Just Rights
The Canadian Charter in Troubled Times
Joel Bakan(Author)
University of Toronto Press
Will be published approx. on 24. November 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
192 pages
978-1-4875-6226-7 (ISBN)
Description
In Just Rights, distinguished legal scholar Joel Bakan argues that our courts are obliged by the Canadian Charter to protect social justice and equality as core democratic and constitutional values, especially as they are increasingly vulnerable to neglect and attack in times of surging right-wing populism and neo-liberal priorities. Canadian courts have made the claim that Charter rights should be interpreted broadly and generously to reflect and reinforce the fundamental rights of the Canadian body politic; however, they typically stop short of meaningfully implementing this crucial ambition. Bakan contends that it is time for courts to move beyond this practice of inaction. Just Rights builds upon existing principles of Charter law to demonstrate that Canadian courts can and should recognize how Charter rights oblige governments to act positively in aid of fairness and inclusion, and that they further necessitate private actors to respect them.
Unique in Canadian constitutional scholarship, this book offers a clear framework for judicial protection and promotion of social justice under the Charter, with evidence as to how it grows from existing principles, respects real-world limits on judicial power, and confronts the ideological forces of illiberalism and neo-liberalism that threaten equality and democracy today.
Unique in Canadian constitutional scholarship, this book offers a clear framework for judicial protection and promotion of social justice under the Charter, with evidence as to how it grows from existing principles, respects real-world limits on judicial power, and confronts the ideological forces of illiberalism and neo-liberalism that threaten equality and democracy today.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Toronto
Canada
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 25 mm
Weight
1 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4875-6226-7 (9781487562267)
Copyright in bibliographic data is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or its licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Joel Bakan is a professor of law at the University of British Columbia.
Content
1. A Mirror Reflecting the National Soul
2. Trouble and Transformation
3. The Arc of Charter Law
4. Charter-Free Zones
5. Rights on the Horizon
6. Staying Positive about Positive Rights
7. The Paradox of Rights
2. Trouble and Transformation
3. The Arc of Charter Law
4. Charter-Free Zones
5. Rights on the Horizon
6. Staying Positive about Positive Rights
7. The Paradox of Rights