Alberta’s highest court has determined a provincial mandate requiring aspiring lawyers to swear an oath to the King to be able to practise law is unconstitutional because it violates religious freedom.
Three Court of Appeal judges unanimously ruled on Dec. 16 the law should either be repealed or amended following a years-long legal challenge initiated by Prabjot Singh Wirring, a devout Amritdhari Sikh.
Alberta law mandates that attorneys take an oath to “bear true allegiance” to the current monarch, along with their heirs, and successors.
Wirring initiated legal action against the Alberta government and the Law Society of Alberta in June 2022, arguing the requirement violated his right to religious freedom as a Sikh. Wirring argued that he had already sworn an oath and dedicated himself to Akal Purakh, the divine entity in Sikhism, and is restricted from pledging allegiance to any other authority or ruler….