Modern Law: Verdicts and Voices is a monthly podcast in which we unpack key legal stories and celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Supreme Court of Canada. This special series delves into legal news, landmark cases and features expert guests who provide unique insights into Canada’s justice system.

In this episode, host Alison Crawford welcomes Marion Sandilands, a practicing lawyer, part-time law professor and member of the CBA’s Working Group on the Notwithstanding Clause, and Geoffrey Sigalet, director of the UBC Centre for Constitutional Law and Legal Studies, for a lively discussion on the notwithstanding clause and how provincial premiers are using it.

In an exclusive interview with Supreme Court Chief Justice Richard Wagner about the court’s milestone 150th anniversary, he explains how the court has started to explore the possibility of offering judicial mediation to expand access to justice.

With Ryan Manucha, research fellow at the C.D. Howe Institute and expert on interprovincial trade in Canada, we take a good look at Gold Seal Ltd. v. Alberta, a prohibition-era judgment that, even 100 years later, continues to affect interprovincial trade.

Nadia Effendi joins us again to review the output of the Supreme Court last year, shares her thoughts regarding Chief Justice Richard Wagner’s recent comments about the high number of judicial vacancies as well as comments about restricting interveners to virtual appearance. We discuss some recent judgments rendered (Commission scolaire francophone des Territoires du Nord-Ouest, Ontario (Attorney General) v. Ontario (Information and Privacy Commissioner) and the Reference re An Act respecting First Nations). She also weighs in on cases to watch that were recently granted leave, including AGO v. Working Families Coalition, a rare section 3 Charter case, and Sanis Health, which deals with the BC law that allows recovery of health-care costs from opioid providers.

Effendi is a partner at BLG, based out of Toronto and Ottawa, a member of the CBA’s Federal Courts Bench and Bar Liaison Committee. She is also the chair of BLG's Appellate Advocacy and Public Law Group. Before joining the firm, she served as a law clerk at the Supreme Court of Canada to then-Justice Michel Bastarache.

To contact us (please include in the subject line ''Podcast''): national@cba.org.

As Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine hits the two-year mark – 10 years since the invasion of the Crimean Peninsula – the situation is dire. The ground battle had become mostly deadlocked until Ukrainians retreated earlier this month from the town of Avdiivka. Support from Western democracies has been skittish of late. Republicans in the U.S. Congress have stalled sixty billion U.S. dollars' worth of defense aid for Ukraine. Still, there is some hope for the resistance: the unblocking of $ 54 billion in European Union aid; Sweden has announced it will give $682 million worth of military equipment. Canada is promising to donate $70 million worth of drones from already announced spending dating back to the summer.

The word we hear a lot these days is that the conflict in Ukraine is reaching an inflection point of sorts, though shifts in momentum are notoriously hard to read in times of war.

What hasn’t changed in all of this is that the invasion of Ukraine remains a war of aggression – in violation of the United Nations Charter and customary international law. It’s also an international crime under the Rome Statute. Over a fifth of Ukrainian territory is currently under occupation by Russian troops.

Arguably, it should be possible to prosecute a war of aggression committed by Russia's leadership before the ICC, as it should not be difficult to prove. 

But that isn’t the case. Although the ICC can charge individuals for war crimes, it doesn’t have jurisdiction over Russian crimes of aggression. Our guest today will discuss why that is and what a core group of members of the international community and Ukraine are trying to do about it.

Dr. Anton Korynevych is the Ambassador at Large of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine. He’s a lawyer specializing in public international law, international humanitarian, and international criminal law. He’s the Agent of Ukraine before the International Court of Justice, where he has been arguing the case that Russian President Vladimir Putin abused the U.N. Genocide Convention by using an alleged genocide in eastern Ukraine as a pretext for invasion). 

Dr. Korynevych is also in charge of gathering international support to establish a special tribune that could try Putin and his inner circle for the alleged crime of aggression — which no international court, including the International Criminal Court, has jurisdiction to do right now.

To contact us (please include in the subject line ''Podcast''): national@cba.org