The Judicial Role in a Diverse Federation: Lessons from the Supreme Court of Canada

by Robert Schertzer

Overview

In The Judicial Role in a Diverse Federation, Robert Schertzer uses the example of the Supreme Court of Canada to examine how apex courts manage diversity and conflict in federal states.

Schertzer argues that in a diverse federation where the nature of the federal system is contested the courts should facilitate negotiation between conflicting parties, rather than impose their own vision of the federal system. Drawing on a comprehensive review of the Supreme Court federalism jurisprudence between 1980 and 2010, he demonstrates that the court has increasingly adopted this approach of facilitating negotiation by acknowledging the legitimacy of different understandings of the Canadian federation.

This book will be required reading both for those interested in Canada’s Supreme Court and for those engaged in broader debates about the use of federalism in multinational states.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781487510633
Publisher:	University of Toronto Press
Publication date:	05/09/2016
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	352
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Robert Schertzer is an assistant professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Toronto Scarborough.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Part One: The Theory and Practice of Managing Diversity via Federalism
Ch 1. The “Problem” of National Minorities and the “Solution” of Federalism
Ch 2. The Role of the Federal Arbiter in a Diverse Federation

Part Two: The SCC’s Federalism Jurisprudence, 1980 to 2010
Ch 3. Investigating the SCC’s Federalism Jurisprudence
Ch 4. The Exemplar of the Secession Reference
Ch 5. The SCC’s Imposing Federalism Jurisprudence
Ch 6. A Federalism Jurisprudence of Recognition

Conclusion 

What People are Saying About This

Andre Lecours

"TheJudicial Role in a Diverse Federation is a wonderful book that makes asignificant contribution to federalism studies and to the scholarship on themanagement of multinational societies."

Donna Greschner

"I read The Judicial Role in a Diverse Federation with great interest andenthusiasm. Robert Schertzer's research will benefit not only Canadian scholars and courts but also professors and decision-makers in other jurisdictions."

Editorial Reviews

‘I thoroughly enjoyed Schertzer’s work, and would not hesitate to recommend it to anyone.’

—Alex Laird, Saskatchewan Law Review vol 81: 2018

"Schertzer’s study of the Supreme Court of Canada’s federalism jurisprudence is a significant and welcome contribution to federalism and court studies alike."

—Erin Crandall, Acadia University, The Journal of Federalism vol. 48 no. 4, 2018

"Schertzer’s analysis of the bulk of the Supreme Court of Canada’s decisions from a 30-year period is a valuable addition to the Canadian constitutional law landscape… [this book] should be in every academic, governmental, and national law library. "

—Kim Clarke, University of Calgary, Canadian Law Library Review, vol. 43:4

"TheJudicial Role in a Diverse Federation is a wonderful book that makes asignificant contribution to federalism studies and to the scholarship on themanagement of multinational societies."

—Andre Lecours, School of Political Studies, University of Ottawa

"I read The Judicial Role in a Diverse Federation with great interest andenthusiasm. Robert Schertzer's research will benefit not only Canadian scholars and courts but also professors and decision-makers in other jurisdictions."

—Donna Greschner, Faculty of Law, University of Victoria

From the Publisher

"Schertzer's analysis of the bulk of the Supreme Court of Canada's decisions from a 30-year period is a valuable addition to the Canadian constitutional law landscape... [this book] should be in every academic, governmental, and national law library. "

Canadian Law Library Review, vol. 43:4 - Kim Clarke

'I thoroughly enjoyed Schertzer's work, and would not hesitate to recommend it to anyone.'

Saskatchewan Law Review vol 81: 2018 - Alex Laird

"Schertzer's study of the Supreme Court of Canada's federalism jurisprudence is a significant and welcome contribution to federalism and court studies alike."

The Journal of Federalism vol. 48 no. 4, 2018 - Erin Crandall