1. Chapter 1
Its Purpose and History

2. Introduction
Canada is a democracy, which means that its citizens elect law makers who makes laws that suit the majority of Canadians
the law is constantly changing to reflect changing values and beliefs
What is legal in one country is not necessarily legal in another

3. What is Law and Why do We Have It?
without rules to govern relations between people, disorder and conflict would rise
whenever people form groups, they need to make some rules
rules and laws are necessary to keep peace and order because people do not agree with each other all the time

4. Rules or Laws?
rules of a game or an organization apply only to participants in the game or members of the organization
a law, applies to all members of society at all times
a law is a legal rule made by the government-a law must be obeyed by everyone who chooses to live in that society-if a member breaks the law, he or she is punished
if Canadians do not agree with a law in this country, they can join lobby groups or pressure groups and lobby or pressure the government to change the laws

5. Why do We Have Laws?
laws usually create clear understanding about expected behaviour
are necessary for people to live together peacefully in society
as the number of laws increase, people will have less freedom
as society grows, it needs more laws to control and limit the behaviour of its citizens
to enforce laws, a society introduces punishments
penalties will depend on the values and customs of each society

6. The Function of Law: What Laws Do for Us
to settle disputes
establish rules of conduct -laws exist to reduce or eliminate these conflicts and to create a safer place to live
protecting rights and freedoms -laws serve no purpose if they cannot be enforced (to enforce the laws we have the police and the courts)
protecting people

7. The Divisions of Law Two basic types Substantive Law
is divided into public and private law
consists of all laws that list the rights and obligations (duties) of each person in society (rights-something you are entitled to; obligation-something you must do)
2 Procedural Law
outlines the steps involved in protecting the rights given under substantive law

8. Public and private law
A Public Law-controls the relationship between governments and the people who live in society
1 Criminal Law-define acts called "crimes" and are considered offences against society (e.g., assault)
-set penalties for those who break the law
-main purposes of criminal law are to punish offenders and to protect society and its members
-society is represented by a CROWN ATTORNEY who tries to prove the charges against the accused person (the DEFENDANT) beyond a reasonable doubt

9. 2 Constitutional Law
-laws that set out the structure of the federal, provincial, and territorial governments and the division of powers among them
-the Gov’t of Canada does not have unlimited power
3 Administrative Law
-laws that controls the relationship between citizens and government agencies
-Administrative Agencies make laws called regulations

10. Private (Civil) Law
outlines the legal relationship between private citizens, and between citizens and organizations (e.g., companies)
there is no Crown attorney involved in civil actions or cases
the PLAINTIFF the person who starts the action or lawsuit is suing the DEFENDANT
in civil cases, the plaintiff has to prove that the defendant is at fault and caused damaged
the same incident can result in both a criminal and a civil action

11. Private laws
1 Family law--deals with the relationship between individuals living together as spouses or partners, and between parents and children
2 Contract Law-outlines the requirements for legally binding agreements
3 Tort Law-deals with wrongs, other than a breach of contract, that one person commits against another person-negligence is the major cause of action in tort law

12. 4 Property Law -is anything that has a cash value -set of legal rules that controls the use, enjoyment, and rental of property
Labour Law -governs the relationships between employers and employees (often called employment law)
Human Rights Law-protects from certain types of discrimination by individuals or companies

13. The Early History of Law
in early society, local customs and beliefs were the law
customs were traditionally accepted and were usually based on common sense

14. The Code of Hammurabi about 3800 years ago
took nearly 300 laws and recorded them in a way that could be understood by his citizens
a code is simply a written collection of a country's laws
process of preparing a code is called CODIFICATION
judges could look at the written law rather than deciding for themselves what punishment to pass
code followed the principle that the strong should not injure the weak
RETRIBUTION was important because it was believed that for every crime there should be a deserved punishment: "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth."

15. Moses and Mosaic Law set out five books of the Old Testament
based on the Ten Commandments that Moses received on Mount Sinai
punishment within Mosaic law were sever (stoning)
Mosaic law required the offender to repay the victim for goods stolen (restitution)

16. Roman Law the basis of law for Western Europe, except England
created a profession devoted to the study of legal matters
beginning of law as we know it today, and the role of lawyers
emperor Justinian ( C.E) codified 1000 years of Roman laws and produced what is known as the Justinian Code.
it was a collection of past laws, opinions from leading Roman legal experts and new laws enacted by Justinian
law emphasised EQUITY -the idea that law should be fair and just, and that all people are equal under the law regardless of their wealth and power

17. Napoleonic Code
1804, after the French Revolution, Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte revised French law which had been based on Roman law and the Justinian Code
this new set of civil laws was called the Napoleonic Code or the French Civil law
in Quebec, civil law is still based on the Napoleonic Code

18. The Development of Canadian Law
based upon the laws of France and England
French law was codified and written down
English law was not codified or written down until quite late in England's history

19. Feudalism and Common Law
1066 William, Duke of Normandy introduced a system of government from Europe called FEUDALISM (king owns all land-divides it up among lords and nobles (vassal-servants) in return they promise the king loyalty and military service--they in turn had vassal who farmed the land and in turn gave part to the lords
this is the basis for our modern property laws

20. king appointed judges to hold hearings over disputes between lords and vassals
judges met to discuss cases and share experiences
as judges developed regular punishments for specific crimes, these legal decisions became the basis of English common law, so called because it was common to the whole of England
common law is based on the rule of precedent

21. Precedent
is something that has been done that can later serve as an example or rule for how other things should be done.
came about when a case and its decision became common knowledge in the English legal community
if dissatisfied could appeal to the monarch, who had the authority to overrule judges' decisions
precedent introduced a degree of certainty into the law
however following precedent too closely can cause a problem if the precedent is not recent

22. Case Law common law is often called case law
recorded case is given a title or CITATION
it is distinct from the statute law made by governments, and it serves as a major part of Canadian law today

23. Rule of Law
the Magna Carta recognized the principle of the rule of law
all rulers had to obey the rule
no ruler could restrict the freedoms of the people without reason, and the people's legal rights could not be changed without their consent
-the Magna Carta guaranteed the right of HABEAS CORPUS (any person who was imprisoned without an explanation was entitled to appear before the courts within a reasonable time)

24. Parliament and Statute Law
job of Parliament was to help make laws for the country
Parliament replaces the King
in 1689, Parliament passed the BILL OF RIGHTS guaranteeing free speech, free election, and freedom of assembly
this event came to be known as the "Glorious Revolution"

25. Statute Law
important functions of Parliament is to pass laws or STATUTES
common law and case law could not provide answers to every legal situation so Parliament began to fill the gap
many common-law decisions made by the courts were codified by Parliament and became statute law

26. The Development of Canada's Constitution
the powers of government to make law, and the levels of government responsible for making law are described in the CONSTITUTION
first constitution was the British North America Act (BNA act) which came into effect July 1, 1867
Canada was not a fully independent country because Britain still controlled Canada's foreign affairs

27. in 1931, the STATUTE OF WESTMINSTER gave Canada control over its foreign affairs
in 1949, the Supreme Court of Canada became Canada's highest court of appeal, replacing the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council of Britain
the BNA act could only be changed or amended by the British Parliament
eg., in 1940 Canadian Federal gov’t wanted to include unemployment insurance in the BNA Act but could not—Britain had to make the change
the Constitution Act 1982 included the amending formula and a new Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
amending formula or clause requires the consent of (1) the Canadian Parliament and (2) two-thirds of the provinces with 50 percent of the population to approve any change--this made Canada an independent country

28. The Division of Powers
the Constitution Act, 1867, lists the powers of the federal, provincial, and territorial governments
outlines which government has jurisdiction or authority to make laws in specific areas (a law is intra vires if it is within the jurisdiction of the gov’t passing the law & ultra vires if not
federal powers are outlined in section 91
provincial powers are outlined in section 92
the federal has the residual power in areas not listed as provincial
section 93 gives the provinces control over education

29. A Third level of Government
province has given some of their power to a third level, the local municipality
bylaws are made and passed by municipalities

30. Lawmakers
government (federal and provincial-statutes; municipality-bylaws)
administrative agencies (regulations)
courts

31. How Laws are made in Canada
a law that the government has proposed is called a BILL
once a bill is passed it becomes an act or statute law

32. How Federal Laws are Passed
Parliament makes our federal law
made up of three parts: House of Commons, the Senate, and the governor general
House of Commons representatives are elected
each member (MP) represents a riding
the political party that has the largest number of members elected to the House forms the government
the other parties are called opposition parties

33. 308 MPs in the House of Commons
the leader of the party that has the largest number of elected members is the prime minister
Cabinet ministers are the heads of government departments that employ thousands of civil servants
Cabinet ministers introduce bills into the House of Common
once approved, it is sent to the Senate and if approved there it is sent to the governor general who signs it into law (royal assent)
see page 21—Passage of a Bill into law at the federal level

34. How Provincial Laws are Passed
similar to Federal
however it does not have a senate
once bill passed through 3 readings in the provincial legislative assembly it goes to the lieutenant-governor for a signature (royal assent)

35. How Municipal Bylaws are Passed
an elected council led by a mayor or reeve votes on municipal bylaw

36. Canada and International Law
globalisation is the transformation of the world into a global community
globalisation has had legal consequences as well as social and economic ones
international law governs relationships between states
"state" refers to a group of people that (1) is recognized as an independent country and (2) has territory ruled by a sovereign (independent) government that can enter into relations with other states.

37. International law is based on three types of law:
A) Customary Law -states establish practices that they follow consistently and which they assume are obligatory
it is not written down in formal codes but is found in the written judgments
customary laws recognizes the following principles

38. Sovereignty a nations absolute right to govern itself
there is no sovereign world government
sovereign states have equal status, regardless of their military or economic power

39. Recognition
new states gain recognition as sovereign nations by being recognized by other countries

40. Consent
states are bound by new international laws only after they freely give their consent

41. Good Faith
show good faith in the way they interpret and use international laws

42. Freedom of the Seas states cannot claim ownership of the high seas
expected to use the high seas, the airspace above the high seas, and the seabed with due regard for the interests of other states

43. International Responsibility
a state that does not meet an international obligation has committed a wrongful act

44. Self-Defense
recognize that states have the right to defend themselves against the hostile acts of other states

45. Humanitarianism
is respect for the interests of humankind

46. B) Treaty Law written agreements, freely entered into by states
bilateral treaties are treaties made between two states
multilateral treaties involve three or more states

47. Five steps in the Treaty-Making Process
Negotiate
Formally sign the treaty
Ratify
Let the treaty “come into force”
Implement and enforce the treaty

48. Special classes of International Treaties
-charters (treaties that establish international organizations) -conventions (treaties that are negotiated by many countries to which all countries of the world may become partners) -protocols (treaties that add to earlier treaties on the same topic)

49. Kyoto Agreement the Kyoto agreement looks at greenhouse emissions
in Canada, the Alberta government indicated that it would move to block Canada's ratification of the protocol
Alberta is Canada's main producer of oil and natural gas

50. Treaties
Treaties are the main method for addressing international problems and conflicts
range of matters a) territories -defining its territory and its international borders b) diplomatic law and Immunity 
-(diplomats may not suffer the same penalties for breaking the law as average citizens) c) the protection of Nationals Abroad the protection of life, liberty and property of people travelling to other nations  d) extradition and asylum -to bring them back home or to provide a safe place

51. e)international trade -e. g
e)international trade -e.g., NAFT North American Free Trade Agreement f) arms control -e.g., the treaties banning the testing of nuclear weapons

52. C) Resolutions
considered "soft law" because they do not have the force of customary law or treaties
not considered binding
can be adopted fairly quickly
form the basis for later negotiations on treaties

53. The Role of International Organization
The United Nations -established on October 24, to preserve peace through international cooperation and collective security and to promoting respect for human rights -role in developing international law -does not have sovereign authority -it passes resolutions

54. The UN General Assembly
all UN members are represented in the assembly
2/3's majority makes decisions on major matters such as international peace and security and the admission of new members
can't demand action by member states

55. The UN Security Council
responsible for maintaining international peace and security
member states are obligated to carry out the Council's decisions
consist of 15 members, 5 which are permanent (China, France, Great Britain, Russian Federation, and the United States)
permanent members can have veto power over all decisions of the Council
Un Charter also permits the Security Council to impose sanctions against states threatening or breaking the peace

56. The International Court of Justice (World Court)
judicial arm of the United Nations
only member states can bring cases before the international court of justice
basis its decisions on international law
their decisions are not binding

57. A Permanent International Criminal Court
in 1945 four nations established the International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg, Germany
created a permanent international criminal court

58. Three classes of international crimes
crimes against peace (planning or waging a war in violation of treaties or agreements)
war crimes (violations of the customs of war, e.g., murder, slave labour, murder or ill-treatment of prisoners of war, killing of hostages, plunder of public or private property)
crimes against humanity (murder, extermination, enslavement, deportation, or persecution on political, racial or religious grounds

59. support for a permanent international court grew during the 1990’s because
ethnic cleansing in the former Yugoslavia (widespread killing and mistreatment of civilians)
genocide in Rwanda shocked people around the world