What is the effect of a jury's recommendation under section 743 of the Criminal Code?

The recommendation by the jury pursuant to s. 743 is simply that: a recommendation. It is in no way binding on the sentencing judge. It is but one factor to be considered in arriving at an appropriate period of parole ineligibility. A similar function by the jury in the American experience has been described as “advisory”: see Spaziano v. Florida, 468 U.S. 447(1984). It is in no sense the ultimate determination of the question of parole ineligibility; it is merely one step in the process, albeit an important one. Finally it is, in many cases, an uninformed determination in that both aggravating and mitigating circumstances have not been placed before the jury for their consideration. Those are required to be considered by the sentencing judge under a consideration of the character of the offender pursuant to s. 744. (ii) “audi alteram partem”