Acosta v. Canada (Minister of Justice), (2013) 334 B.C.A.C. 312 (CA)

JudgeSaunders, Kirkpatrick and Garson, JJ.A.
CourtCourt of Appeal (British Columbia)
Case DateThursday January 31, 2013
JurisdictionBritish Columbia
Citations(2013), 334 B.C.A.C. 312 (CA);2013 BCCA 105

Acosta v. Can. (2013), 334 B.C.A.C. 312 (CA);

    572 W.A.C. 312

MLB headnote and full text

Temp. Cite: [2013] B.C.A.C. TBEd. MR.026

Erlan Lizandro Acosta (appellant/respondent) v. The Attorney General of Canada on behalf of the Minister of Justice of Canada (respondent/applicant)

(CA039810; 2013 BCCA 105)

Indexed As: Acosta v. Canada (Minister of Justice)

British Columbia Court of Appeal

Saunders, Kirkpatrick and Garson, JJ.A.

March 12, 2013.

Summary:

Acosta applied for judicial review of a decision by the Minister of Justice to surrender him to the United States for prosecution for child molestation and rape.

The British Columbia Court of Appeal dismissed the application.

Civil Rights - Topic 3129

Trials - Due process, fundamental justice and fair hearings - Criminal and quasi-criminal proceedings - Extradition proceedings - [See Extradition - Topic 3348].

Extradition - Topic 3348

Surrender to demanding country - Conditions precedent - Similarity of crimes between jurisdictions (rule of double criminality) - Acosta applied for judicial review of a decision by the Minister of Justice to surrender him to the United States for prosecution for child molestation and rape - Acosta claimed that the Minister erred by issuing an authority to proceed for the offence of sexual interference (Criminal Code, s. 151), knowing that Acosta would face more serious charges and penalties in the United States - The British Columbia Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal - Canada used a conduct-based approach to double criminality, and the conduct alleged against Acosta fell within the parameters of sexual interference - There was no breach of s. 7 of the Charter in sending Acosta to the United States to face a potential penalty of life imprisonment - That prospect was not so extreme as to "shock the conscience" - See paragraphs 1 to 22.

Cases Noticed:

Canada (Minister of Justice) v. Fischbacher, [2009] 3 S.C.R. 170; 394 N.R. 139; 255 O.A.C. 288; 2009 SCC 46, refd to. [para. 5].

United States of America v. Cobb et al., [2001] 1 S.C.R. 587; 267 N.R. 203; 145 O.A.C. 3; 152 C.C.C.(3d) 270; 2001 SCC 19, refd to. [para. 17].

United States of America v. Burns and Rafay, [2001] 1 S.C.R. 283; 265 N.R. 212; 148 B.C.A.C. 1; 243 W.A.C. 1; 2001 SCC 7, refd to. [para. 20].

Kindler v. Canada (Minister of Justice), [1991] 2 S.C.R. 779; 129 N.R. 81, refd to. [para. 20].

Reference Re Ng Extradition, [1991] 2 S.C.R. 858; 129 N.R. 177; 119 A.R. 300; 84 D.L.R.(4th) 498, refd to. [para. 20].

United States of America et al. v. J.H.K. (2002), 160 O.A.C. 148; 165 C.C.C.(3d) 449 (C.A.), leave to appeal refused [2002] S.C.C.A. No. 51, refd to. [para. 21].

Whitley v. United States of America (1994), 75 O.A.C. 100; 119 D.L.R.(4th) 693; 94 C.C.C.(3d) 99 (C.A.), refd to. [para. 21].

Counsel:

G.N.A. Botting, for the appellant;

K. Swift, for the respondent.

This judicial review was heard in Vancouver, B.C., on January 31, 2013, before Saunders, Kirkpatrick and Garson, JJ.A., of the British Columbia Court of Appeal. The following decision was delivered for the court by Kirkpatrick, J.A., on March 12, 2013.

Get this document and AI-powered insights with a free trial of vLex and Vincent AI

Get Started for Free

Unlock full access with a free 7-day trial

Transform your legal research with vLex

  • Complete access to the largest collection of common law case law on one platform

  • Generate AI case summaries that instantly highlight key legal issues

  • Advanced search capabilities with precise filtering and sorting options

  • Comprehensive legal content with documents across 100+ jurisdictions

  • Trusted by 2 million professionals including top global firms

  • Access AI-Powered Research with Vincent AI: Natural language queries with verified citations

vLex

Unlock full access with a free 7-day trial

Transform your legal research with vLex

  • Complete access to the largest collection of common law case law on one platform

  • Generate AI case summaries that instantly highlight key legal issues

  • Advanced search capabilities with precise filtering and sorting options

  • Comprehensive legal content with documents across 100+ jurisdictions

  • Trusted by 2 million professionals including top global firms

  • Access AI-Powered Research with Vincent AI: Natural language queries with verified citations

vLex

Unlock full access with a free 7-day trial

Transform your legal research with vLex

  • Complete access to the largest collection of common law case law on one platform

  • Generate AI case summaries that instantly highlight key legal issues

  • Advanced search capabilities with precise filtering and sorting options

  • Comprehensive legal content with documents across 100+ jurisdictions

  • Trusted by 2 million professionals including top global firms

  • Access AI-Powered Research with Vincent AI: Natural language queries with verified citations

vLex

Unlock full access with a free 7-day trial

Transform your legal research with vLex

  • Complete access to the largest collection of common law case law on one platform

  • Generate AI case summaries that instantly highlight key legal issues

  • Advanced search capabilities with precise filtering and sorting options

  • Comprehensive legal content with documents across 100+ jurisdictions

  • Trusted by 2 million professionals including top global firms

  • Access AI-Powered Research with Vincent AI: Natural language queries with verified citations

vLex

Unlock full access with a free 7-day trial

Transform your legal research with vLex

  • Complete access to the largest collection of common law case law on one platform

  • Generate AI case summaries that instantly highlight key legal issues

  • Advanced search capabilities with precise filtering and sorting options

  • Comprehensive legal content with documents across 100+ jurisdictions

  • Trusted by 2 million professionals including top global firms

  • Access AI-Powered Research with Vincent AI: Natural language queries with verified citations

vLex

Unlock full access with a free 7-day trial

Transform your legal research with vLex

  • Complete access to the largest collection of common law case law on one platform

  • Generate AI case summaries that instantly highlight key legal issues

  • Advanced search capabilities with precise filtering and sorting options

  • Comprehensive legal content with documents across 100+ jurisdictions

  • Trusted by 2 million professionals including top global firms

  • Access AI-Powered Research with Vincent AI: Natural language queries with verified citations

vLex
6 practice notes
  • Table of Cases
    • Canada
    • Criminal Law Series Prosecuting and Defending Extradition Cases: A Practitioner's Handbook
    • May 2, 2017
    ...247 Abbey, R v , 2013 ONCA 206 ............................................. 285, 286 Acosta v Canada (Minister of Justice) , 2013 BCCA 105 ......................... 377, 392 Adam v USA , 2003 CanLII 31874 (Ont CA) ............................. 317, 365, 395 Adam, USA v , 2014 BCCA 136 ......
  • International Criminal Cooperation
    • Canada
    • Irwin Books International & Transnational Criminal Law. Third Edition
    • June 25, 2020
    ...state barely resembles what might happen to the individual in Canada (see, for example, Acosta v Canada (Minister of Justice) , 2013 BCCA 105). This problem of “misalignment” was lagged by the British Columbia Court of Appeal in Fischbacher and other cases as a possible means of restraint o......
  • Table of cases
    • Canada
    • Irwin Books International & Transnational Criminal Law. Third Edition
    • June 25, 2020
    .............................................................................................. 29 Acosta v Canada (Minister of Justice), 2013 BCCA 105.....................................549 AFRC Case. See Brima, Kamara and Kanu Agraira v Canada (Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness), 2013......
  • Table of cases
    • Canada
    • Irwin Books Archive International & Transnational Criminal Law. Second Edition
    • August 29, 2013
    ...The (1945), 4 LRTWC 97 (Can Military Ct) ................................................ 236– 37 Acosta v Canada (Minister of Justice), 2013 BCCA 105..................................... 496 AFRC Case. See Brima, Kamara and Kanu Agraira v Canada (Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness), ......
  • Get Started for Free
6 books & journal articles
  • Application for Judicial Review
    • Canada
    • Criminal Law Series Prosecuting and Defending Extradition Cases: A Practitioner's Handbook
    • May 2, 2017
    ..., 1998 CanLII 6226 (BCCA) ; R v Bonamie , 2001 ABCA 267 ; R v Van Bergen , 2000 ABCA 216 ; Acosta v Canada (Minister of Justice) , 2013 BCCA 105 at para 22; United States v Odale , 2014 ABCA 12 at para 22; Savein , supra note 45 at para 39; Earles v USA , 2003 BCCA 20 at para 61; ......
  • Table of Cases
    • Canada
    • Criminal Law Series Prosecuting and Defending Extradition Cases: A Practitioner's Handbook
    • May 2, 2017
    ...247 Abbey, R v , 2013 ONCA 206 ............................................. 285, 286 Acosta v Canada (Minister of Justice) , 2013 BCCA 105 ......................... 377, 392 Adam v USA , 2003 CanLII 31874 (Ont CA) ............................. 317, 365, 395 Adam, USA v , 2014 BCCA 136 ......
  • Table of cases
    • Canada
    • Irwin Books Archive International & Transnational Criminal Law. Second Edition
    • August 29, 2013
    ...The (1945), 4 LRTWC 97 (Can Military Ct) ................................................ 236– 37 Acosta v Canada (Minister of Justice), 2013 BCCA 105..................................... 496 AFRC Case. See Brima, Kamara and Kanu Agraira v Canada (Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness), ......
  • International Criminal Cooperation
    • Canada
    • Irwin Books International & Transnational Criminal Law. Third Edition
    • June 25, 2020
    ...state barely resembles what might happen to the individual in Canada (see, for example, Acosta v Canada (Minister of Justice) , 2013 BCCA 105). This problem of “misalignment” was lagged by the British Columbia Court of Appeal in Fischbacher and other cases as a possible means of restraint o......
  • Get Started for Free

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT