Midterm Quiz

Question 1

Rule of law

Answer 1

• Legal rational authority (detached and depersonalized)
• 4 Institutional consolidations (Constitution, Independent judiciary, Public legislature (separation of powers), Civilian control of the military and police)
• Limited government
• No one is above the law

Question 2

“Section 96” courts

Answer 2

• provincial courts
• Governor General shall appoint judges in provincial superior court (this maintains country-wide standard, disallows political motivation to be part of selection process)
• Virtually unlimited subject matter
• Exclusive original jurisdiction over most serious criminal law cases

Question 3

Appeal by leave

Answer 3

• The Supreme court generally decides which cases they are going to hear based on public importance
• Appeals “by leave” when the court decide to intervene
• Opposite of “As of right” is when they must intervene

Question 4

Independent Advisory Board for Supreme Court of Canada Judicial Appointments

Answer 4

• A new way of appointing Supreme Court Judges
• Established in 2016 by the Liberal government because of how unfair exclusive Priministerorial control over the picks
• 7 members who posit 3-5 nominees
• Selected parliamentarians allowed to question nominee before final appointment.

Question 5

Organic statute

Answer 5

• also known as “Quasi-constitutional statutes”
• “Statute” act of the authoritative legislative body;
• “Organic” pertains to constitutional matters.
• These statutes organize institutions created by the Constitution Acts. The Parliament of Canada Act, 1875 and the Courts of Justice Act (Ont.) are examples of organic statutes. Other parts of Canada’s Constitution are unwritten

Question 6

King-Byng Affair of 1926

Answer 6

-Must the G.G. follow the Prime Minister’s
request to dissolve the House of Commons?

• constitutional crisis pitting the powers of a prime minister against the powers of a governor general
• Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King asked Governor General Lord Julian Byng of Vimy to dissolve Parliament and call elections.
• Byng refused. It ended with King winning an eventual election, and no governor general ever again publicly refusing the advice of a prime minister.
• Constitutional Reform

Question 7

Prorogation

Answer 7

• The prorogation of Parliament ends a session
• This is done by the Governor General, on the advice of the Prime Minister.
• GG can’t grant prorogation if PM doesn’t have confidence
• The principal effect of ending a session by prorogation is to end business. All government bills that have not received Royal Assent prior to prorogation cease to exist; committee activity also ceases. Thus, no committee can sit after a prorogation.

Question 8

Stare decisis

Answer 8

• Legal Principles that guide Common Law
• Lower courts must follow higher courts if there are conflicting precedents
• Provincial courts are not bound to each other, but they are all bound to supreme court

Question 9

Standing

Answer 9

• Do you have a reason to be bringing this case to court
• Borowski (1981) was a pro-life man who had no medical knowledge, or history of abortion (He was told he had no standing to bring this complaint)

Question 10

Judicial restraint

Answer 10

• Judicial Role orientations (What they believe to be their appropriate role)
• should they strictly follow the letter of the law, or engage in activism?
• policy making v. adjudicative role

Question 11

Legal Positivism

Answer 11

• Rules are made by those who have the power to make them (Command theory)
• Suggest that there is one singular truth (Through scientific reasoning, Without the necessity of morals or ‘ought to’s)
• HLA Hart (There is no necessary connection between laws and morals, Does not make a judgement on the content of the law)

Question 12

Natural Law

Answer 12

-Belief in a higher system of morality which positive law should adhere to

-It is universal and absolute
Discoverable by reason (i.e. natural because the creator has said so)
Naturalists state that morals are inseparable from the law

Question 13

Legal Realism/sociological

Answer 13

• Uses sources outside the specific bounds of a written law to make judicial decisions
• Emphasis on the outcome of the case, instead of specific rules
• Can take into account many things (Economic status, Societal norms, Political Views)
• There is no way to measure which interpretation of a given law is correct

Question 14

Governor General’s role in responsible government

Answer 14

How much
discretion can the Governor
General exercise?

• “discretionary powers” or “prerogative powers.”

They have three responsibilities:
-Appointment (acknowledging the powers of PM)

-Dismissal (of PM)

-Dissolution (termination of a
Parliament; elections
must follow, new
Parliament)

Question 15

Framer’s intent

Answer 15

-A part of Statutory Interpretation

Is it Useful?

Yes:

• Democratic – defers to legislature (who were elected)
• Create a more stable legal system
• Neutral interpretation of legal principles
• Adjudicative model would use this

No:

• Need to keep up with current societal values
• Impossible to determine framers’ intent (Very difficult to use: Historical records, Calls for the operation of someone else’s mind)