Law: Definitions, Purpose and Types

Law - Definitions and Purposes

• Law is the system of rules a country or community uses to regulate its members' actions.
• Jurisprudence is the theory or philosophy of law.
• Justice refers to just behavior and treatment.
• Morals involve principles of right and wrong behavior.
• Natural Law comprises unchanging moral principles as a basis for conduct.
• Provincial Law refers to laws within a specific province.
• The Rule of Law restricts the arbitrary exercise of power by subordinating it to well-defined laws.
• Laws provide structure, peaceful communities, and predictability.
• Societies need laws to ensure safety, prevent harmful actions, hold individuals accountable, protect rights, resolve disputes, and ensure fairness and stability.
• Laws apply equally to everyone.
• Rules that protect individual rights, ensure public safety, and maintain societal order need to be enshrined in law.
• Legal rules are obligatory and enforced by the judicial system to ensure compliance and provide solutions for breaches.
• Without enforceable laws, societal structures would collapse into anarchy, making laws indispensable for peace, justice, and stability.

The Relationship Between Laws and Morals

• Canadian laws generally reflect societal values and morals, adapting as societal attitudes change.
• An example is the stricter laws against impaired driving due to its devastating impact on families and communities, including increased fines, roadside suspensions, and vehicle impoundment.
• Stricter environmental protection laws with increased fines for companies and individuals harming the environment are another example.

History, Evolution, and Classification of Canadian Law

• Retribution is punishment inflicted as vengeance for a wrong or criminal act.
• Restitution is the restoration of something lost or stolen to its proper owner.
• Common Law is derived from custom and judicial precedent rather than statutes.
• A Precedent is an earlier event or action regarded as an example or guide in similar subsequent circumstances.
• Citation is a scholarly reference to a book, paper, or author.
• A Statute is a written law passed by a legislative body.
• Codification involves arranging laws or rules according to a system or plan.
• A Case Report is a written or published report of a medical, legal, or other type of case.
• Substantive Law prescribes the rights, duties, and obligations of persons to one another.
• Procedural Law comprises the rules by which a court hears and determines legal proceedings and dictates how these laws are enforced.
• Laws of ancient civilization influenced Canadian law, including ideas from the Code of Hammurabi, Mosaic Law, and Roman Law.
• Canadian law reflects the changing nature of society and its values.
• Laws can become outdated or inappropriate.
• Laws must cover changes in technology and communication.
• Civil laws in Quebec are based on the French Civil Code, while the rest of Canada uses the English common law.

Canadian Common Law

• The process of common laws becoming statute laws involved two major gradual changes: the transfer of law-making power from the monarchy to parliament and the codification of most areas of common law into statutes.
• Codification formalized and clarified legal principles previously based on court decisions and precedent.
• Different levels of government manage different types of laws to make them easier to understand and address new situations.
• The federal government creates statutes like the Criminal Code of Canada for consistent criminal justice rules.
• Provincial governments pass laws like the motor vehicle act for driving and road safety.
• Municipal governments handle local bylaws, such as noise regulations.
• Civil law primarily governs private legal matters in Quebec, using the Quebec Civil Code to resolve disputes.
• The rest of Canada follows common law, where legal principles evolve through judicial decisions and statutes.
• This distinction respects Quebec's French heritage and legal traditions.
• Substantive law relates to the parking regulations, such as the maximum duration a vehicle can be parked.
• Procedural law dictates the legal procedures for issuing a parking ticket, towing a vehicle, and contesting the ticket.

How Judges Use These Sources of Law

• A judge first locates the parking bylaw to determine if the restriction was clearly communicated.
• The judge then reviews precedent cases involving similar situations to see how ignorance of parking rules has been treated in the past.
• If no precedent exists, the judge considers the facts of the case, including whether the person truly did not know about the restriction.
• The judge makes a ruling based on their interpretation of the law.

The Canadian Court System and Alternatives

• Adversarial processes involve conflict or opposition.
• Criminal law is concerned with the punishment of offenders.
• A crown attorney is another term for crown prosecutor.
• A defendant is an individual, company, or institution sued or accused in a court of law.
• Defence council is the legal counsel of the defendant.
• Extrajudicial sanctions are measures for teenagers to make up for crimes without going through a traditional court process.
• Provincial Court is a specific court created by the province and is the main criminal court.
• Restorative justice is a system focused on rehabilitating offenders through reconciliation.
• A verdict is a decision on a disputed issue in a civil or criminal case or an inquest.
• Separation of lawmaking and law interpretation ensures fairness and balance in the Canadian legal system.
• Legislatures create laws, and courts independently interpret and apply them.
• This division prevents excessive power in a single branch and allows courts to review laws for injustice or unclear aspects.
• Appeals are handled by a separate court, like the BC Court of Appeal, to ensure an independent and thorough review of lower court decisions.
• The BC Court of Appeal focuses on whether the law was applied correctly and fairly and does not conduct trials or hear new evidence.
• This separation ensures that decisions are reviewed by a panel of judges with specialized expertise, providing fairness and consistency.

Appointment of Judges and Judicial Independence

• Measures that ensure the impartiality of provincial Court judges are necessary to maintain public trust and fair trials.
• Judges are appointed for life, protecting them from government influence and are forbidden from participating in politics or being contacted about cases, which prevents political interference.
• Judges' salaries are determined by independent bodies, ensuring financial independence.
• These safeguards uphold judicial independence.
• Judges communicate with the crown Attorney, Defence counsel, and Jury to oversee proceedings and the witness interacts with each of them.
• The defence counsel is linked to the accused person and the court personnel assists the judge.
• Plea bargains help reduce the burden on the court system, allow offenders to take responsibility, and offer a chance for rehabilitation

Canada and International Law

• UN General Assembly is the highest of various national churches.
• UN Security Council is charged with ensuring peace and security.
• WHO aims for the highest possible level of health for all peoples.
• Contentious issues cause arguments or are controversial.
• International Court of Justice replaced the Court peramenent de justice in 1945 and meets the Hague.
• Extradition is the action of extraditing someone accused or convicted of a crime.
• Jurisdiction is the official power to make legal decisions and judgements.
• A tribunal is a court of justice.
• A refugee is a person forced to leave their country to escape war, persecution, or natural disaster.
• War crimes are acts that violate the laws of war and lead to individual criminal responsibility.
• The UN was created to avoid international conflicts, but it has evolved to address a wider range of global issues.
• The Security Council focuses on maintaining peace, while agencies like UNICEF, UNDP, and WHO work on social and economic development.
• The Universal Declaration of Human Rights shows the UN's growing commitment to human rights.
• UNESCO promotes education and cultural preservation to foster global understanding.
• The General Assembly provides an inclusive platform where all 193 members state an equal voice in global decision making.
• The ICJ handles legal disputes between countries and requests for advisory opinions on international legal questions, including territorial sovereignty, extradition, environmental disputes, and human rights conventions.
• The court only hears cases if both countries agree to its jurisdiction and it does not handle cases without the consent of all parties involved.
• The ICJ does not handle cases involving private individuals, companies, or organizations or address domestic legal issues not related to international law.
• The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda(ICTR) has been effective in achieving its mandate of prosecuting those responsible for the 1994 Rwandan Genocide.
• The International Criminal Court (ICC) is necessary to ensure accountability for war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity and is necessary in situations where countries are unwilling or unable to prosecute those responsible for serious international crimes.
• The ICC helps to deter future atrocities and uphold international humanitarian Law.
• Developed countries and large multinational corporations benefit the most from the huge increase in trade made possible by the WTO.
• Canada agrees to accept a certain number of refugees each year because it recognizes it's humanitarian responsibility to protect people fleeing persecution, war and violence and uphold it's international commitment to human rights.
• Accepting refugees also contributes to global stability by sharing the responsibility of protecting vulnerable populations.
• refugees also contribute to the cultural diversity and economic contributions that refugees bring to the country.