Canada: Law allowing for indefinite solitary confinement found unconstitutional

However, in his 162-page judgment, Mr Justice Peter Leask suspended the effect of his declaration for a year to avoid posing “a potential danger to the public or threaten the rule of law”.

Unless the Canadian government successfully appeals the ruling, it now has a year to amend the law set out in the Corrections and Conditional Release Act, which was challenged in court by the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association (BCCLA) and others.

Mr Justice Leask ruled that the law violates sections 7 and 15 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms because prisoners in solitary confinement are at significant risk of psychological harm and suicide.

The court said a constitutional scheme of prisoner segregation must include time limits to “create the pressure to ensure that decisions about alleviating an prisoner’s segregation were made and implemented promptly, while still allowing to use the practice for short periods to address security concerns”.

A 15-day limit was described as “generous” but “defensible”.