n. — abbreviation, Law
the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms; a part of the Canadian Constitution.
Type: 1. Origin — The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is part of the Canadian Constitution, which includes the amended British North America Act. The Charter covers the principal rights and freedoms such as democratic rights, mobility rights, legal rights, equality rights, official language rights, and minority language education rights.
The Charter aims to balance competing legal interests by a number of means. The reasonable limits clause states that Charter rights are not absolute, though limitations must be prescribed by law and must be demonstrably justifiable. The notwithstanding clause gives provincial legislatures or Parliament the power to override certain portions of the Charter for five years. As the Charter is written in general language, it allows for judicial interpretation. These three features allow and encourage dialogue between the courts and legislatures in the precise application of the Charter in certain cases.
See also Canadian Encyclopedia and Maple Leaf Web references.
See also Gage-5. s.v. "Charter of Rights and Freedoms", which is marked as "Cdn.", and ITP Nelson, s.v. "Charter" (2b).