Legal Project Management Plan & Checklist
Launch a section 12 Charter challenge against the mandatory 25-year parole ineligibility period for first-degree murder in Canada.
What happened to the faint hope clause?: In 2011, Parliament passed Bill S-6, abolishing the faint hope clause (s. 745.6) for any murder committed on or after December 2, 2011, rendering all offenders entirely ineligible for early parole review.
Can you challenge the 25-year mandatory parole block?: Yes, on the strength of a British Columbia trial ruling. In R. v. Mariani, 2025 BCSC 129, the BC Supreme Court held that, with the faint hope clause repealed, the mandatory 25-year parole ineligibility period for first-degree murder violates the s. 12 Charter guarantee against cruel and unusual punishment. The Court later rejected the Crown's s. 1 justification and, instead of striking down the minimum sentence, declared the limitations on the faint hope clause in s. 745.6 inoperative (see also 2025 BCSC 1298). The ruling does not bind courts in other provinces.
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Jurisdiction: Superior Court of Justice.
The Process at a Glance: The defence files a Notice of Constitutional Question during the sentencing phase, arguing that the proportionality principle requires a mechanism to recognize personal reform, seeking an order declaring inoperative the 2011 limit in s. 745.6(1)(a.1), which closes the faint hope clause to murders committed on or after December 2, 2011.
Key Legislation and Case Law: Charter of Rights and Freedoms (s. 12). Criminal Code (s. 745.6). Key case law: R. v. Mariani, 2025 BCSC 129 and 2025 BCSC 1298.
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