This section of the Charter protects Canadians against events that may occur during their indictment of an offense. These are the protections against:
Being treated unlawfully as a defendant during a criminal trial;
Not being made aware of what crime they are accused of committing;
Being forced to wait a long period of time before they can appear before the court in trial;
Being forcibly made a witness during their own trial;
Being denied the ability to post bail without a reasonable explanation;
Being tried and punished again after already being convicted of a crime and;
Not being presumed innocent until proven guilty, instead of guilty until proven innocent
An example of a case that would have involved section 11 if the Charter was written is Giroux v. The King, [1917] S.C.R. 63. In this case, the accused asked for a speedy trial, so that they would not have to wait a long amount of time, which was accepted by the judge based on the Crown prosecutor's consent.
Sources:
- Government of Canada. "Constitution Acts, 1867 to 1982." Legislative Services Branch. Government of Canada, 10 Oct. 2014. Web. 24
- "Supreme Court Judgments." Giroux v. The King. Government of Canada, 4 Nov. 2014. Web. 4 Nov. 2014. <http://scc-
r=AAAAAQAad2FpdGluZyBmb3IgdHJpYWwgdG8gYmVnaW4AAAAAAQ>.