2 | February 17, 2012

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Contents
NEWS FamiLY LaW shunned?........... 1 Ex-WiFE Wins $65,000 ......... 1 Pair oF lawyers seek to overturn ban ............................. 2 B.C. BEnChErs first group to tackle the cloud........................ 3 ThEsE numBErs no game, says Cavoukian......................... 5 FocuS Family Law morE CLariTY needed for relocation cases ..................... 10 nEW aPProaCh eclipses traditional trust claims ........... 11 EighTEEn Things you cant get in court ............................ 12 a housE divided ................... 13 securities Law in a class action battle, who comes out on top? ................. 14 Fair, TruE and plain in securities game...................... 15 BuSiNESS & carEErS EiThEr maKE it happen or let it happen ................................ 20 Firms sTruggLE to find right bonus structure ...................... 21
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announcements. . . . . . . . . 22 Careers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Classified ads . . . . . . . . . . 19 Lawddities. . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 names in the news . . . . . . . 4 Weekly Digest . . . . . . . . . . 16

Two Canadian lawyers nominated for the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize are seeking to appeal a string of Russian court decisions banning them from entering the country over a report they wrote about Falun Gong followers in China. International human rights lawyer David Matas wasnt aware of the ban until last May, when he was the keynote speaker at a conference on Internet hate speech in Kyiv. A Russian human rights activist informed him that the 2007 Report into allegations of organ harvesting of Falun Gong practitioners in China, which Matas co-wrote with former Crown prosecutor and MP David Kilgour, and which was translated into Russian and 17 other languages, was banned as extremist literature under a 2002 law against extremist activities. The decision, made by a court in Krasnodar, southern Russia, in August 2008, was overturned by a regional court the following year after an appeal by Russian Falun Gong supporters. However, the case was revived when the public prosecutor in Krasnodar asked the original court to investigate more fully the ban on the Matas/Kilgour report and other human rights-related writings on Falun Gong, relying on the testimony of experts chosen by Russias Ministry of Justice. Last October, the court reaffirmed its decision, and based on a translation of the written judgment, referred to a

Lawyers seek to overturn ban

CHRISTOPHER GULY

Its ridiculous that Canadians should be prosecutable in Russia for doing human rights work in Canada.

David Matas, human rights lawyer

matas court expert who concluded that the Matas/Kilgour report can create for readers a negative image of China, its social and political system, representatives of authorities, medical workers, military, etc. The court concluded that the report has pronouncements which engender strife and dislike toward people who do not apply to this religious association. Russian human rights and democracy activists again appealed the decision but an appellate court upheld it in December. The Matas/Kilgour report, which became the 2009 book Bloody Harvest, found that hundreds of thousands of Falun Gong practitioners in China who refused to renounce their practices even under torture were sent to Chinese gulags, and alleged that some had their vital organs pillaged for sale on the black market. The Chinese government regards the Falun Gong movement as a dangerous cult and banned it in 1999. I didnt know about the October decision when it was made

and heard about the December decision, said Matas, who also practises refugee law in Winnipeg and wont be able to speak at a human rights conference in Russia later this year as a result of the ban. We were never notified, but David Kilgour and I are not that hard to find. Since they risk criminal prosecution should they attempt to enter Russia, both men who have also been banned from China sent a letter electronically to the appellate court the day before it upheld the ban on Dec. 22. They argued that their report cannot be considered extremist simply because it is critical of the policies and practices of any government system, representatives or officials, and that the Russian law on extremist literature was not intended to include investigative reports into allegations of wrongdoing where there is evidence in support of the conclusions of the investigation. Under article 1 of federal law 114, signed by then-Russian president Vladimir Putin in

2002, extremist activity is defined, in part, as the incitement of racial, national or religious strife and the abasement of national dignity. In their letter which they are not even sure was read in court Matas and Kilgour wrote that neither international nor Russian law is intended to render the policies or practices of any government system, representatives or officials, whether domestic or foreign, immune from criticism. Furthermore, Russias Supreme Court released guidelines last June regarding judicial procedure in cases involving criminal extremism that reinforced the need for balance between protecting public interests and Russias constitutional guarantees of freedom of opinion and speech. Matas said that he and Kilgour plan to appeal to the Russian high court to overturn the ban. If theyre unsuccessful, they will seek relief at the European Court of Human Rights. Its ridiculous that Canadians should be prosecutable in Russia for doing human rights work in Canada, said Matas, who last visited Russia in 1998 when he was investigating the disappearance of Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg on behalf of then-foreign affairs minister Lloyd Axworthy. Matas and Kilgour have asked current Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird to issue a diplomatic note of protest to the Russian government on their behalf. n
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letter to the editor

Suspects must face trial in home country

Dear Editor: In the February 3 issue of The Lawyers Weekly, Lorne Waldman, president of the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers, expresses concern about government actions to remove suspected war criminals from Canada. These views are misplaced. All refugee claims are carefully reviewed and where there is reason to believe a claim is false or worse, that the individual is not a victim and instead may have been complicit in war crimes or crimes against humanity, they are made aware of the allegations and given the opportunity to defend themselves. The individual receives a hearing before the Immigration and Refugee Board and has the opportunity to clarify or correct the record. Where the IRB finds there are reasonable grounds to believe the individual has been complicit in war crimes or crimes against humanity, a ruling is made. Individuals have the additional opportunity to appeal that ruling to Canadas Federal Court. To suggest that it is inappropriate to send individuals suspected of war crimes back to their country of origin because they havent been convicted in Canada is nonsense. Tribunals have determined that these individuals have been implicated in war crimes and need to be returned to stand trial. These individuals receive the benefit of due process that most Canadians would expect of our legal system, and perhaps more. Indeed, Canada is known for having one of the most comprehensive and fair refugee systems of any country on earth. There are many genuine refugees who are still seeking entry to our country. They deserve our compassion and the benefit of our generous refugee and immigration system. If individuals insist on breaking our laws or the laws accepted by the community of nations, our message is clear: they will find no haven on our shores. Vic Toews, P.C., Q.C., M.P. Minister, Public Safety, Canada

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