Summary: In Jim Shot Both Sides 2022 FCA 20, the Federal Court of Appeal criticized the trial judge for applying the act of state doctrine, which it called a principle of international law, in concluding that treaties between the Crown and Indigenous peoples were not actionable before the advent of s. 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982. But act of state is not a principle of international law, and the trial judge did not apply it. The real issue is not act of state but the treaty implementation requirement. The Supreme Court of Canada should avoid falling into these same misapprehensions when it hears the case this month. Continue reading “Act of state and treaty implementation in Jim Shot Both Sides” →