What legal rights are protected in Charter Sections 7-14?

Sections 7 to 14 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms protect legal rights, the procedural and substantive guarantees that apply to anyone facing the criminal justice system in Canada. Section 7 protects the right to life, liberty, and security of the person, and the right not to be deprived thereof except in accordance with the principles of fundamental justice. Section 8 protects against unreasonable search and seizure. Section 9 protects against arbitrary detention or imprisonment. Section 10 sets out three rights on arrest or detention: to be informed promptly of the reasons for the arrest, to retain and instruct counsel without delay, and to challenge the lawfulness of the detention by way of habeas corpus.

Section 11 lists nine rights of any person charged with an offence: the right to be informed of the offence; the right to be tried within a reasonable time; the right not to be compelled to be a witness against oneself; the presumption of innocence; the right to reasonable bail; the right to a jury trial for offences punishable by five years or more; the right not to be convicted for an act that was not an offence at the time it was committed; the right not to be tried twice for the same offence (double jeopardy); and the right to the lesser punishment if the punishment changes between offence and sentencing. Section 12 protects against any cruel and unusual treatment or punishment. Section 13 protects against compelled self-incrimination using evidence given in another proceeding. Section 14 guarantees the right to an interpreter.

Major Supreme Court of Canada decisions interpreting these sections include R. v. Oakes (1986, the framework for section 1 limits), R. v. Morgentaler (1988, abortion law and section 7), Hunter v. Southam (1984, section 8 search and seizure), R. v. Grant (2009, section 9 and section 24(2) evidence exclusion), R. v. Jordan (2016, section 11(b) trial within reasonable time), Carter v. Canada (2015, section 7 and assisted dying), and R. v. Bissonnette (2022, section 12 and consecutive parole ineligibility).

Sections 7 to 14 apply to everyone in Canada, citizens and non-citizens alike. They have been applied to immigration detention (Charkaoui v. Canada, 2007), refugee determination (Canadian Council for Refugees v. Canada, 2023), extradition (United States v. Burns, 2001, prohibiting extradition without assurances against the death penalty), and child-protection proceedings (New Brunswick (Minister of Health) v. G(J), 1999). Sections 7 to 14 are subject to override under the section 33 notwithstanding clause, although such override of legal rights has been politically rare.