Danielle Pinard, "Les faits alternatifs du droit constitutionnel"
Lecturer: Prof. Danielle Pinard (Faculty of Law, Université de Montréal)
Commentator: Mtre Mario Normandin, Direction du contentieux, Ministry of Justice of Québec
Date and place: 14 September 2017, Faculty of Law, Université de Montréal
Synopsis
In a context where we increasingly take for fact that which we merely deem to be true, we might wonder if the law creates a parallel factual universe of its own as well. Relevant social facts are legion in the constitutional context, whether we consider the effect of a product's advertising on consumption of said product, the quality of the administration of penal and criminal justice, or the type of choice of conjugality actually made by de facto spouses, for instance. Though the search for truth continues, in principle, to be the beacon that guides the courts in their treatment of facts, we must often settle for less, be it approximations, an air of reality, or likelihood. The possibility of reconstructing the truth in a courtroom is indeed meagre. That might not be all, however. Every legal system is necessarily founded upon a certain conception of societal phenomena the calling into question of which by constitutional litigation generates a striking amount of unease. Yet challenges to such postulates are bound to grow. A better understanding of the phenomenon is called for.
Review: R. Pepin, (2017) 47 RDUS 473.
Published Version of the Lecture (Thémis)
This content has been updated on November 18th, 2021 at 15 h 26 min.