Canadian Supreme Court Overrules Lower Court Requirement of Prior Judicial Authorization for MLAT Request

In a ruling that brought relief to the Department of Justice of Canada, the Supreme Court of Canada recently set aside the judgment of the Federal Court of Appeal and held that the Canadian standard for the issuance of a search warrant was not required before the Canadian government submits a request to a foreign government for foreign banking records of a Canadian citizen. Schreiber v. Canada (Attorney General) [1998] S.C.J. No. 42, File No. 26039. On May 28, 1998, the Supreme Court reversed the decision of the federal appeals court (which had affirmed the decision of the federal trial court) on the Canadian constitutional issue of the applicability of search and seizure rights to Canadian legal assistance requests to foreign governments for foreign bank records of Canadian citizens. A majority of the Court held that the search and seizure provision of the Canadian constitution is not engaged by a request of the Canadian government to a foreign government for bank records in that foreign country... [more]