R v Zundel

R v Zundel
Supreme Court of Canada
Hearing: December 10, 1991 Judgment: August 27, 1992
Full case name	Ernst Zundel v Her Majesty The Queen
Citations	[1992] 2 S.C.R. 731
Docket No.	21811[1]
Prior history	R. v. Zundel, 1990 CanLII 11025 (ON CA); R. v. Zundel, 1988 CarswellOnt 2425, [1988] O.J. No. 4657, 7 W.C.B. (2d) 26; R. v. Zundel, 1987 CanLII 121 (ON CA)
Ruling	Zundel appeal allowed
Court membership
Chief Justice: Antonio Lamer Puisne Justices: Gérard La Forest, Claire L'Heureux-Dubé, John Sopinka, Charles Gonthier, Peter Cory, Beverley McLachlin, William Stevenson, Frank Iacobucci
Reasons given
Majority	McLachlin J., joined by La Forest, L'Heureux-Dubé and Sopinka JJ.
Dissent	Cory and Iacobucci JJ., joined by Gonthier J.
Lamer C.J. and Stevenson J. took no part in the consideration or decision of the case.

R v Zundel [1992] 2 S.C.R. 731 is a Supreme Court of Canada decision where the Court struck down the provision in the Criminal Code that prohibited publication of false news on the basis that it violated the freedom of expression provision under section 2(b) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

In 1985, German-born Ernst Zündel was charged with "spreading false news" under the Criminal Code. Initially, Zündel was found guilty, but this conviction was overturned in the Court of Appeal for Ontario, and a re-trial ordered. However, during his second trial, Zündel was once again found guilty and sentenced to nine months in prison. At the Court of Appeal, Zündel's conviction was upheld.

In a 4–3 decision, the Supreme Court of Canada found section 181 of the Criminal Code violated section 2(b) of the Charter, infringing on Zündel's rights. The Court declared section 181 inoperative, and Zündel's conviction was quashed.