United States v. Burns
| United States v Burns | |
|---|---|
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| Hearing: May 23, 2000 Judgment: February 15, 2001 |
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| Full case name | Minister of Justice v Glen Sebastian Burns and Atif Ahmad Rafay |
| Citations | [2001] 1 SCR 283, 2001 SCC 7, 195 DLR (4th) 1, [2001] 3 WWR 193, 151 CCC (3d) 97, 39 CR (5th) 205, 81 CRR (2d) 1, 85 BCLR (3d) 1 |
| Docket No. | 26129 |
| Prior history | Judgment for the respondents in the Court of Appeal for British Columbia. |
| Holding | |
| Extradition without guarantees that the extradited person will not face the death penalty may be a breach of section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and cannot be upheld under section 1. | |
| Court Membership | |
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Chief Justice: Beverley McLachlin Puisne Justices: Claire L'Heureux-Dubé, Charles Gonthier, Frank Iacobucci, John C. Major, Michel Bastarache, Ian Binnie, Louise Arbour, Louis LeBel |
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| Reasons given | |
| Unanimous reasons by | The Court |
United States v Burns [2001] 1 S.C.R. 283, 2001 SCC 7, was a decision by the Supreme Court of Canada in which it was found that extradition of individuals to places where they may face the death penalty is a breach of fundamental justice under section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The decision reached this conclusion through a discussion of evidence regarding the arbitrary nature of execution, although the Court did not go so far as to say execution was also unconstitutional under section 12 of the Charter, which forbids cruel and unusual punishments.
The case essentially overruled Kindler v Canada (Minister of Justice) (1991) and Reference Re Ng Extradition (1991). In Burns, the Supreme Court justices claimed to be considering different kinds of evidence.
The case revolved around two Canadian citizens, Glen Sebastian Burns and Atif Ahmad Rafay, who were accused of murdering Rafay's family by the police department in Bellevue, Washington, of the United States. After returning to Canada, Burns and Rafay confessed to undercover Royal Canadian Mounted Police. After the investigation was complete, Burns and Rafay claimed their confessions were fabricated, but plans were nevertheless made to extradite them.
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