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

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

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

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.

Supreme Court of Canada

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

Supreme Court of Canada via Lexum

2012

Supreme Court of Canada

Website containing judgment

English

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