The United States of America v. Tariq
The appellant failed to demonstrate a realistic risk of the death penalty; he was not and could not be charged with a capital offence, New Jersey has a legislative moratorium, and the Minister obtained written confirmation that the appellant was not eligible for the death penalty; therefore the Minister's refusal to...
Source-derived case information.
- Citation
- C43823
- Parties
- Appellant: Zaid Tariq; Respondent: The United States of America; Respondent: The Honourable Irwin Cotler, Minister of Justice
- Court
- Court of Appeal for Ontario
- Jurisdiction
- Canada
- Judgment Date
- 23 June 2006
- Procedural Posture
- Criminal / Application for Review of the Minister's Surrender Order (court of Appeal)
- Outcome
- Application dismissed
- Legal Topics
- Surrender Order, Death Penalty Assurances, Ministerial Discretion, Judicial Review
- Source Language
- en
Source-derived case record
Summary, issues, holding and outcome
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Parties
Zaid Tariq
Appellant
The United States of America
Respondent
The Honourable Irwin Cotler, Minister of Justice
Respondent
Procedural Posture
Criminal / Application for Review of the Minister's Surrender Order (court of Appeal)
Legal Issues
- 1 Whether the Minister erred in surrendering the applicant without obtaining a formal assurance that the death penalty would not be imposed
- 2 Whether the Minister's refusal to insist on a formal assurance violated the applicant's Charter rights
Ratio Decidendi
The appellant failed to demonstrate a realistic risk of the death penalty; he was not and could not be charged with a capital offence, New Jersey has a legislative moratorium, and the Minister obtained written confirmation that the appellant was not eligible for the death penalty; therefore the Minister's refusal to insist on a formal assurance did not violate the applicant's Charter rights and the application was dismissed.
Court Disposition
Application dismissed
Orders
- Application for review of the surrender order dismissed
Full Case Text
Judgment text and source record
1 paragraphs
The United States of America v. Tariq Collection Decisions of the Court of Appeal Date 2006-06-23 Docket numbers C43823 Judges Sharpe, Robert J.; Juriansz, Russell G.; Lane, George Dennis Subject Criminal Decision Content DATE: 20060623 DOCKET: C43823 COURT OF APPEAL FOR ONTARIO RE: THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and THE HONOURABLE IRWIN COTLER, MINISTER OF JUSTICE (Respondents) – and – ZAID TARIQ (Appellant) BEFORE: SHARPE and JURIANSZ JJ.A. and LANE J. (ad hoc) COUNSEL: Frank Miller for the appellant Fergus O’Donnell and Sarah Shaikh for the respondent HEARD & RELEASED ORALLY: June 16, 2006 Application for review of the surrender order of the Minister of Justice Irwin Cotler dated June 23, 2005, 2005. ENDORSEMENT [1] In our view, the appellant has failed to demonstrate grounds for this court to review the Minister’s decision to surrender him without asking for a formal assurance that the death penalty will not be imposed. [2] On the record, there is simply no basis upon which the death penalty could be imposed. The appellant is not charged with a capital offence. On the facts alleged against him, he could not be charged with a capital offence. The State of New Jersey has imposed a legislative moratorium on the death penalty. The Minister obtained written confirmation from the prosecutor that the appellant is not eligible for the death penalty. [3] In these circumstances, we cannot say that the Minister’s refusal to insist upon a formal assurance from the receiving State violated the applicant’s Charter rights. [4] Accordingly, the application is dismissed. Robert J. Sharpe J.A.” “R.G. Juriansz J.A.” “D. Lane J. (ad hoc)”