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Indefinite 'solitary' unconstitutional – Canada ruling

Publish date: 19 January 2018
Issue Number: 4381
Diary: Legalbrief Today
Category: General

Canada’s use of prolonged or indefinite solitary confinement in federal prisons was unconstitutional, a judge has said in a ruling that could end the controversial practice unless Ottawa appealed the decision. A report in The Guardian notes that Canadian law allows an inmate to be placed in ‘administrative segregation’, as solitary is known, for an indefinite period for non-disciplinary reasons, such as protecting prisoners from fellow inmates. Some inmates have been left in solitary for as long as four years. The UN considers solitary over 15 days to be torture. A British Columbia Supreme Court judge this week found that the laws governing administrative segregation in Canada’s federal prisons contravened the country’s charter of rights and freedoms. Inmates placed in solitary confinement were at significant risk of psychological harm, as well as increased incidence of self-harm and suicide, Justice Peter Leask said in his ruling. Many were left with permanent harm as a result of their confinement, he added. The decision was hailed by the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association, which was among the organisations that challenged the practice in court. ‘This is the most significant trial court decision in the prison context that we’ve ever seen in Canadian history,’ said lawyer Jay Aubrey. ‘It’s really transformative.’ The ruling gives the federal government one year to bring its laws in line with the charter. The government is reviewing the ruling.

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