Mandatory, Lifetime Registration on Sex Offender Registry Ruled Unconstitutional by Supreme Court of Canada

Savvy Thakur

Published on: October 29, 2022 at 13:17 IST

Canada’s mandatory, lifetime registration on the sex offender registry has been ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of Canada.

The public sex wrongdoer library was established in the country in 2004 under the Sex Offender Information Registration Act (SOIRA).

In 2011, the law was changed to no longer require the prosecution to submit an application to a judge in order to include a name in the registry.

Anyone found guilty of a sexual offense is now required to register under the new Criminal Code Section 490.012. Those who committed more than one such offense were also required to register for life under Section 490.013(2.1).

Justices Andromache Karakatsanis and Sheilah L. Martin wrote in a case brief prepared by the Supreme Court’s communications staff on October 28 that the two provisions of the Criminal Code violate Section 7 of the Charter in a way that cannot be justified in a free and democratic society.

“Because registration has a serious impact on the freedom of movement and of fundamental choices of people who are not at an increased risk of reoffending,” the judges stated, “these provisions infringe on the right to liberty protected under Section 7 of the Charter.”

Everyone has the right to life, liberty, and security of the person, as outlined in Section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and they should not be denied these rights unless doing so is in accordance with fundamental justice principles.

The provisions were deemed unconstitutional by the majority. Section 490.012’s declaration of invalidity, according to them, will take effect in a year.

The SC communications staff stated, “The finding for Section 490.013(2.1) takes effect immediately and is considered invalid from the time it was enacted in 2011.”

Eugene Ndhlovu, who pleaded guilty in 2015 to two counts of sexual assault against two people at a party when he was 19 years old, challenged the validity of Sections 490.012 and 490.013(2.1).

His name was automatically added to the national sex offender registry after he was given a six-month sentence.

Citation: R. vs. Ndhlovu, 2022 SCC 38 [Supreme Court of Canada]

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