On December 11th and 12th, the Indigenous Bar Association in Canada (IBA) will be intervening at the Supreme Court on the appeal of the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal decision in R. v. Cope, a criminal case regarding Indigenous sentencing circles and restorative justice. This will be a landmark constitutional case with implications for the enforceability of Indigenous laws and deference to Indigenous restorative justice processes.
Katherine Hensel and Adam Wheeler, counsel to the IBA, will make submissions on the relationship between Indigenous laws, restorative justice, and improving outcomes for Indigenous people in the justice system.
“Indigenous laws are laws. Restorative justice processes, like sentencing circles, work because they are grounded in the cultures, lived experience, and inherent jurisdiction of Indigenous peoples. Indigenous laws have kept communities safe from violence since time immemorial, whereas Canadian criminal justice continues to fail Indigenous peoples; instead of making us safer, it harms and endangers us. When Indigenous communities participate in sentencing circles, their decisions must be given weight, not only out of respect and in furtherance of reconciliation, but because their decisions will be effective in deterring, rehabilitating, and protecting the public, including and especially Indigenous women.” – Katherine Hensel
The Court’s decision will be released in 2026.
The IBA is represented in the case by Katherine Hensel and Adam Wheeler of Fogler, Rubinoff LLP
