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Proceedings against former SNC-Lavalin vice-president Stéphane Roy were suspended on Tuesday because it has taken too long to bring him to trial.

Roy was charged in 2014 with fraud, bribing a foreign official and violating United Nations sanctions against Libya in connection with SNC-Lavalin’s operations in that country.

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The third charge was later dropped.

Roy’s lawyers argued that the delay — it has been around 60 months since Roy was initially charged, and his trial was not scheduled to begin until late spring — violated his right to a speedy trial.

Judge Patricia Compagnone agreed, ruling that delay was unreasonable and ordering a stay of proceedings.

In 2016, the Supreme Court established a hard limit on the length of time it can take before a case goes to trial. That decision, known as the Jordan ruling, requires cases with a preliminary hearing to go to trial within 30 months, barring exceptional circumstances. Delays initiated by the defence do not count toward the total.