TWU wins legal decision for law school accreditation

The BC Supreme Court has reversed a decision by the Law Society of BC to deny accreditation for graduates of a proposed law school at Trinity Western University. The Law Society originally denied accreditation over concerns that the law school violated Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms for requiring prospective students to sign a covenant promising to refrain from all sexual intimacy outside of heterosexual marriage. The 43-page Supreme Court decision was issued Thursday by Chief Justice Christopher Hinkson. It defended its ruling TWU by citing the BC Law Society’s “breaching its duty of procedural fairness and neglecting to fully consider the school’s [TWU’s] charter rights.” Critics of TWU have argued that the ruling is insufficient, suggesting that it made its decision based on procedural grounds and not based on the deeper human rights issues at stake. Toronto Star | Global News | VanCity Buzz | The Province | TWU | Law Society of BC