Law and Politics Overview
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Questions and Answers

What is one primary function of law in society?

  • Establish social order (correct)
  • Limit political involvement
  • Promote individual interests above all else
  • Encourage arbitrary use of power

    • Which perspective views law as an instrument to protect the economic elite class?

  • Marxism (correct)
  • Legal realism
  • Natural law
  • Pragmatism

    • What does distributive justice primarily address?

  • Legal representation for minorities
  • Reproductive rights for women
  • Fair allocation of resources within society (correct)
  • Punishment for legal wrongs

    • How does the critical legal theory differ from legal positivism?

    <p>It critiques the assumptions and purposes of law</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following best defines positivism in the context of law?

    <p>Law is defined by human creation and accepted validity</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is a characteristic of feminist theory of law?

    <p>It identifies and problematizes the gendered nature of law</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which statement best captures the relationship between law and politics?

    <p>Laws can challenge existing power relations</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What aspect of law does legal realism emphasize?

    <p>Law within political, economic, and social contexts</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What was the significance of the Magna Carta in 1215?

    <p>It limited the authority of the monarchy.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does public law encompass?

    <p>Criminal law and constitutional law.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which act in 1982 patriated the Canadian constitution?

    <p>The Constitution Act.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What role do committees play in the legislative process in Canada?

    <p>They create legislation.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    In the context of Canadian law, what is the primary focus of substantive law?

    <p>Governing society and criminal law.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is a characteristic of the legislative process in Canada?

    <p>It may involve legislative violence.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following acts created the United Province of Canada in 1840?

    <p>The Act of Union.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does the executive branch do in the context of law?

    <p>Executes laws and policies.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What political system is characterized by multiple levels of government with a degree of autonomy?

    <p>Federalism</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which Act established Canada as a federal state?

    <p>British North America Act, 1867</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is case law primarily based on?

    <p>Judicial decisions and precedents</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which section of the Constitution Act outlines federal powers and jurisdiction?

    <p>Section 91</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following acts was introduced in Canada to regulate narcotics?

    <p>The Controlled Drug and Substances Act</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the purpose of the 'Notwithstanding clause' in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms?

    <p>To allow provinces to temporarily override certain provisions</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following events occurred in Quebec's reaction to the Constitution Act, 1982?

    <p>Quebec never acknowledged the Act</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does constitutional design refer to?

    <p>The characteristics that shape a constitution</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is one characteristic of most constitutions?

    <p>They are designed to be difficult to change</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does Section 24 of the Canadian Charter empower the courts to do?

    <p>Exclude certain evidence in legal proceedings</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What was the outcome of R. v. Drybones regarding indigenous rights?

    <p>It confirmed the right of indigenous people to be intoxicated off-reserve</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How does Canadian law generally treat indigenous legal orders?

    <p>It is resistant to them and offers limited space.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which section of the Canadian Charter addresses fundamental freedoms?

    <p>Section 2</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is a function of constitutions in a political society?

    <p>To limit government power and outline citizens' rights</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the separation of powers?

    <p>The allocation of powers among branches of government</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following is NOT a purpose of constitutions?

    <p>To empower external entities above the government</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Study Notes

    Defining Law

    • Defined as a set of rules and regulations governing a society
    • Formal rules of conduct
    • Involves politics
    • Balances individual and collective interests
    • Establishes social order
    • Limits arbitrary use of power (rule of law)

    Law and Politics

    • Law is shaped by politics and politics is shaped by law
    • Laws can reify or challenge existing power relations
    • Law shapes a country's political problems
    • Law can prevent the state's abuse of power

    Justice

    • Reflects the idea of legal fairness, equality, legal rights, and punishing legal wrongs
    • To give each person their due - derived from the Roman term "Justicia"
    • Distributive Justice: fair allocation of resources within society

    Contending Theoretical Perspectives on Law

    • Natural Law
      • Posits that there is universal, absolute law, emanating from God or separate from the divine
    • Positivism
      • Theory of law that views law "as is" rather than "as it should be"
      • Law is human-made
      • Law's validity comes from the validity of the sovereign (the state)
      • Rooted in the British practice of parliamentary supremacy
    • Legal Realism
      • Understands law and legal outcomes as part of political, economic, and social contexts
      • Focuses on law "as is" rather than "as it should be"
      • Unlike positivism, it focuses on the influences of law
    • **Critical Legal Theory **
      • Critical of the rationales, purposes, and assumptions of law and legal theories
      • Views power as embedded within legal systems
      • Arose as a challenge to positivism
      • Often influenced by Marxist ideas

    Marxism

    • Informed by the idea of historical materialism
    • Tends to view law as an institution of capitalism and an instrument to protect the economic elite class

    Feminism

    • Feminist theory of law:
      • Understands law from a gendered perspective
      • Identifies and problematizes the gendered nature of law and legal study
    • First wave of feminist thought
      • Issues of legal rights and representation
    • Second wave of feminist thought
      • Women's reproductive rights
    • Third wave of feminist thought
      • Understanding the system of law as an underlying patriarchal structure

    Carter v. Canada

    • Supreme Court of Canada was asked to review the criminalization of physician-assisted suicide in 2014 (illegal at the time)
    • K. Carter suffered from a degenerative spinal disease
    • Trudeau's government allowed for medically assisted suicide legislation
    • A natural legalist thinker may believe that life is sacred, therefore this law is illegitimate, as it inflicts the notion of morality

    An Early History of Law

    • The history reaches over 4000 years (Hammurabi, Confucius, Mohammad)
    • Feudal law
    • 1215 Magna Carta: The great charter, feudal era charter governing feudal rights, limited authority of the monarchy
    • The Royal Proclamation of 1763: Transferred French territory to the British
    • 1774 Quebec Act
    • The Constitution Act of 1791: Divided Canada into upper and lower Canada
    • Act of Union of 1840: Created the united province of Canada
    • The British North American Act of 1867: The legal basis of Canada
    • 1892: Criminal code
    • 1931: Statute of Westminster (Canada becomes self-governing dominion)
    • The Constitution Act of 1982: Patriated the constitution, included the Charter of Rights and Freedoms

    Types of Canadian Law

    • Public Law: area of law concerned with the public interest (criminal law, constitutional law)
    • Private Law: The area of law concerned with legal disputes between individuals (Tort law -- basically means suing someone, family law, property law)
    • Substantive Law: The area of law that govern society (criminal law)
    • Procedural Law: The area of law governing the rules of law and the procedures of the legal system (sentencing)
    • Legislature: Create and change law
    • Executive: Executes laws/policies
    • Judiciary: Implements law and dispenses justice

    The Legislative Process

    • Highly political process involving compromises and "horse trading"
    • In some cases, results in legislative violence
    • Committees play a large role in creating legislation
    • In Canada, federal bills are introduced for a first reading, a second reading followed by debate, committee review and then a third reading, including review by the senate

    Sources of Law

    • Statute Law: Law created by legislature
    • Case Law: Law established by judicial decisions; involves judicial precedents, case law results in a more dynamic legal system
    • Custom: a source of law derived from customary practice
    • Books of Authority: authoritative text on legal principles by scholars

    Drugs and Laws in Canada

    • 1908 An Act to prohibit the importation, manufacture and sale of opium for other than medical purposes
    • 1911 Opium and Drug Act: Changes influenced by a book of authority
    • 1961 Narcotic Control Act
    • 1997 Controlled Drug and Substances Act
    • 2012 Safe Streets and Communities Act
    • 2017 Cannabis Act

    Indigenous Laws in Canada

    • Canadian law is resistant to indigenous legal orders
    • There is limited space in Canadian law for indigenous law
    • Where there is space, indigenous law is transformed into Canadian legal form

    Constitutions

    • Foundational (constitution) charter and supreme laws forming the basis of a legal system and political society
    • Constitute.
    • Express founding principles & shared values
    • Establish the political system
    • Establish fundamental laws of society
    • Confer power to actors and/or institutions
    • Limit the exercise of government power
    • Outline the basic rights and obligations of citizens
    • Highlight a particular history
    • Contain aspirations

    Constitutional Design

    • Some constitutions are short, others are long
    • Some constitutions are written/codified, others are unwritten/uncodified
    • Designed to be difficult to change
    • Have particular amendment processes
    • Many specify judicial review
    • Many omit important political structures and legal processes

    Constitutions and the Diffusion of Power

    • Most constitutions diffuse authority of the state: the division of powers, systems of checks and balances.
    • Authority may be diffused horizontally or vertically

    Separation of Powers

    • Division of government powers in a system between branches of government: executive, legislative, judicial.

    Federalism

    • Political system with multiple levels of government, each with a degree of autonomy with specified jurisdiction

    Unitarism

    • Political system with no subnational governments possessing delegated authority/ jurisdiction

    The Constitution of Canada

    • 1764 Royal Proclamation: Transferred French territory to the UK
    • 1867 British North America Act: Created the 'Dominion of Canada'
    • 1931 Statute of Westminster: 'Crown split’

    The Constitution Act, 1982

    • Patriated the Constitution
    • Includes judicial review
    • Includes the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms

    Canadian Federalism

    • The British North America Act, 1867 established Canada as a federal state
    • Section 91: outlines federal powers and jurisdiction
      • Section 91(27): gives federal government exclusive power to legislate on criminal law
    • Section 92: outlines provincial powers/jurisdiction
    • Section 36(2): sets out equalization payments between provinces
    • Canada (Attorney General) v.PHS Community Services Society

    The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms I

    • Section 1: The 'limitations' clause
      • 2-part test: I) sufficient importance & ii) proportionality
      • I.e. Saskatchewan v.Whatcott (2013) 1 SCR 467
    • Section 2: sets out fundamental freedoms of Canadians
    • Sections 3, 5 & 6: set out basic rights of Canadians
    • Sections 7 -- 14: sets out legal rights of Canadians
    • Section 15: sets out equality rights of Canadians
    • Sections 16 -- 23: concerns minority-language rights

    The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms II

    • Section 24: power of the courts to exclude certain evidence
    • Sections 25 -- 34: relate to the application of the Charter
      • Section 32: applies to both federal and provincial governments
    • Section 33: Notwithstanding clause
      • Section 33(3) limits the clause to 5 years
    • R.v.Morgentaler (conducted abortions at the time when it was illegal) (1988) 1 SCR 30

    Quebec's Rejection of the Constitution Act, 1982

    • Quebec never approved the Constitution Act, 1982
    • 1987 Meech Lake Accord
    • 1992 Charlottetown Accord

    R.Vs Drybones 1970

    • Indian act (illegal for indigenous people to be intoxicated outside of the reswerve but dybones was found intoxicated off the reserve.

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    Description

    This quiz explores key concepts related to law, including its definition, the interplay between law and politics, and various theories of justice. It examines how laws shape societal order and impact power dynamics. Test your understanding of the fundamental principles governing legal frameworks.

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