Vol. 145, No. 8 — April 13, 2011

Registration

SOR/2011-97 March 25, 2011

CRIMINAL CODE

ARCHIVED — Regulations Amending the Regulations Respecting Applications for Ministerial Review — Miscarriages of Justice (Miscellaneous Program)

P.C. 2011-487 March 25, 2011

His Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Justice, pursuant to subsection 696.1(2) (see footnote a) and paragraph 696.6(a) (see footnote b) of the Criminal Code (see footnote c), hereby makes the annexed Regulations Amending the Regulations Respecting Applications for Ministerial Review — Miscarriages of Justice (Miscellaneous Program).

REGULATIONS AMENDING THE REGULATIONS RESPECTING APPLICATIONS FOR MINISTERIAL REVIEW — MISCARRIAGES OF JUSTICE (MISCELLANEOUS PROGRAM)

AMENDMENTS

1. (1) Paragraph 2(1)(f) of the Regulations Respecting Applications for Ministerial Review — Miscarriages of Justice (see footnote 1) is replaced by the following:

  1. (f) a description of the new matters of significance that support the application, if any.

(2) Paragraph 2(2)(g) of the Regulations is replaced by the following:

  1. (g) any other document that the applicant considers necessary for the review of the application.

2. In section B of the form set out in the schedule to the English version of the Regulations, “Particulars Relating to Motion” is replaced by “Particulars Relating to Motions”.

COMING INTO FORCE

3. These Regulations come into force on the day on which they are registered.

REGULATORY IMPACT ANALYSIS STATEMENT

(This statement is not part of the Regulations.)

Issue and objectives

This amendment addresses concerns expressed by the Standing Joint Committee for the Scrutiny of Regulations (SJCSR) in December 2006, (see footnote 2) regarding the requirements of paragraphs 2(1)(f) and 2(2)(g) of the Regulations Respecting Applications for Ministerial Review — Miscarriages of Justice.

This amendment clarifies the requirements as to what information should accompany an application to the Minister when seeking a formal conviction review under section 696.1 of the Criminal Code (Miscarriages of Justice), and ensures symmetry of the French and English versions of the text.

Description and rationale

In December 2006, the SJCSR corresponded with the Department of Justice concerning several sections of the above mentioned Regulations, which, in their views required clarification. After exchanging correspondence and a meeting in May 2009, Justice officials and officials from the SJCSR agreed that only the following corrections needed to be made: paragraph 2(1)(f) of the Regulations should end with the words “if any” to make it clear that applicants have the option (rather than the obligation) to include a description of any new matters of significance when requesting that the Minister of Justice review a formal conviction. Further, it was agreed that paragraph 2(2)(g) should confirm that applicants have the option to provide such documents. Finally, the word “motion” is pluralized in Section B of the Schedule in the English version of the Regulations to be consistent with the French version.

Consultation

Given that this proposal deals with very minor clarifications and house-keeping issues, there has been no consultation other than discussions with the SJCSR as outlined above.

Implementation, enforcement and service standards

As these amendments are not substantive, an implementation plan or enforcement strategy is not necessary.

Contact

Kerry Scullion
Director/General Counsel
Criminal Conviction Review Group
Justice Canada

Footnote a
S.C. 2002, c. 13, s. 71

Footnote b
S.C. 2002, c. 13, s. 71

Footnote c
R.S., c. C-46

Footnote 1
SOR/2002-416

Footnote 2
SOR/2002-416