Charter Challenge Fall 2023

The Charter Challenge is Ontario’s only mock appeal for high school students. Each semester, OJEN releases a mock judicial decision in which complex Charter issues are raised on appeal. Students all over Ontario form teams and choose one side of the appeal to ‘represent’. They research and write a factum with legal arguments in favour of the appellant or the respondent. OJEN staff and volunteers review all the factums we receive and identify the best ones from each side. The teams selected as finalists will be invited to make their arguments in person at the Court of Appeal for Ontario, either in person or via Zoom.

While the chance to compete for a place in the final appeal motivates many students to do their best, the real value of the Charter Challenge lies in the opportunity to use our materials to engage students in thinking about law, advocacy and society. As a teacher, you are welcome to sign up and use these supports as an in-class teaching and learning opportunity, whether or not your students complete a factum submission at the end of the term.