L1 - Introduction

Question 1

What are the 3 basic elements of a legal system?

Answer 1

1. Laws
2. Lawmaking structure
3. Administration and enforcement of the laws

Question 2

What is private law?

Answer 2

The law regulating the relationship between individuals (contract law, family law, etc)

Question 3

What is public law?

Answer 3

The law regulating the relationship between individual and the state/government

Question 4

What is Common Law?

Answer 4

It comes from England and judges are bound by previous judicial decisions (stare decisis)
It is used everywhere in Canada, except for private law in Québec

Question 5

What is Civil Law?

Answer 5

It comes from France and judges aren’t bound by precedents, but they do tend to use them. Used for private law in Québec

Question 6

What are the 2 main sources of law?

Answer 6

Constitution Act of 1867
and
Act of 1982 - Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom

Question 7

What is the Constitution Act of 1867, ss.91 &92 about?

Answer 7

Division of Power between Federal and Provincial

Question 8

What is the Act of 1982, s. 52, about?

Answer 8

The constitution is the supreme law in Canada
“any law that is inconsistent with the provisions of the Constitution is, to the extent of the inconsistency, of no force or effect”

Question 9

What are provincial and federal legislations?

Answer 9

Laws passed by the government levels

Question 10

What is special with judicial decisions? (aka jurisprudence)

Answer 10

The judges can interpret the laws and apply them, but it can sometimes lead to some changes.
To avoid this ambiguity, government should make some amendments

Question 11

What is an amendment?

Answer 11

A change or addition to a contract

Question 12

What is the objective of the court system?

Answer 12

To resolves issues and disputes
However, going there is lengthy and costly, so it’s not necessarily the best

Consider arbitration or neutral mediation

Question 13

Is the court system hierarchical?

Answer 13

Yes, with the supreme court at the top

Question 14

What are the 3 professions?

Answer 14

Lawyers, Judges, Notaries

Question 15

What are the 2 types of lawyers?

Answer 15

Litigation: They usually go to court
Transactional: They usually don’t go to court

Both use their knowledge of the law

Question 16

What do notaries do?

Answer 16

They tend not to go to court, as they mostly deal with non-contentious issues

Question 17

What are the 3 branches of government?

Answer 17

Executive
Legislative
Judiciary

Question 18

What composes the executive branch?

Answer 18

Comprised of the prime minister, the Cabinet, the public/civil services

Cabinet member are elected as ministers by the prime minister

Question 19

What is the function of the executive branch?

Answer 19

It has an important function in setting policies, administrating law, and government spending

Question 20

What is the distinction between the executive branch at the federal and provincial levels?

Answer 20

They work similarly, however, at a provincial level, the premier appoints MLAs and MPP (Member of Legislative Assembly and Member of Provincial Parliament (Ont))

Question 21

What composes the legislative branch? (fed)

Answer 21

The Parliament, the House of Commons, and the Senate

Question 22

How are senators chosen?

Answer 22

They are appointed by the Governor general, on the cabinet advice

Also, they retain their seat until they’re 75 or when they die

Question 23

What is the function of the legislative branch?

Answer 23

They pass statute law

Question 24

What are the differences between the legislative branch of the federal and the one of the provincial level (2)?

Answer 24

The parliament is called Legislative Assembly
It works the same, but without a Senate

Question 25

What is the function of the judiciary branch?

Answer 25

It's made up of judges that interpret the laws and provide judgments

Question 26

What is the particularity of the judiciary branch?

Answer 26

It works independently of the other 2 branches (executive and legislative)

Question 27

When is statute law subject to changes?

Answer 27

When there's enough pressure from people, pressure groups, or events that influence the government into amending the law. It follows the same process as creating a law e.g., Anti-terrorism act following 9/11

Question 28

What is a government bill?

Answer 28

And idea to create or change a law introduced by a Cabinet member They are rarely defeated if the government holds the majority of the seats in the House of Commons

Question 29

What is a private member bill?

Answer 29

A bill initiated by citizens, lobby groups, or corporations. It still needs to be introduced by a member of Parliament. The procedure is the same as a government bill, but it does not start with the Cabinet's support

Question 30

What are the steps to create a law? (8)

Answer 30

1. Member of Parliament develops a bill to present before the House 2. 1st reading and presentation to the House of Commons (no vote)(to the MLAs or MLPs on a provincial level) 3. 2nd reading and vote (if majority is against, it is defeated) 4. Committee of the house studies the bill. May propose changes or amendments. Then the bill is sent back to the House for debate on the changes. 5. 3rd reading, debate and vote again 6. Bill is passed to the Senate, and undergoes a similar process (rarely overturned) 7. Bill is passed to Governor General for final approval (or Lieutenant for provinces) 8. a) Royal Ascent: Act brought into force and becomes law b) Particular date: Act come into force at a specified date c) Proclamation: Act to come into force at a date to be announced later

Question 31

We do we use precedent judicial decisions in the Common Law system?

Answer 31

For Consistency, Predictability, and Fairness It is not a foolproof system however

Question 32

What is the Oakes test? (Constitution Act of 1982, s.1)

Answer 32

It's a test used to decided whether government infringing action on Human Rights (act of 1982) is justified 2 prompts, with the 2nd one having 3 sub-prompts

Question 33

What is arbitration?

Answer 33

A neutral 3rd party arbitrator DECIDES the outcome of the conflict (private sphere judge)

Question 34

What is neutral mediation?

Answer 34

A neutral 3rd party helps both parties find common ground but doesn't decide the outcome