Key Terms

Question 1

a type of civil wrong for which damages can be obtained by the person wronged

Answer 1

tort

Question 2

Canada’s highest court and final court of appeal

Answer 2

Supreme Court of Canada (SCC)

Question 3

section 52(1) of the Constitution Act, 1982, which provides that the Consititution is the supreme law of Canada and empowers the courts to find that laws that are inconsistent with the Constitution are of no force and effect

Answer 3

supremacy clause

Question 4

least serious type of offense in the Criminal Code (for example, tresspassing or distrubing the peace), tried only in provincial court and subject to the lightest sentences

Answer 4

summary conviction offence

Question 5

review of an administrative decision’s merits that considers both the legal and factual bases of the tribunal’s analysis

Answer 5

substantive review

Question 6

law that deals with core rights and obligations

Answer 6

substantive law

Question 7

warrant, issued by a justice of the peace or a provincial court judge, authorizing police to conduct a search

Answer 7

search warrant

Question 8

primary form of legislation

Answer 8

statutes

Question 9

Latin phrase (“to stand by decided matters”) referring to the common law principle that a precedent is binding on lower courts in the same jurisdiction

Answer 9

stare decisis

Question 10

business that is owned and operated by an individual and that is not a legal entity seperate from the owner

Answer 10

sole proprietorship

Question 11

theory of justice based on lex talionis, or the law of retaliation

Answer 11

retributive justice

Question 12

law dealing with the legal relationship between a state and individual members of the state

Answer 12

public law

Question 13

provincially constituted courts with inherent jurisdiction to hear all matters (unless taken away by legislation) and with two levels, a trial level and an appeal level; sometimes refers just to the trial level

Answer 13

provincial superior courts

Question 14

law relating to the process by which core rights and obligations are determined and enforced

Answer 14

procedural law

Question 15

individual, corporation, or other entity who won at trial and is responding to the appellant on an appeal to a higher court

Answer 15

respondant

Question 16

form of subordinate legislation passed by a person or body (frequently the government Cabinet) to expand on or fill out a statute’s legislative scheme

Answer 16

regulations

Question 17

law that concerns the relationships between persons

Answer 17

private law

Question 18

court decision that, under the doctrine of stare decisis, is binding on lower courts in the same jurisdiction

Answer 18

precedent

Question 19

dispute resolution process whereby the parties talk to each other directly and seek a mutually acceptable solution to their problem

Answer 19

negotiation

Question 20

area of tort law that addresses harm caused by carelessness, not intentional harm

Answer 20

negligence

Question 21

source of law that is higher than human-made (or positive) law and with which human-made law must comply in order to be valid

Answer 21

natural law

Question 22

human-made law, as opposed to a higher law (natural law) that transcends persons or institutions

Answer 22

positive law

Question 23

agreement between the Crown and the defene on how the accused will plead in court and on the sentence they will receive

Answer 23

plea bargain

Question 24

individual, corporation, or other entity who initiates a non-criminal lawsuit

Answer 24

plaintiff

Question 25

describes a precedent that a court is persuaded to give some weight to but is not bound to follow because the precedent is from another jurisdiction or is otherwise not binding

Answer 25

persuastive

Question 26

dispute resolution process whereby the parties try to reach a settlement with the assistance of a third party

Answer 26

mediation

Question 27

also known as "philosophy of law" or "science of law"; concerns theories that are used to describe, explain, or criticize the law

Answer 27

jurisprudence

Question 28

refers (in the context of legislative power under the Constitution) to the subject areas over which the federal Parliament and the provincial legislatures have been assigned authority

Answer 28

jurisdiction

Question 29

period in which legal action must be taken or the ability to do so is lost

Answer 29

limitation period

Question 30

process by which a superior court can review the decisions of an administrative body or inferior court on two main grounds; substative review (review of merits of the decision) and procedural review (review of the process followed in making the decision) | of decisions by administrative bodies

Answer 30

judicial review | of decisions by administrative bodies

Question 31

formal name for bail; the release of an accused prior to their trial

Answer 31

judicial interim release

Question 32

theory, developed in the US and Scandinavian countries, that encouraged a more thoroughly empirical study of the process by which laws are made and applied

Answer 32

legal realism

Question 33

theory that the only valid source of law is the principles, rules, and regulations expressly enacted by the institutions or persons within a society that are generally recognized as having the power to enact them

Answer 33

legal positivism

Question 34

dual procedure offence, meaning that the Crown attorney has the option of choosing whether to prosecute it as a summary conviction offence or an indictable offence

Answer 34

hybrid offence

Question 35

rights that respect the dignity and worth of an individual

Answer 35

human rights

Question 36

feature of civil law proceedings whereby trial judges actively assist lawyers in presenting their cases and are free to call and question witnesses and to order investigations into other evidentuary matters; contrasts with the adversarial system used in common law courts

Answer 36

inquisitorial system

Question 37

law of indingenous peoples themselves, as distinct from states' laws in relation to them

Answer 37

Indigenous law

Question 38

in the context of a partnership, the responsibility to act carefull and reasonably in the best interest of the firm

Answer 38

fiduciary duty

Question 39

procedural law area detailing rules relevent in all matters of proof, including non-litigious situations (such as applying for licences) but more commonly in court and tribunal proceedings

Answer 39

law of evidence

Question 40

lawyer's obligation not to divulge information concerning a client's affairs that has been acquired in the course of the professional relationship, unless the client authorizes the lawyer to divulge this information

Answer 40

duty of confidentiality

Question 41

in Canada, the division of state powers between the federal Parliament in Ottawa and the leguskatyres of the provinces and territories

Answer 41

federalism

Question 42

principle that fairness requires that certain "rights" be accorded to persons engaged with an administrative process, such as the right to notice, the right to be heard and to respondm the right to representation, and the right to an adjudicator who is free from bias or an appearance of bias

Answer 42

fairness/procedural fairness/natural justice

Question 43

theory of justice concerned with appropriate distributions of entitlements, such as wealth and power, in a society

Answer 43

distributive justice

Question 44

prejudicial treatment of people on the ground of race, age, sex, disability, or other recognized ground; prohibited by human rights legislation

Answer 44

discrimination

Question 45

state-sanctioned forum where disputes between opposing litigations are formally adjudicated

Answer 45

court

Question 46

individual, corporation, or other entity who defends a non-criminal lawsuit initiated by the plaintiff

Answer 46

defendant

Question 47

layer, also known as a Crown prosecutor or Crown counsel, who is an agent of the attorney general and who represents the Crown in court, particularly in criminal matters

Answer 47

Crown attorney

Question 48

judge or jury's finding an accused person guilty of an offence

Answer 48

conviction

Question 49

law dealing with the distribution of governmental powers under Canada's Constitution

Answer 49

constitutional law

Question 50

a bona fide (Latin for "in good faith") requirement is one that exists for a legitimate reason - for example, safety - and that cannot be removed without undue hardship on the employer | in the context of employment

Answer 50

bona fide occupational requirement

Question 51

term used to describe a higher court decision that a lower court in the same jurisdiction must follow according to the principle of *stare decisis*

Answer 51

binding

Question 52

term describing the operation of two legal systems in one jurisdiction, such as the common law and civil law systems in Canada

Answer 52

bujural

Question 53

system of law based on codified rules; may also refer to private law

Answer 53

civil law

Question 54

tort requiring actual occurence of harmful or offensive physical contact

Answer 54

battery

Question 55

procedure by which the charge is read to the accused in open court and the accused is asked how they wish to plead

Answer 55

arraignment

Question 56

individual, corporation, or other entity who lost at trial and who initiates an appeal to a higher court

Answer 56

appellant

Question 57

process whereby a court is authorized by legislation to hear an appeal of an administrative decision, which is generally less restrictive than th ejudicial review process | (of decisions by administrative bodies)

Answer 57

appeal (of decisions by administrative bodies)

Question 58

sub-area of Canadian public law involving rights, land claims, and other legal issues concerning indigenous peoples in Canada

Answer 58

Aboriginal law

Question 59

"guilty act" or objective physical part of a criminal offense

Answer 59

*actus reus*

Question 60

government bodies created under various federal, provincial, and territorial statutes with the purpose of administrating particular statutory regimes

Answer 60

administrative agency

Question 61

administrative agency that fulfills quasi-judicial functions as part of its mandate

Answer 61

administrative tribunal