JURIST - Paper Chase: Canada justice minister declines to appeal anti-terror law ruling

[JURIST] Canadian Justice Minister Vic Toews [official website] said Friday that the Canadian government will not appeal an October 19 Ontario Superior Court decision [JURIST report] that threw out secrecy-related provisions of the Security of Information Act [CSIS backgrounder; text] as unconstitutional. The Canadian Department of Justice [official website] announced that the government will instead consider future legislative options [press release] to address the constitutional issues raised by the court's decision.

Friday's announcement responds to the first of two Canadian court decisions last month that ruled unconstitutional portions of the Anti-Terrorism Act [text; CBC backgrounder] that was passed three months after the Sept. 11 attacks [JURIST news archive] on the United States. In a separate decision last week, the Superior Court of Ontario ruled that a section of the act that defines "terrorism" is unconstitutionally vague [JURIST report] and contradicts several provisions of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms [text]. Toews said afterwards that the Canadian government would review and consider appealing [JURIST report] the ruling [text, PDF]. AFP has more. CBC News has local coverage.

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