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Supreme Court of Canada decision in R. v. NS (2012)

Title

Supreme Court of Canada decision in R. v. NS (2012)

Subject

court decision, Supreme Court of Canada, niqab, freedom of religion, witness

Description

Supreme Court of Canada decision in a criminal law case. NS was the complainant in a sexual assault. During the preliminary inquiry, NS sought to testify wearing a niqab. Defence counsel challenged her request on the argument that the right to a fair trial includes the right to see the complainant's/witness's face while that person testifies. NS asserted her freedom of religion. The case involved Charter rights that appeared to be in conflict (freedom of religion versus the right to a fair trial). The Court set out how such conflicts must be addressed, in particular in a case where the witness/complainant asserted the right to wear the niqab. In this particular case, a majority of the Court held that NS must remove her niqab, as the balancing of rights in this case favoured the right to a fair trial and the right to see a complainant's face.

Creator

Supreme Court of Canada

Source

Judgments of the Supreme Court of Canada via Lexum: https://scc-csc.lexum.com/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/12779/index.do 

Neutral citation for decision: R. v. NS, 2012 SCC 72

Publisher

Supreme Court of Canada via Lexum

Date

2012

Rights

Supreme Court of Canada

Format

Website containing judgment

Language

English

Text

Text

Files

Citation

Supreme Court of Canada, “Supreme Court of Canada decision in R. v. NS (2012),” Exhibits, accessed March 29, 2024, https://exhibits.library.utoronto.ca/items/show/2063.