Case Analysis: Trinity Western v. Law Society of Upper Canada
In the following court case between Trinity Western University v. The Law Society of Upper Canada, Judges MacPherson, Cronk, and Pardu JJ, at the Ontario Court of Appeal, determine whether to grant accreditation to a private Christian University, that wants to open its own law school. The three-judge panel analyzes the Law Society of Upper Canada’s (LSUC) decision to not accredit Trinity Western’s proposed law facility, which took place in April 2014. The judges consider the Charter rights at stake, as well as the LSUC’s mandate. The case of TWU v. LSUC will be thoroughly examined, with a specific focus on key concepts that influence law-making, such as social development and change,
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As Trinity Western appealed to the Divisional Court for judicial review, the Divisional Court upheld the LSUC’s decision to deny accreditation. The appeal relied heavily on the Charter, specifically regarding balancing the right to equality and TWU’s right to freedom of association as well as freedom of religion. The LSUC has the authority to grant licenses to practice law in Ontario, as no person can practice law in Ontario without it. The LSUC is responsible for not only ensuring that lawyers practicing in Ontario satisfy a certain degree of conduct, as indicated in section 4.1. of the Law Society Act, but that public interest is also being attended to, which is displayed in section 4.2. LSUC also holds the authority to grant accreditation to law schools ((TWU v. LSUC, 2016). The LSUC must consider the public interest, particularly, TWU’s community covenant and its impact on the LGBTQ community. Additionally, the LSUC must also balance the Charter rights of religion and equality, and it must decipher whether it’s decision not to accredit TWU’s proposed law school is reasonable. The Divisional Court upheld LSUC’s decision to not accredit TWU’s law school. The reasons for the following decision are albeit TWU’s freedom of religion rights are infringed upon, the LSUC has a duty to consider the public impact of accrediting a law school, and accrediting a law school that inherently has discriminatory policies was not in the interest of the public. The LSUC proportionately balanced TWU’s freedom of religion and the right to equality, and it was concluded that it was a reasonable limit to breach religious right’s, as it was of more importance to advocate for the right to equal treatment and access to