Канада Жоғарғы Сотының «R v Sharpe» ісі: Балалар порнографиясы мен сөз бостандығы шектеулері

2001 Supreme Court of Canada case

R v Sharpe, 2001 SCC 2 is a constitutional rights decision of the Supreme Court of Canada. The court balanced the societal interest to regulate child pornography against the right to freedom of expression possessed by the defendants under section 2 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms; holding, that while general prohibition of child pornography was constitutional, there were some limits imposed by the Charter. The decision overturned a ruling by the British Columbia Court of Appeal.

After police seized 517 photographs mostly of young boys, as well as sexually explicit stories; John Robin Sharpe was charged on two counts of possession of child pornography, and on another two counts of possession with intent to distribute. Sharpe argued that the relevant provision of the criminal code placed an unreasonable limitation on his freedom of expression, and in a ruling the British Columbia Court of Appeal concurred; Justice Duncan Shaw ruled that the law was a "profound invasion" of the freedom of expression and right to privacy found in the Charter. Before its eventual reexamination by the Supreme Court, the decision invited protest, with more than half of the Members of Parliament petitioning the Prime Minister to intervene.

Ultimately, after the case was remitted, Sharpe received a four month conditional house arrest sentence, in issuing the sentence Shaw noted "In the eyes of many he has become a pariah, endured six years of this court case and has no criminal record".