Pluralism and Convergence: Judicial Standardization in Canadian Corporate Law

Authors

Camden Hutchison, Allard School of Law at the University of British ColumbiaFollow

Faculty Author Type

Current Faculty [Camden Hutchison]

Published In

Osgoode Hall Law Journal

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2021

Subjects

Judicial Standardization, Corporate Law, Canada

Abstract

This article uses statistical analysis of judicial decisions to address whether (and to what extent) the common law of corporations varies among the provinces. The primary findings are: (1) as measured by the number of case citations, provincial courts of appeal favour precedent from their home provinces; (2) the Supreme Court of Canada exerts a powerful standardizing influence across the provinces; and (3) on balance (and despite the “home province” bias of provincial courts of appeal), Canadian corporate law is largely homogeneous, with little variation among provincial jurisdictions. This article concludes that—for a variety of reasons—it is unlikely that any province will develop a distinctive body of corporate law.

Citation Details

Camden Hutchison, "Pluralism and Convergence: Judicial Standardization in Canadian Corporate Law" Osgoode Hall LJ (2021) 58:1 163.