Hodge v The Queen

Hodge v The Queen is a Canadian constitutional law decision of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in 1883, at that time the highest court of appeal in the British Empire, including Canada. It was decided under the British North America Act, 1867, now known as the Constitution Act, 1867.

The case was the first time that the Judicial Committee considered the constitutional status of the provincial legislatures as a general matter of principle, rather than the case-by-case analysis that had been used up to that point. The Judicial Committee held that the provincial legislatures, and the federal Parliament, both had extremely broad powers of legislation within their respective areas, on par with the British Parliament itself. The legislatures and Parliament were not mere delegates of the British Parliament, but plenary legislative bodies, subject only to the limits on their powers set out in the British North America Act, 1867.

The case is also significant because it was the first time the Judicial Committee set out the constitutional principle of double aspect under the division of powers between the federal Parliament and the provincial legislatures. The "double aspect" doctrine recognises that an activity may have some aspects that come within federal jurisdiction, while other aspects of the activity may come within provincial jurisdiction. Both federal and provincial laws can therefore apply to that activity, provided the laws remain within their respective constitutional boundaries.

As a result, the Judicial Committee upheld the provincial law in issue, the Liquor Licence Act of Ontario, and confirmed the conviction of Archibald Hodge under that act.