Laws in North America

Abstract

Canada has signed more than twenty international conventions and treaties. Many of these instruments are based on the fundamental principles of the human person. Canada’s commitment to extending and protecting the human rights of individuals within its territory and in the international community is therefore a question right. National and international courts are required to interpret the laws set and to implement international agreements in the spirit of them, provided that national legislation allows it. In Canada, as in other countries where the common law prevails, the basic presumption that the state does not violate its obligations also applies to international treaty law. It is expected that states will apply the texts of international law unless there is clear incompatibility between the texts and domestic legislation. Treaty obligations undertaken by Canada under international instruments can link its national courts if (1) international law is incorporated into national law, either expressly or by implication, and (2) the law itself is adopted by the legislature under the jurisdiction of which the object falls.