Legacy of Departing Supreme Court of Canada Justice Ian Binnie

This week's issue of The Lawyers Weekly examines the "exceptional legacy" of Justice Ian Binnie who is retiring from the Supreme Court of Canada after almost 14 years on the country's top bench:

"He authored many leading cases, including on the admissibility of similar-fact evidence in criminal trials; patent interpretation and validity; protection for famous trade-marks; punitive damages awards in contract; expert evidence on novel science; and standard of review in administrative law cases."

"His groundbreaking judgments also enlarged the fair comment defence in defamation cases, gave protection to journalists’ secret sources and created a three-step framework for analyzing when judges can intervene to override liability limitation clauses in contracts."

The article also lists "Binnie’s Blockbusters" or "groundbreaking unanimous and majority judgments".

Earlier Library Boy posts on Justice Binnie's retirement:

• Lawyers Weekly Article on Upcoming Supreme Court of Canada Nominations (May 30, 2011)
• Search Process For Two New Supreme Court of Canada Justices Begins (August 4, 2011)
• Departing Supreme Court Justice Ian Binnie Talks to the Globe And Mail (September 26, 2011)