Pluralism and Convergence: Judicial Standardization in Canadian Corporate Law
(2021) 58:1 Osgoode Hall Law Journal 163
41 Pages Posted: 15 Jul 2020 Last revised: 21 Apr 2023
Date Written: 2020
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.
Keywords: corporate law, empirical legal research, legal history, federalism
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation