What is the relationship between the Charter and criminal law?

Many legal analysts think that the most significant impact that the Charter has had on Canadian society has been in the area of criminal law. The Charter affects all areas of criminal law, from the investigation of a crime, procedural fairness at trial, and decisions about the use of evidence, right through to the sentencing of convicted individuals. The Charter can be used to strike down a criminal law passed by parliament if it violates one of the freedoms protected by the Charter and the government cannot justify the violation as the only reasonable way to meet an important need.

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