When can the state place limits on basic human rights? This is a fundamental question for any liberal democracy.

In Canada, for rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the answer is found in section 1 of this constitutional document. Section 1 provides that the state may only subject Charter rights and freedoms to limits that are “reasonable”, “prescribed by law”, and “demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society”.

But interpreting these standards has proven a difficult task, one which courts, decisionmakers, and legislatures have wrestled with over the first four decades of Charter jurisprudence.

This collection offers fresh, innovative, and insightful perspectives on these challenges, and on the proper scope, contours, and limits of rights and freedoms. It will be of value to jurists, scholars, governments, lawyers, students, and litigants alike.