Delaying Justice is Denying Justice : Justice différée, justice refusée

On 28 January 2016, the Senate of Canada authorized the Standing Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs (the Committee) to undertake a study on delays in Canada’s criminal justice system and to review the roles of the Government of Canada and Parliament in addressing such delays. The broad consensus the Committee gathered from witnesses is that delays are a significant problem in Canada that demands attention. In 2013-14, the median time from the laying of a charge to a case’s final disposition for an adult was 123 days and the median number of court appearances was five. For homicide cases, the median time was 451 days, followed by sexual assault cases at 321 days, and attempted murder cases at 314 days. Cases involving a trial (as opposed to the large majority of cases that are resolved without a trial by guilty pleas, withdrawal of charges, etc.) often require a lot of time and resources to hear all of the testimony, legal arguments and victim impact statements.