Is it in the interests of justice to proceed to hear and determine an appeal despite the death of an appellant?

To determine whether there are special circumstances that make it in the interests of justice to proceed to hear and determine an appeal despite the death of an appellant, an appellate court must consider all the circumstances. Among, but not dispositive of the factors relevant for consideration are these: i. the presence of a proper adversarial context; ii. the strength of the grounds of appeal; iii. the existence of special circumstances that transcend the death of the individual appellant, such as a legal issue of general public importance, a systemic issue related to the administration of justice or collateral consequences to the deceased’s family, other interested persons or the public; iv. the expenditure of limited judicial resources; and v. the likelihood that continuing the appeal would go beyond the judicial function of resolving concrete disputes and involve the court in freestanding legislative-type pronouncements more appropriately the role of the legislative branch. See Smith, at para. 15.