transmit certified
copies of the present Protocol to all States referred to in article 48 of the
Covenant.
APPENDIX VII
Convention for the Protection of Human Rights
and Fundamental Freedoms
Signed at Rome, on 4 November 1950
The Governments signatory hereto, being Members of the Council of
Europe,
Considering the Universal Declaration of Human Rights proclaimed by
the General Assembly of the United Nations on lOth December 1948;
Considering that this Declaration aims at securing the universal and
effective recognition and observance of the Rights therein declared;
Considering that the aim of the Council of Europe is the achievement
of greater unity between its Members and that one of the methods by which
that aim is to be pursued is the maintenance and further realisation of
Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms;
Reaffirming their profound belief in those Fundamental Freedoms
which are the foundation of justice and peace in the world and are best
maintained on the one hand by an effective political democracy and on the
other by a common understanding and observance of the Human Rights
upon which they depend;
Being resolved, as the Governments of European countries which are
like-minded and have a common heritage of political traditions, ideals, freedom
and the rule of law, to take the first steps for the collective enforcement
of certain of the Rights stated in the Universal Declaration;
Have agreed as follows:
ARTICLE 1
The High Contracting Parties shall secure to everyone within their
jurisdiction the rights and freedoms defined in Section I of this Convention.
SECTION I
ARTICLE 2
(1) Everyone’s right to life shall be protected by law. No one shall be
deprived of his life intentionally save in the execution of a sentence of a
court following his conviction of a crime for which this penalty is provided
by law.
(2) Deprivation of life shall not be regarded as inflicted in contravention
of this Article when it results from the use of force which is no more
than absolutely necessary:
(a) in defence of any person from unlawful violence;
(b) in order to effect a lawful arrest or to prevent the escape of a
person lawfully detained;
(c) in action lawfully taken for the purpose of quelling a riot or
insurrection.
ARTICLE 3
No one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading
treatment or punishment.
ARTICLE 4
(1) No one shall be held in slavery or servitude.
(2) No one shall be required to perform forced or compulsory labour.
(3) For the purpose of this Article the term “forced or compulsory
labour” shall not include:
(a) any work required to be done in the ordinary course of detention
imposed according to the provisions of Article 5 of this Convention
or during conditional release from such detention;
(b) any service of a military character or, in case of conscientious
objectors in countries where they are recognized, service exacted
instead of compulsory military service;
(c) any service exacted in case of an emergency or calamity threatening
the life or well-being of the community;
(d) any work or service which forms part of normal civic obligations.
ARTICLE 5
(1) Everyone has the right to liberty and security of person.
No one shall be deprived of his liberty save in the following cases and
in accordance with a procedure prescribed by law:
(a) the lawful detention of a person after conviction by a competent
court;
(b) the lawful arrest or detention of a person for non-compliance with
the lawful order of a court or in order to secure the fulfilment of
any obligation prescribed by law;
(c) the lawful arrest or detention of a person effected for the purpose of
bringing him before the competent legal authority on reasonable
suspicion of having committed an offence or when it is reasonably
considered necessary to prevent his committing an offence or fleeing
after having done so;
(d) the detention of a minor by lawful order for the purpose of educational
supervision or his lawful detention for the purpose of bringing
him before the competent legal authority;
(e) the lawful detention of persons for the prevention of the spreading
of infectious diseases, of persons of unsound mind, alcoholics or
drug addicts or vagrants;
(f) the lawful arrest or detention of a person to prevent his effecting an
unauthorised entry into the country or of a person against whom
action is being taken with a view to deportation or extradition.
(2) Everyone who is arrested shall be informed promptly, in a language
which he understands, of the reasons for his arrest and of any charge
against him.
(3) Everyone arrested or detained in accordance with the provisions of
paragraph 1 (c) of this Article shall be brought promptly before a judge or
other officer authorised by law to exercise judicial power and shall be
entitled to trial within a reasonable time or to release pending trial. Release
may be conditioned by guarantees to appear to trial.
(4) Everyone who is deprived of his liberty by arrest or detention shall
be entitled to take proceedings by which the lawfulness of his detention
shall be decided speedily by a court and his release ordered if the detention
is not lawful.
(5) Everyone who has been the victim of arrest or detention in contravention
of the provisions of this Article shall have an enforceable right to
compensation.
ARTICLE 6
(1) In the determination of his civil rights and obligations or of any
criminal charge against him, everyone is entitled to a fair and public
hearing within a reasonable time by an independent and impartial tribunal
established by law. Judgment shall be pronounced publicly but the press
and public may be excluded from all or part of the trial in the interests of
morals, public order or national security in a democratic society, where the
interests of juveniles or the protection of the private life of the parties
so require, or to the extent strictly necessary in the opinion of the court in
special circumstances where publicity would prejudice the interests of
justice.
(2) Everyone charged with a criminal offence shall be presumed innocent
until proved guilty according to law.
(3) Everyone charged with a criminal offence has the following minimum
rights:
(a) to be informed promptly, in a language which he understands and
in detail, of the nature and cause of the accusation against him;
(b) to have adequate time and facilities for the preparation of his
defence;
(c) to defend himself in person or through legal assistance of his own
choosing or, if he has not sufficient mea.ns to pay for legal assistance,
to be given it free when the interests of justice so require;
(d) to examine or have examined witnesses against him and to obtain
the attendance and examination of witnesses on his behalf under
the same conditions as witnesses against him;
(e) to have the free assistance of an interpreter if he cannot understand
or speak the language used in court.
ARTICLE 7
(1) No one shall be held guilty of any criminal offence on account of
any act or omission which did not constitute a criminal offence under
national or international law at the time when it was committed. Nor shall
a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time
the criminal offence was committed.
(2) This Article shall not prejudice the trial and punishment of any
person for any act or omission which, at the time when_ it was committed,
was criminal according to the general principles of ·law recognised by civilised
nations.
ARTICLE 8
(1) Everyone has the right to respect for his private and family life,
his home and his correspondence.
(2) There shall be no interference by a public authority with the
exercise of this right except such as is in accordance with the law and is
necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security,
public safety or the economic well-being of the country, for the prevention
of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals, or for the
protection of the rights and freedoms of others.
ARTICLE 9
(1) Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and
religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief and
freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or_ private,
to manifest his religion or belief, in worship, teaching, practice and
observance.
(2) Freedom to manifest one’s religion or beliefs shall be subject only
to such limitations as are prescribed by law and are necessary in a democratic
society in the interests of public safety, for the protection of public
order, health or morals, or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of
others.
ARTICLE 10
(1) Everyone has the right to freedom of expression. This right shall
include freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and
ideas without interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers.
This Article shall not prevent States from requiring the licensing of broadcasting,
television or cinema enterprises.
(2) The exercise of these freedoms, since it carries with it duties and
responsibilities, may be subject to such formalities, conditions, restrictions
or penalties as are prescribed by law and are necessary in a democratic
society, in the interests of national security, territorial integrity or public
safety, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health
or morals, for the protection of the reputation or rights of others, for
preventing the disclosure of information received in confidence, or for maintaining
the authority and impartiality of the judiciary.
ARTICLE 11
(1) Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and to
freedom of association with others, including the right to form and to join
trade unions for the protection of his interests.
(2) No restrictions shall be placed on the exercise of these rights other
than such as are prescribed by law and are necessary in a democratic
society in the interests of national security or public safety, for the prevention
of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals or for the
protection of the rights and freedoms of others. This Article shall not
prevent the imposition of lawful restrictions on t4e exercise of these rights
by members of the armed forces, of the police or of the administration of
the State.
ARTICLE 12
Men and women of marriageable age have the right to marry and to
found a family, according to the national laws governing the exercise of this
right.
ARTICLE 13
Everyone whose rights and freedoms as set forth in this Convention are
violated shall have an effective remedy before a national authority notwithstanding
that the violation has been committed by persons acting in an
official capacity.
ARTICLE 14
The enjoyment of rights and freedoms set forth in this Convention
shall be secured without discrimination on any ground such as sex, race,
colour, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin,
association with a national minority, property, birth or other status.
ARTICLE 15
(1) In time of war or other public emergency threatening the life of the
nation any High Contracting Party may take measures derogating from its
obligations under this C~nvention to the extent strictly required by the
exigencies of the situation, provided that such measures are not inconsistent
with its other obligations under international law.
(2) No derogation from Article 2, except in respect of deaths resulting
from lawful acts of war, or from Articles 3, 4 (paragraph 1) and 7 shall be
made under this provision.
(3) Any High Contracting Party availing itself of this right of derogation
shall keep the Secretary-General of the Council of Europe fully
informed of the measures which it has taken and the reasons therefor. It
shall also inform the Secretary-General of the Council of Europe when such
measures have ceased to operate and the provisions of the Convention are
again being fully executed.
ARTICLE 16
Nothing in Articles 10, 11 and 14 shall be regarded as preventing the
High Contracting Parties from imposing restrictions on the political activity
of aliens.
ARTICLE 17
Nothing in this Convention may be interpreted as implying for any
State, group or person any right to engage in any activity or perform any
act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms set forth
herein or at their limitation to a greater extent than is provided for in the
Convention.
ARTICLE 18
The restrictions permitted under this Convention to the said rights and
freedoms shall not be applied for any purpose other than those for which
they have been prescribed.
SECTION II
ARTICLE 19
To ensure the observance of the engagements undertaken by the High
Contracting Parties in the present Convention, there shall be set up:
(1) A European Commission of Human Rights hereinafter referred to
as “the Commission”;
(2) A European Court of Human Rights, hereinafter referred to as
“the Court”.
SECTION III
ARTICLE 20
The Commission shall consist of a number of members equal to that of
the High Contracting Parties. No two members of the Commission may be
nationals of the same State.
ARTICLE 21
(1) The members of the Commission shall be elected by the Committee
of Ministers by an absolute majority of votes, from a list of names drawn
up by the Bureau of the Consultative Assembly; each group of the Rep-
resentatives of the High Contracting Parties in the Consultative Assembly
shall put fonvard three candidates, of whom two at least shall be its
nationals.
(2) As far as applicable, the same procedure shall be followed to
complete the Commission in the event of other States subsequently becoming
Parties to this Convention, and in filling casual vacancies.
ARTICLE 22
(1) The members of the Commission shall be elected for a period of six
years. They may be re-elected. However, of the members elected at the first
election, the terms of seven members shall expire at the end of three years.
(2) The members whose terms are to expire at the end of the initial
period of three years shall be chosen by lot by the Secretary-General of the
Council of Europe immediately after the first election has been completed.
(3) A member of the Commission elected to replace a member whose
term of office has not expired shall hold office for the remainder of his
predecessor’s term.
(4) The members of the Commission shall hold office until replaced.
After having been replaced, they shall continue to deal with such cases as
they already have under consideration.
ARTICLE 23
The members of the Commission shall sit on the Commission in their
individual capacity.
ARTICLE 24
Any High Contracting Party may refer to the Commission, through the
Secretary-General of the Council of Europe, any alleged breach of the
provisions of the Convention by another High Contracting Party.
ARTICLE 25
(1) The Commission may receive petitions addressed to the SecretaryGeneral
of the Council of Europe from any person, non-governmental
organisation or group of individuals claiming to be the victim of a violation
by one of the High Contracting Parties of the rights set forth in this
Convention, provided that the High Contracting Party against which the
complaint has been lodged has declared that it recognises the competence of
the Commission to receive such petitions. Those of the High Contracting
Parties who have made such a declaration undertake not to hinder in any
way the effective exercise of this right.
(2) Such declarations may be made for a specific period.
(3) The declarations shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of
the Council of Europe who shall transmit copies thereof to the High Contracting
Parties and publish them.
(4) The Commission shall only exercise the powers provided for in this
Article when at least six High Contracting Parties are bound by declarations
made in accordance with the preceding paragraphs.
ARTICLE 26
The Commission may only deal with the matter after all domestic
remedies have been exhausted, according to the generally recognised rules of
international law, and within a period of six months from the date on which
the final decision was taken.
ARTICLE 27
(1) The Commission shall not deal with any petition submitted under
Article 25 which
(a) is anonymous, or
(b) is substantially the same as a matter which has already been examined
by the Commission or has already been submitted to another
procedure of international investigation or settlement and if it
contains no relevant new information.
(2) The Commission shall consider inadmissible any petition submitted
under Article 25 which it considers incompatible with the provisions of
the present Convention, manifestly ill-founded, or an abuse of the right of
petition.
(3) The Commission shall reject any petition referred to it which it
considers inadmissible under Article 26.
ARTICLE 28
In the event of the Commission accepting a petition referred to it:
(a) it shall, with a view to ascertaining the facts, undertake together
with the representatives of the parties an examination of the petition
and, if need be, an investigation, for the effective conduct of
which the States concerned shall furnish all necessary facilities,
after an exchange of views with the Commission;
(b) it shall place itself at the disposal of the parties concerned with
a view to securing a friendly settlement of the matter on the basis
of respect for Human Rights as defined in this Convention.
ARTICLE 29
(1) The Commission shall perform the functions set out in Article 28
by means of a Sub-Commission consisting of seven members of the
Commission.
(2) Each of the parties concerned may appoint as members of this
Sub-Commission a person of its choice.
(3) The remaining members shall be chosen by lot in accordance with
arrangements prescribed in the Rules of Procedure of the Commission.
ARTICLE 30
If the Sub-Commission succeeds in effecting a friendly settlement in
accordance with Article 28, it shall draw up a Report which shall be sent to
the States concerned, to the Committee of Ministers and to the SecretaryGeneral
of the Council of Europe for publication. This Report shall be
confined to a brief statement of the facts and of the solution reached.
ARTICLE 31
(1) If a solution is not reached, the Commission shall draw up a
Report on the facts and state its opinion as to whether the facts found
disclose a breach by the State concerned of its obligations under the Convention.
The opinions of all the members of the Commission on this point
may be stated in the Report.
(2) The Report shall be transmitted to the Committee of Ministers. It
shall also be transmitted to the States concerned, who shall not be at liberty
to publish it.
(3) In transmitting the Report to the Committee of Ministers the
Commission may make such proposals as it thinks fit.
ARTICLE 32
(1) If the question is not referred to the Court in accordance with
Article 48 of this Convention within a period of three months from the date
of the transmission of the Report to the Committee of Ministers, the
Committee of Ministers shall decide by a majority of two-thirds of the
members entitled to sit on the Committee whether there has been a violation
of the Convention.
(2) In the affirmative case the Committee of Ministers shall prescribe
a period during which the High Contracting Party concerned must take the
measures required by the decision of the Committee of Ministers.
(3) If the High Contracting Party concerned has not taken satisfactory
measures within the prescribed period, the Committee of Ministers shall
decide by the majority provided for in paragraph (1) above what effect
shall be given to its original decision and shall publish the Report.
(4) The High Contracting Parties undertake to regard as binding on
them any decision which the Committee of Ministers may take in application
of the preceding paragraphs.
ARTICLE 33
The Commission shall meet in camera.
ARTICLE 34
The Commission shall take its decisions by a majority of the Members
present and voting; the Sub-Commission shall take its decisions by a
majority of its members.
ARTICLE 35
The Commission shall meet as the circumstances require. The meetings
shall be convened by the Secretary-General of the Council of Europe.
ARTICLE 36
The Commission shall draw up its own rules of procedure.
ARTICLE 37
The secretariat of the Commission shall be provided by the SecretaryGeneral
of the Council of Europe.
SECTION IV
ARTICLE 38
The European Court of Human Rights shall consist of a number of
judges equal to that of the Members of the Council of Europe. No two
judges may be nationals of the same State.
ARTICLE 39
(1) The members of the Court shall be elected by the Consultative
Assembly by a majority of the votes cast from a list of persons nominated
by the Members of the Council of Europe; each Member shall nominate
three candidates, of whom two at least shall be its nationals.
(2) As far as applicable, the same procedure shall be followed to
complete the Court in the event of the admission of new Members of the
Council of Europe, and in filling casual vacancies.
(3) The candidates shall be of high moral character and must either
possess the qualifications required for appointment to high judicial office or
be jurisconsults of recognized competence.
ARTICLE 40
(1) The members of the Court shall be elected for a period of nine
years. Theymay be re-elected. However, of the members elected at the first
election the terms of four members shall expire at the end of three years,
and the terms of four more members shall expire at the end of six years.
(2) The members whose terms are to expire at the end of the initial
periods of three and six years shall be chosen by lot by the Secretary-General
immediately after the first election has been completed.
(3) A member of the Court elected to replace a member whose term of
office has not expired shall hold office for the remainder of his predecessor’s
term.
(4) The members of the Court shall hold office until replaced. After
having been replaced, they shall continue to deal with such cases as they
already have under consideration.
ARTICLE 41
The Court shall elect its President and Vice-President for a period of
three years. They may be re-elected.
ARTICLE 42
The members of the Court shall receive for each day of duty a compensation
to be determined by the Committee of Ministers.
ARTICLE 43
For the consideration of each case brought before it the Court shall
consist of a Chamber composed of seven judges. There shall sit as an ex
officio member of the Chamber the judge who is a national of any State
Party concerned, or, if there is none, a person of its choice who shall sit in
the capacity of judge; the names of the other judges shall be chosen by lot
by the President before the opening of the case.
ARTICLE 44
Only the High Contracting Parties and the Commission shall have the
right to bring a case before the Court.
ARTICLE 45
The jurisdiction of the Court shall extend to all cases concerning the
interpretation and application of the present Convention which the High
Contracting Parties or the Commission shall refer to it in accordance with
Article 48.
ARTICLE 46
(1) Any of the High Contracting Parties may at any time declare that
it recognises as compulsory ipso facto and without special agreement the
jurisdiction of the Court in all matters concerning the interpretation and
application of the present Convention.
(2) The declarations referred to above may be made unconditionally or
on condition of reciprocity on the part of several or certain other High
Contracting Parties or for a specified period.
(3) These declarations shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of
the Council of Europe who shall transmit copies thereof to the High Contracting
Parties.
ARTICLE 47
The Court may only deal with a case after the Commission has
acknowledged the failure of efforts f.or a friendly settlement and within the
period of three months provided for in Article 32.
ARTICLE 48
The following may bring a case before the Court, provided that the
High Contracting Party concerned, if there is only one, or the High Contracting
Parties concerned, if there is more than one, are ,subject to the
compulsory jurisdiction of the Court or, failing that, with the consent of the
High Contracting Party concerned, if there is only one, or of the High
Contracting Parties concerned if there is more than one:
(a) the Commission;
(b) a High Contracting Party whose national is alleged to be a victim;
(c) a High Contracting Party which referred the case to the
Commission;
(d) a High Contracting Party against which the complaint has been
lodged.
ARTICLE 49
In the event of dispute as to whether the Court has jurisdiction, the
matter shall be settled by the decision of the Court.
ARTICLE 50
If the Court finds that a decision or a measure taken by a legal
authority or any other authority of a High Contracting Party is completely
or partially in conflict with the obligations arising from the present Conven-
tion, and if the internal law of the said Party allows only partial reparation
to be made for the consequences of this decision or measure, the decision of
the Court shall, if necessary, afford just satisfaction to the injured party.
ARTICLE 51
(1) Reasons shall be given for the judgment of the Court.
(2) If the judgment does not represent in whole or in part the unanimous
opinion of the judges, any judge shall be entitled to deliver a separate
opinion.
ARTICLE 52
The judgment of the Court shall be final.
ARTICLE 53
The High Contracting Parties undertake to abide by the decision of the
Court in any case to which they are parties.
ARTICLE 54
The judgment of the Court shall be transmitted to the Committee of
Ministers which shall supervise its execution.
ARTICLE 55
The Court shall draw up its own rules and shall determine its own
procedure.
ARTICLE 56
(1) The first election of the members of the Court shall take place
after the declarations by the High Contracting Parties mentioned in Article
46 have reached a total of eight.
(2) No case can be brought before the Court before this election.
SECTION V
ARTICLE 57
On receipt of a request from the Secretary-General of the Council of
Europe any High Contracting Party shall furnish an explanation of the
manner in which its internal law ensures the effective implementation of
any of the provisions of this Convention.
ARTICLE 58
The expenses of the Commission and the Court shall be borne by the
Council of Europe.
ARTICLE 59
The members of the Commission and of the Court shall be entitled,
during the discharge of their functions, to the privileges and immunities
provided for in Article 40 of the Statute of the Council of Europe and in the
agreements made thereunder.
ARTICLE 60
Nothing in this Convention shall be construed as limiting or derogating
from any of the human rights and fundamental freedoms which may be
ensured under the laws of any High Contracting Party or under any other
agreement to which it is a Party.
ARTICLE 61
Nothing in this Convention shall prejudice the powers conferred on the
Committee of Ministers by the Statute of the Council of Europe.
ARTICLE 62
The High Contracting Parties agree that, except by special agreement,
they will not avail themselves of treaties, conventions or declarations in
force between them for the purpose of submitting, by way of petition, a
dispute arising out of the interpretation or application of this Convention to
a means of settlement other than those provided for in this Convention.
ARTICLE 63
(1) Any State may at the time of its ratification or at any time
thereafter declare by notification addressed to the Secretary-General of the
Council of Europe that the present Convention shall extend to all or any of
the territories for whose international relations it is responsible.
(2) The Convention shall extend to the territory or territories named in
the notification as from the thirtieth day after the receipt of this notification
by the Secretary-General of the Council of Europe.
(3) The provisions of this Convention shall be applied in such territories
with due regard, however, to local requirements.
(4) Any State which has made a declaration in accordance with paragraph
1 of this Article may at any time thereafter declare on behalf of one
or more of the territories to which the declaration relates that it accepts the
competence of the Commission to receive petitions from individuals, non-governmental
organisations or groups of individuals in accordance with
Article 25 of the present Convention.
ARTICLE 64
(1) Any State may, when signing this Convention or when depositing
its instrument of ratification, make a reservation in respect of any particular
provision of the Convention to the extent that any law then in force in
its territory is not in conformity with the provision. Reservations of a
general character shall not be permitted under this Article.
(2) Any reservation made under this Article shall contain a brief
statement of the law concerned.
ARTICLE 65
(1) A High Contracting Party may denounce the present Convention
only after the expiry of five years from the date on which it became a
Party to it and after six months’ notice contained in a notification
addressed to the Secretary-General of the Council of Europe, who shall
inform the other High Contracting Parties.
(2) Such a denunciation shall not have the effect of releasing the High
Contracting Party concerned from its obligations under this Convention in
respect of any act which, being capable of constituting a violation of such
obligations, may have been performed by it before the date at which the
denunciation became effective.
(3) Any High Contracting Party which shall cease to be a Member of
the Council of Europe shall cease to be a Party to this Convention under
the same conditions.
(4) The Convention may be denounced in accordance with the provisions
of the preceding paragraphs in respect of any territory to which it has
been declared to extend under the terms of Article 63.
ARTICLE 66
(1) This Convention shall be open to the signature of the Members of
the Council of Europe. It shall be ratified. Ratifications shall be deposited
with the Secretary-General of the Council of Europe.
(2) The present Convention shall come into force after the deposit of
ten instruments of ratification.
(3) As regards any signatory ratifying subsequently, the Convention
shall come into force at the date of the deposit of its instrument of
ratification.
(4) The Secretary-General of the Council of Europe shall notify all the
Members of the Council of Europe of the entry into force of the Convention,
the names of the High Contracting Parties who have ratified it, and
the deposit of all instruments of ratification which may be effected
subsequently.
DONE at Rome this 4th day of November 1950 in English and French,
both texts being equally authentic, in a single copy which shall remain
deposited in the archives of the Council of Europe. The Secretary-General
shall transmit certified copies to each of the signatories.
For the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium:
Paul VAN ZEELAND
For the Government of the Kingdom of Denmark:
O.C. MOHR
For the Government of the French Republic:
SCHUMAN
For the Government of the German Federal Republic:
Walter HALLSTEIN
For the Government of the Icelandic Republic:
Petur BENEDIKTSSON
For the Government of the Irish Republic:
Sean MACBRIDE
For the Government of the Italian Republic:
SFORZA
For the Government of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg:
Jos BECH
For the Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands:
STIKKER
For the Government of the Kingdom of Norway:
HALVARD M. LANGE
For the Government of the Saar:
E. HECTOR
For the Government of the Turkish Republic:
F. KOPRULU
For the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Northern Ireland:
ERNEST DAVIES
* * *
Signed at Paris this 28th day of November 1950
For the Government of the Kingdom of Greece:
R. RAPHAEL
For the Government of the Kingdom of Sweden:
K.I. WESTMAN
List of Territories for whose international relations Her Majesty’s
Government in the United Kingdom are responsible to which the European
Convention on Human Rights is to be extended:
Aden Colony
The Bahamas
Barbados
Basutoland
Bechuanaland
Bermuda
British Guiana
British Honduras
British Solomon Islands
Channel Islands:
The Bailiwick of Jersey
The Bailiwick of Guernsey
Cyprus
Falkland Islands
Fiji
Gambia
Gilbert and Ellice Islands
Gold Coast
Jamaica
Kenya
Gibraltar
Zanzibar
Leeward Islands
Federation of Malaya
Malta
Isle of Man
Mauritius
Nigeria
Northern Rhodesia
North Borneo
Nyasaland
St. Helena
Sarawak
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Singapore
Somaliland
Swaziland
Tanganyika
Trinidad
Uganda
Windward Islands:
Dominica
Grenada
St. Lucia
St. Vincent
and at the request of the Government of that Kingdom, for whose international
relations Her Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom is
responsible,
Kingdom of Tonga
RESERVATIONS MADE AT THE TIME OF THE DEPOSIT OF THE INSTRUMENTS
OF RATIFICATION
NORWAY
Whereas Article 2 of the Norwegian Constitution of 17th May, 1814,
contains a provision under which Jesuits are not tolerated, a corresponding
reservation is made with regard to the application of Article 9 of the
Convention.
FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY
(1) The territory to which this Convention shall apply extends also to
Western Berlin.
(2) In conformity with Article 64 of the Convention, the German
Federal Republic makes the reservation that it will only apply the provisions
appearing under Article 7, Clause 2, of the Convention so far as is
allowed by Article.103, Clause 2 of the Basic Law of the German Federal
Republic. This provides that any Act is only punishable if it was so by law
before the offence was committed.
(3) As already stated in the Memorandum of 5th November, 1950, the
ratification by the Gennan Federal Republic of the Convention for the
Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms must not be interpreted
as recognition of the present status of the Saar.
IRELAND
“Now therefore the Government of Ireland do hereby confirm and
ratify the aforesaid Convention and undertake faithfully to perform and
carry out all the stipulations therein contained, subject to the reservation
that they do not interpret Article 6 (3) (c) of the Convention as requiring
the provision of free legal assistance to any wider extent than is now
provided in Ireland.”
Protocol to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights
and Fundamental Freedoms
Signed at Paris, on 20 March 1952
The Governments signatory hereto, being Members of the Council of
Europe,
Being resolved to take steps to ensure the collective enforcement of
certain rights and freecloms other than those already included in Section I
of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental
Freedoms signed at Rome on 4th November, 1950 (hereinafter referred to
as “the Convention”),
Have agreed as follows:
ARTICLE 1
Every natural or legal person is entitled to the peaceful enjoyment of
his possessions. No one shall be deprived of his possessions except in the
public interest and subject to the conditions provided for by law and by the
general principles of international law.
The preceding provisions shall not, however, in any way impair the
right of a State to enforce such laws as it deems necessary to control the use
of property in accordance with the general interest or to secure the payment
of taxes or other contributions or penalties.
ARTICLE 2
No person shall be denied the right to education. In the exercise of any
functions which it assumes in relation to education and to teaching, the
State shall respect the right of parents to ensure such education and teaching
in conformity with their own religious and philosophical convictions.
ARTICLE 3
The High Contracting Parties undertake to hold free elections at reasonable
intervals by secret ballot, under conditions which will ensure the
free expression of the opinion of the people in the choice of the legislature.
ARTICLE 4
Any High Contracting Party may at the time of signature or ratification
or at any time thereafter communicate to the Secretary-General of the
Council of Europe a declaration stating the extent to which it undertakes
that the provisions of the present Protocol shall apply to such of the
territories for the international relations of which it is responsible as are
named therein.
Any High Contracting Party which has communicated a declaration in
virtue of the preceding paragraph may from time to time communicate a
further declaration modifying the terms of any former declaration or terminating
the application of the provisions of this Protocol in respect of any
territory.
A declaration made in accordance with this Article shall be deemed to
have been made m accordance with Paragraph (1) of Article 63 of the
Convention.
ARTICLE 5
As between the High Contracting Parties the provisions of Articles 1, 2,
3 and 4 of this Protocol shall be regarded as additional Articles to the
Convention and all the provisions of the Convention shall apply
accordingly.
ARTICLE 6
This Protocol shall be open for signature by the Members of the
Council of Europe, who are the signatories of the Convention; it shall be
ratified at the same time as or after the ratification of the Convention. It
shall enter into force after the deposit of ten instruments of ratification. As
regards any signatory ratifying subsequently, the Protocol shall enter into
force at the date of the deposit of its instrument of ratification.
The instruments of ratification shall be deposited with the SecretaryGeneral
of the Council of Europe, who will notify all Members of the
names of those who have ratified.
DONE at Paris on the 20th day of March 1952, in English and French,
both texts being equally authentic, in a single copy which shall remain
deposited in the archives of the Council of Europe. The Secretary-General
shall transmit certified copies to each of the signatory Governments.
For the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium:
Paul Van ZEELAND
For the Government of the Kingdom of Denmark:
Ole BJOERN KRAFT
For the Government of the French Republic:
SCHUMAN
For the Government of the German Federal Republic:
ADENAUER
For the Government of the Kingdom of Greece:
R. RAPHAEL
At the time of signature of this Protocol, the Greek Government,
pursuant to Article 64 of the Convention, makes the following reservation
relating to Article 2 of the Protocol: The application of the word “philo-
sophical”, which is the penultimate word of the second sentence of Article 2,
will, in Greece, conform with the relevant provisions of internal legislation.
For the Government of the Icelandic Republic:
Petur BENEDIKTSSON
For the Government of the Irish Republic:
Proinsias MAC AOGAIN
For the Government of the Italian Republic:
Paolo Emilio TAVIANI
For the Government of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg:
Jos. BECH
For the Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands:
STIKKER
For the Government of the Kingdom of Norway:
Halvard LANGE
For the Government of the Saar:
Johannes HOFFMANN
For the Government of the Kingdom of Sweden:
Osten UNDEN
For the Government of the Turkish Republic:
F. KOPRULU
For the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Northern Ireland:
Anthony EDEN
At the time of signing the present Protocol, I declare that, in view of
certain provisions of the Education Acts in force in the United Kingdom,
the principle affirmed in the second sentence of Article 2 is accepted by the
United Kingdom only so far as it is compatible with the provision of
efficient instruction and training, and the avoidance of unreasonable public
expenditure.
RESERVATIONS MADE AT THE TIME OF THE DEPOSIT
OF THE INSTRUMENTS OF RATIFICATION
SWEDEN
WE do ratify, approve and accept the same with all its Articles and
Clauses with the reservation in respect of Article 2 of the Protocol, to the
effect that Sweden could not grant to parents the right to obtain, by reason
of their philosophical convictions, dispensation for their children from the
obligation of taking part in certain parts of the education in the public
schools, and also to the effect that the dispensation from the obligation of
taking part in the teaching of Christianity in these schools could only be
granted for children of another faith than the Swedish Church in respect of
whom a satisfactory religious instruction had been arranged. This reservation
is based on the provisions of the new rule of 17th March, 1953, for the
establishment of secondary education within the Kingdom and also on the
analogous provisions concerning other educational establishments. WE do
accept, approve and ratify hereby this Protocol in such manner as may be
most effective and do wish and promise sincerely and faithfully to observe
and fulfil all that is contained in the said Protocol with all its Articles and
Clauses, subject to the reservation stated above in respect of Article 2.
LUXEMBOURG
Desiring to avoid all uncertainty concerning the application of Article
1 of the Protocol with reference to the Luxembourg law of the 26th April,
1951, concerning the liquidation of certain former enemy property, rights
and interests which had been subjected to measures of sequestration,
Declares that it makes a reservation in respect of the provisions of the
law of the 26th April, 1951, mentioned above.
TURKEY
Article 2 of the Protocol shall not affect the provisions of Law No. 430
of 3rd March, 1924, relating to the unification of education.
APPENDIX VIII
Amendments to the United States Constitution
ARTICLE I (1791)
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or
prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or
of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to
petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
ARTICLE II (1791)
A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free State,
the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.
ARTICLE III (1791)
No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without
the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be
prescribed by law.
ARTICLE IV (1791)
The right of the people to be secure in their· persons, houses, papers,
and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated,
and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath
or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the
persons or things to be seized.
ARTICLE V (1791)
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous
crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in
cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual
service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for
the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be
compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be
deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall
private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
ARTICLE VI (1791)
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a
speedy public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein
the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously
ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the
accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory
process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance
of counsel for his defense.
ARTICLE VII (1791)
In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed
twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact
tried by a jury, shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of the United
States, than according to the rules of the common law.
ARTICLE VIII (1791)
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor
cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
ARTICLE IX (1791)
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be
construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
ARTICLE X (1791)
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor
prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to
the people.
ARTICLE XI ( 1798)
The judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to
extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted against one of
the United States by citizens of another State, or by citizens or subjects of
any foreign State.
ARTICLE XII (1804)
The electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by ballot for
President and Vice President, one of whom, at least, shall not be an inhabitant
of the same State with themselves; they shall name in their ballots the
person voted for as President, and in distinct ballots the person voted for as
Vice President, and they shall make distinct lists of all persons voted for as
President, and of all persons voted for as Vice President, and of the number
of votes for each, which lists they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed
to the seat of the Government of the United States, directed to the President
of the Senate. The President of the Senate shall, in the presence of the
Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates and the votes
shall then be counted. The person having the greatest number of votes for
President, shall be the President, if such number be a majority of the whole
number of electors appointed; and if no person have such majority, then
from the persons having the highest numbers not exceeding three on the list
of those voted for as President, the House of Representatives shall choose
immediately, by ballot, the President. But in choosing the President, the
votes shall be taken by States, the representation from each State having
one vote; a quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or members
from two-thirds of the States, and a majority of all the States shall be
necessary to a choice. And if the House of Representatives shall not choose
a President whenever the right of choice shall devolve upon them, before the
fourth day of March next following, then the Vice President shall act as
President, as in the case of the death or other constitutional disability of
the President. The person having the greatest number of votes as Vice
President, shall be the Vice President, if such number be a majority of the
whole number of electors appointed, and if no person have a majority, then
from the two highest numbers on the list, the Senate shall choose the Vice
President; a quorum for the purpose shall consist of two-thirds of the whole
number of Senators, and a majority of the whole number shall be necessary
to a choice. But no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President
shall be eligible to that of Vice President of the United States.
ARTICLE XIII (1865)
Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment
for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall
exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.
Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate
legislation.
ARTICLE XIV (1868)
Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and
subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of
the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law
which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United
States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property,
without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction
the equal protection of the laws.
Section 2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the several
States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of
persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to
vote at any election for the choice of electors for President and Vice
President of the United States, Representatives in Congress, the Executive
and Judicial officers of a State, or the members of the Legislature thereof, is
denied to any of the male inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years
of age, and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except·for
participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of representation therein
shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens
shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in
such State.
Section 3. No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress,
or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or
military; under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously
taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as. an officer of the United
States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an Executive or
Judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United
States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or
given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of
two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.
Section 4. The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized
by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties
for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned.
But neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt
or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United
States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such
debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void.
Section 5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate
legislation, the provisions of this article.
ARTICLE XV (1870)
Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be
denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race,
color, or previous condition of servitude.
Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by
appropriate legislation.
ARTICLE XVI (1913)
The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes,
from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several
States, and without regard to any census or enumeration.
ARTICLE XVII (1913)
Section 1. The Senate of the United States shall be composed of ‘two
Senators from each State, elected by the people thereof, for six years; and
each Senator shall have one vote. The electors in each State shall have the
qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the
State Legislatures.
Section 2. When vacancies happen in the representation of any State in
the Senate, the executive authority of such State shall issue writs of election
fo fill such vacancies: Provided, That the Legislature of any State may
empower the Executive thereof to make temporary appointments until the
people fill the vacancies by election as the Legislature may direct.
Section 3. This amendment shall not be so construed as to affect the
election or term of any Senator chosen before it becomes valid as part of
the Constitution.
ARTICLE XVIII (1919)
Section 1. After one year from the ratification of this article the
manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the
importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof from the United States
and all territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof for beverage purposes is
hereby prohibited.
Section 2. The Congress and the several States shall have concurrent
power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Section 3. This article shall be inop€rative unless it shall have been
ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the Legislatures of the
several States, as provided in the Constitution, within seven years from the
date of the submission hereof to the States by the Congress.
ARTICLE XIX (1920)
Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be
denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.
Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate
legislation.
ARTICLE XX (1933)
Section 1. The terms of the President and Vice President shall end at
noon on the 20th day of January, and the terms of Senators and Representatives
at noon on the 3rd day of January, of the years in which such terms
would have ended if this article had not been ratified ; and the terms of their
successors shall then begin.
Section 2. The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and
such meeting shall begin at noon on the 3rd day of January, unless they
shall by law appoint a different day.
Section 3. If, at the time fixed for the beginning of the term of the
President, the President elect shall have died, the Vice President elect shall
become President. If a President shall not have been chosen before the time
fixed for the beginning of his term, or if the President elect shall have failed
to qualify, then the Vice President elect shall act as President until a
President shall have qualified; and the Congress may by law provide for the
case wherein neither a President elect nor a Vice President elect shall have
qualified, declaring who shall then act as President, or the manner in which
one who is to act shall be selected, and such person shall act accordingly
until a President or Vice President shall have qualified.
Section 4. The Congress may by law provide for the case of the death
of any of the persons from whom the House of Representatives may choose
a President whenever the right of choice shall have devolved upon them,
and for the case of the death of any of the persons from whom the Senate
may choose a Vice President whenever the right of choice shall have
devolved upon them.
Section 5. Sections 1 and 2 shall take effect on the 15th day of October
following the ratification of this article.
Section 6. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been
ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the Legislatures of threefourths
of the several States within seven years from the date of its
submission.
ARTICLE XXI (1933)
Section 1. The eighteenth article of amendment to the Constitution of
the United States is hereby repealed.
Section 2. The transportation or importation into any State, Territory,
or possession of the United States for delivery or use therein of intoxicating
liquors, in violation of the laws thereof, is hereby prohibited.
Section 3. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been
ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by conventions in the several
States, as provided in the Constitution, within seven years from the date of
the submission hereof to the States by the Congress.
ARTICLE XXII (1951)
Section 1. No person shall be elected to the office of the President more
than twice, and no person who has held the office of President, or acted as
President, for more than two years of a term to which some other person
was elected President shall be elected to the office of the President more
than once. But this Article shall not apply to any person holding the office
of President when this Article was proposed by the Congress, and shall not
prevent any person who may be holding the office of President, or acting as
President, during the term within which the Article becomes operative from
holding the office of President or acting as President during the remainder
of such term.
Section 2. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been
ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the Legislatures of threefourths
of the several States within seven years from the date of its submission
to the States by the Congress.
ARTICLE XXIII (1961)
Section 1. The District constituting the seat of Government of the
United States shall appoint in such manner as the Congress may direct:
A number of electors of President and Vice President equal to the
whole number of Senators and Representatives in Congress to which the ·
District would be entitled if it were a State, but in no event more than the
least populous State; they shall be in addition to those appointed by the
States, but they shall be considered, for the purposes of the election of the
President and Vice President, to be electors appointed by a State; and they
shall meet in the District and perform such duties as provided by the twelfth
article of amendment.
Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by
appropriate legislation.
ARTICLE XXIV (1964)
Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any
primary or other election for President or Vice President, for electors for
President or Vice President, or for Senator or Representative in. Congress,
shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State by reason
of failure to pay any poll tax or other tax.
Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by
appropriate legislation.
ARTICLE XXV (1967)
Section 1. In case of the removal of the President from office or his
death or resignation; the Vice President shall become President.
Section 2. Whenever there is a vacancy in the office of the Vice
President, the President shall nominate a Vice President who shall take
the office upon a confirmation by a majority vote of both houses of Congress.
Section 3. Whenever the President transmits to the President pro tempore
of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his
written declaration that he is unable to discharge the powers and duties of
his office, and until he transmits to them a written declaration to the contrary,
such powers and duties shall be discharged by the Vice President
as Acting President.
Section 4. Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the
principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as
Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the
Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written
declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties
of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and
duties of the office as Acting President.
Thereafter, when the President transmits to the President pro tempore
of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written
declaration that no inability exists, he shallll’esume the powers and duties of
his office unless the Vice President and a majority of either the principal
officers of the executive department or of such other body as Congress may
by law provide, transmit within four days to the President pro tempore of
the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written
declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties ·
of his office. Thereupon Congress shall decide the issue, assembling within
48 hours for that purpose if not in session. If the Congress, within 21 days
after receipt of the latter written declaration, or, if Congress is not in
session, within 21 days after Congress is required to assemble, determines
by two-thirds vote of both houses that the President is unable to discharge
the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall continue to
discharge the same as Acting President; otherwise, the President shall
resume the powers and duties of his office.
APPENDIX IX
Principal Canadian Legislation Protecting Human Rights
A. CANADA
(1) Canadian Bill of Rights, S. C. 1960, c. 44.
This Act declares the existence of various legal, egalitarian, and politi.
cal rights and freedoms, and requires that all federal legislation be “construed
and applied” so as not to infringe on these rights and freedoms.
(2) Canada Fair Employment Practices Act, S. C. 1952-53, c. 19.
This Act prohibits discrimination on the grounds of race, national
origin or religion in employment or in trade union membership. It applies to
businesses which are within Parliament’s jurisdiction, including federal
Crown corporations. Charitable organizations, and those non-profit bodies
whose purpose is to foster the welfare of certain religious or racial groups,
are exempted from its provisions. The Act provides machinery for an inquiry
into complaints, for remedial orders to be made by the Minister which are
binding on the parties, and for fines where the Act or the Minister’s orders
are violated. The convicting court .may also make certain remedial orders.
B. ALBERTA
(1) The Sex Disqualification Removal Act, R. S. A. 1955, c. 310.
This Act declares that no one shall be “disqualified by sex or marriage”
from the exercise of a public function, from holding public office, from
carrying on a profession or from admission to an incorporated society.
(2) The Human Rights Act, S. A. 1966, c. 39.
This Act prohibits discrimination on the grounds of race, religion,
ancestry or place of origin in accommodation, employment, or trade union
. membership. The Act expressly binds the Crown in right of the province
and all Crown agencies. It exempts organizations similar to those exempted
in the federal Fair Employment Practices Act. The enforcement provisions
are similar to the federal statute-an inquiry, Minister’s remedial
orders, prosecution if nec·essary, and remedial orders by the convicting
court. The Minister is also authorized here to apply to the Supreme Court
of Alberta for an injunction after a conviction to prevent continuation of
the contravention.
C. BRITISH COLUMBIA
(1) Fair Employment Practices Act, R. S. B. C. 1960, c. 137, as amended
by S. B. C. 1964; c. 19.
This Act prohibits discrimination in employment and trade union membership
on grounds similar to those in the federal and Alberta statutes, and
in addition on the grounds of age (more particularly, on the grounds that a
person is between the ages of 45 and 65). Similar exemptions are provided,
and similar enforcement procedures except that there is no injunction provided
for and the convicting court is not empowered to make remedial orders.
(2) Sex Disqualification Removal Act,-R. S. B. C. 1960, c. 352.
This Act is similar to the Alberta statute of the same name.
D. MANITOBA
(1) The Fair Employment Practices Act, R .S. M. 1954, c. 81, as amended
by S. M. 1956, c. 20.
This Act is very similar to the federal statute of the same name and t<;
the employment provisions of the Alberta Human Rights Act. It expressly
binds the Crown.
(2) The Fair Accommodation Practices Act, S. M. 1960, c. 14.
This Act is similar to provisions respecting accommodation of The
Human Rights Act of Alberta. Apart from the usual remedies the Minister
can, after a conviction under the Act, apply for an injunction to restrain th~
convicted person from further contraventions. The Crown is bound by the
Act.
E. NEW BRUNSWICK
(1) Fair Employment Practices Act, S. N. B. 1956, c. 9.
This Act is similar to federal and other provincial fair employment
practices-legislation. There is no provision for injunctions. The Act does not
appear to bind the Crown.
(2) Fair Accommodation Practices Act, S. N. B. 1959, c. 6.
This Act is similar to fair accommodation laws of other provinces such
as Alberta or Manitoba. It makes provision for an injunction after con~
viction. It does not appear to bind the Crown.
F. NEWFOUNDLAND
This province does not appear to have any comparable legislation.
G. NOVA SCOTIA
(1) Human Rights Act, S.N.S. 1963, c. 5.
This Act, replacing three earlier statutes, consolidates anti-discrimination
legislation. In scope and terms it is very similar to The Human Rights
Act of Alberta. It also includes a requirement of equal pay for both sexes (a
matter dealt with in separate legislation in most other provinces) .
H. ONTARIO
(1) The Ontario Human Rights Code 1961-62, S.O. 1961-62, c. 93, as
amended by S.O. 1965, c. 85.
This Act consolidates and amends several pre-existing provisions. It is
essentially an anti-discrimination law with respect to employment and
accommodation, with provisions similar to those described in the Alberta
and Nova Scotia Human Rights Act. Two differences may be noted. First,
the Ontario Act· has a general prohibition (not confined to employment or
accommodation practices) against publication of any notice, sign, symbol,
etc., indicating discrimination or an intention to discriminate on the basis of
race, religion, nationality or origin. Secondly, there is a Human Rights
Commission provided which, apart from being charged with enforcing the
Code, is also expected to promote the concept of equality regardless of race,
religion, etc., through educational programmes and otherwise.
(2) The Age Discrimination Act, 1966, S.O. 1966, c, 3.
This Act forbids discrimination in hiring, retention, or promotion of
persons because they are between 40 and 65 years of age. Machinery and
sanctions similar to those under The Ontario Human Rights Code, 1961-62
are provided. The Human Rights Commission is responsible for its
administration.
(3) The Freedom of Worship Act, 14-15 Vict., c. 175 (Province of
Canada).
This Act, originally passed in 1852, has not been carried in the revised
statutes of Ontario since 1897. It declares that the free exercise of religion
without discrimination or preference is allowed to all Her Majesty’s subjects
within the province. By section 129 of the B.N.A. Act this pre-Confederation
law continues.
I. PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND
Apart from the Equal Pay Act, S.P.E.I. 1959, c. 11, this province does
not appear to have any comparable legislation.
J. QUEBEC
(1) Freedom of Worship Act, R.S.Q. 1964, c. 301.
This Act repeats with modifications the provisions of the pre-Confederation
Freedom of Worship Act referred to in connection with Ontario. As
amended (by S.Q. 1953-54, c. 15) it provides that the right of free exercise
of religion does not include the distribution in public places of literature
containing abusive or insulting attacks against the religion of any of the
province’s population. Public speeches or the broadcasting of speeches
including such attacks are also excepted from the meaning of free exercise
of religion.
(2) Employment Discrimination Act, R.S.Q. 1964, c. 142.
This Act is similar to other provincial fair employment practices legislation.
It defines “discrimination” more precisely and specifies that a “distinction
… in respect of a particular job based on the inherent requirements
thereof shall not be deemed to be discrimination”. Provision is made for an
-in(Juiry, but no power is given to the Minister to make a remedial order.
Prosecution is the only judicial remedy. The Act binds the Crown.
(3) Hotels Act, R.S.Q. 1964, c. 205.
This Act forbids the keepers of hotels, restaurants or camping grounds
from discriminating, with respect to lodging, food, or other public services
offered, against any person on the basis of race, belief, nationality or origin.
Penalties are provided for the violation of the Act, and the offendor’s permit
might not be renewed in case of a violation.
K. SASKATCHEWAN
(1) The Saskatchewan Bill of Rights Act, R.S.S. 1965, c. 378.
This Act declares the existence of political rights (including freedom of
speech, religion, assembly, and the right to require a provincial election at
lea&t once every 5 years), legal rights, and egalitarian rights (including,
without discrimination on the basis of race, religion, ethnic or national
origin, the right to buy or rent real property, the right to engage in
occupations or professions, and the right to education). Penalties are provided
against anyone who restricts another in the enjoyment of these rights,
and such a person may also be enjoined from such restriction. The Act binds )
the Crown.
(2) The Fair Employment Practices Act, R.S.S. 1965, c. 293.
This Act follows the patterns of the federal and other provincial fair
employment practices laws. It provides for an inquiry, Minister’s orders,
and prosecutions, but not for injunctions. It is binding on the Crown.
(3) .The Fair Accommodation Practices Act, R.S.S. 1965, c. 379.
This Act follows the usual pattern of fair accommodation practices
laws. No provision is made, after an inquiry, for a Minister’s remedial
order. Tllere is power in the Minister to seek an injunction against an
offendor after conviction. The Act binds the Crown.
L. NORTHWEST TERRITORIES •
(1) Fair Practices Ordinance, N.W.T.Q. 1966, c. 5.
This Ordinance follows the familiar provincial pattern in prohibiting
discrimination in both employment and accommodation. Similar machinery
is provided for enforcement. No injunction is provided, but in case of a
prosecution the convicting court can, in employment cases, make remedial
orders. As in the Human Rights Act of Nova Scotia, it also contains a
requirement of equal pay for both sexes. The ordinance does not appear to
bind the Crown.
M. YUKON TERRITORY
(1) Fair Practices Ordinance, Y.O. 1963 (2nd Sess.), c. 3.
This Ordinance is very similar to the Northwest Territories ordinance.
It contains no provision with respect to equal pay for both sexes. It does
not appear to be binding on the Crown.