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ARTICLE · 01 NOVEMBER 2016

Predictability For Antitrust Leniency Applicants: Supreme Court Of Canada Establishes High Threshold For Judicial Intervention With Jointly Recommended Sentences

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The Supreme Court of Canada released a decision today regarding judicial intervention with jointly recommended criminal sentences following a guilty plea.

CanadaLitigation, Mediation & Arbitration
Emrys Davis
Emrys Davis
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The Supreme Court of Canada released a decision today regarding judicial intervention with jointly recommended criminal sentences following a guilty plea. The SCC adopted a high threshold which will be welcome news to those seeking predictability and certainty when negotiating resolutions in the context of the Canadian Competition Bureau's ("CCB") Leniency Program.

The case arose from a rejection of a jointly recommended sentence following a guilty plea for manslaughter. The sentencing judge increased the custodial term and added a term of probation after concluding that the jointly recommended sentence was "unfit". In the context of a joint submission on sentencing, the SCC rejected the "fitness" test employed by the sentencing judge in favour of the more stringent public interest test: would the jointly recommended sentence bring the administration of justice into disrepute or is it otherwise contrary to the public interest? The SCC described this test as creating

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