(Ottawa) The Supreme Court orders a new trial for a Francophone from British Columbia who claims to have not been informed of his right to a trial in the official language of his choice.
The highest court ruled five to two in the decision published Friday.
Franck Yvan Tayo Tompouba appealed his conviction for sexual assault on the grounds that his language rights had been violated, because he was not told that his trial could be held in French if he wished.
This right is guaranteed by section 530 of the Criminal Code which stipulates that every accused person has the right to undergo his trial in the official language of his choice. It is the judge before whom he appears for the first time who is responsible for ensuring that the accused has been informed of this right so that he can request that his trial take place in English or French.
Believing that this right had not been respected during his trial, Mr. Tayo Tompouba, who is bilingual French-speaking, appealed his conviction to the Court of Appeal of British Columbia.
The Court of Appeal recognized that the judge had made an error, but rejected the case, ruling that the evidence did not allow it to be determined whether or not Mr. Tayo Tompouba would have chosen to be tried in French if he had been informed of this right by the judge as provided for in article 530.
The accused then took his case to the Supreme Court of Canada.
Chief Justice Richard Wagner states in his decision that the Court of Appeal erred in placing the burden of proof on Mr. Tayo Tompouba, that is to say, by affirming that it was the responsibility of accused of proving that his linguistic rights had been violated.
In view of this, the Supreme Court overturned Mr. Tayo Tompouba’s conviction and ordered a new trial to be held in French.
“However, the importance of the linguistic rights protected by art. 530 does not mean that any breach, even of a procedural or notice obligation, should almost automatically give rise to a right to a new trial when that breach is first raised on appeal,” emphasizes the Supreme Court in its decision rendered Friday.