Reference re Secession of Quebec was a 1998 decision of the Supreme Court of Canada, answering questions referred to it by the federal government, holding that the province of Quebec had no right to secede unilaterally from Canada under either the Canadian Constitution or international law. The Court held, however, that a clear majority vote in Quebec on a clear question in favour of secession would create a constitutional obligation on all parties, including the federal government and the other provinces, to negotiate the terms of secession in good faith. The decision led directly to Parliament's Clarity Act of 2000, which set out the conditions under which a future secession referendum result would be recognized.
Facts
Decision Year Decision Date HoldingHeld that Quebec has no right to secede unilaterally under either the Canadian Constitution or international law, but that a clear referendum result on a clear question would create a constitutional duty on the rest of Canada to negotiate. 2 Current StatusAccepted by both the Quebec and Canadian governments as authoritative and never displaced; each government publicly welcomed the opinion while emphasizing different parts of the ruling. 2 Case Status
Case Status (category) Connections
Decided By
Decided by the Supreme Court of Canada, 1998.
In Legal System
Matches the existing R v Oakes precedent for Canadian Supreme Court rulings on this atlas.
In the Other Atlases
Found In
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Sources
1. Wikidata: Reference re Secession of Quebec
Source: both governments accepted the ruling as the leading authority on secession lawView the Source 2. Reference re Secession of Quebec (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia contributorsWikipedia infobox wikitext, decided-date field
decided-date=August 20, 1998
Wikipedia lead section, case citation sentence
Reference Re Secession of Quebec, [1998] 2 SCR 217, often referred to as the Secession Reference, is a landmark judgment of the Supreme Court of Canada regarding the legality, under both Canadian and international law, of a unilateral secession of Quebec from Canada.
Wikipedia section Right to secede under Canadian law, second sentence
However, should a referendum decide in favour of independence, the rest of Canada "would have no basis to deny the right of the government of Quebec to pursue secession."
Wikipedia lead section, government reaction sentence
Both the Quebec government and the Canadian government stated they were pleased with the Supreme Court's opinion, pointing to different sections of the ruling.
In Group: Executive Power, Federalism and Limits on Government Cases, Introduction
is a landmark judgment of the Supreme Court of Canada regarding the legality, under both Canadian and international law, of a unilateral secession of Quebec from Canada.
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