LA CONTRIBUTION DU JUGE LAMER À L’EVOLUTION DU DROIT DES AUTOCHTONES

Abstract

This paper assesses the aboriginal rights jurisprudence of Chief Justice Antonio Lamer according to criteria of coherence, justice, legitimacy and durability. Two major themes dominate his judgments: a definition of aboriginal rights based on historical and cultural tests, and the attempt to reconcile the interests of aboriginals and non-aboriginals. Historians and anthropologists have denounced the incoherence of Justice Lamer’s tests, and these tests sometimes lead to unjust results. However, by recognizing mainly rights that are included in agreements between the State and certain aboriginal peoples, Justice Lamer ensured the legitimacy of his decisions, which may explain why the main elements of his framework are still applied by the Supreme Court.