Law Unit 1 Test Review PDF
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This document reviews key aspects of law, including its functions, historical influences, and various categories such as substantive and procedural law. It also covers topics like domestic and international law, and the rule of law.
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Law Unit 1 Test Review Law * set of statutes and acts that we are governed by and are compelled to follow * Used to provide order in society 4 Main Functions of Law 1. Law as an instrument of society 2. Law as a mechanism for resolving disputes 3. Law protects person, property an...
Law Unit 1 Test Review Law * set of statutes and acts that we are governed by and are compelled to follow * Used to provide order in society 4 Main Functions of Law 1. Law as an instrument of society 2. Law as a mechanism for resolving disputes 3. Law protects person, property and rights 4. Law provides order in society Historical Influences greeks Citizen participation Trial by jury (right to vote and right to trial by jury) romans Code(canadian criminal code) Lawyers aboriginals Indian act(right to self government) british Trial by jury Common law Rule of law Presumption of innocence french Civil code of quebec Categories of law Substantive Procedural * Law that identifies the rights and duties of a person/level of government * Sets out criteria for laws * ex. pre planned murder * Outlines the methods and procedures that must be followed in enforcing substantive law * Ex. how arrest, trial, bail, hearings must be conducted Domestic International * Laws that govern activities within one country * Laws that have jurisdiction in more than one country Public * Person vs. state 1. Constitutional law * Body of unwritten laws that set out how a country will be governed * Sets out distribution of power between federal and provincial government * Ex. Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms 2. Administrative law * Related to the relationship between people and departments, boards and agencies * Ex. get injured at work, case goes to workpllace safety and insurance board 3. Criminal law * Prohibits and punishes behaviour that affects a person, property or society as a whole * Ex. breaking and entering Private * Person vs. person 1. Family law * Governs relationships between family members * Ex. marriage, divorce, adoption, child custody 2. Contract law * Governs agreements between people or companies to purchase or provide goods and services 3. Tort law * Covers civil wrongs and damages that a person/company causes to another 4. Wills and estate law * Deals with wills and determines what happens to a person's property after death 5. Property law * Applies primarily to buying, selling, and renting of land and building and use of land * Ex. renting an air bnb Rule of Law * Found in Magna Carta * List of legal rights that English Barons forced King John to sign in 1215 * 3 Part Principle 1. No one is above the law 2. No one has the authority to take away your rights unless you break the law 3. Individuals in society need to realize that the law is necessary to regulate society Sources of Law * Primary 1. Religion * Laws influenced by religious values * Ex. 10 Commandmens 2. Customs and Conventions * Custom: traditional way of behaving or doing something (habit) * Standing for national anthem * Convention: way of doing something that it becomes an unwritten rule * Ex. taking turns talking 3. Social and Political Philosophy * Social movements and political philosophies that influence Canadian Laws * Ex. public reaction to Holocaust and the social movement created resulting in Canadian Human Rights Act * Secondary 1. Constitution * Top of legal pyramid * Where all laws get legitamacy 2. Statutes and Acts * Laws passed by federal or provincial government * Most are broad policy statements that govern a particular legal matter (Ex. Criminal Code) 3. Court Decisions * Setting precedence: using past cases to make decisions Canadian Constitutional Law * Constitution * Provides basic framework for a nation's form of government and its legal systems * Sets out rules in order to adopt or revoke a law * Reflect values and beliefs * Written and unwritten * Sources of Canada’s Constitution 1. Written Constitution 2. Unwritten Constitution 3. Court Rulings * The BNA Act * Canada became a country in 1867 (Ontario and Quebec joined Nova Scotia and New Brunswick - united under BNA Act) * In 1982, it was renamed the Constitution Act * Also included Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms Stereotyping * Applying a judgement to a whole group * Ex. muslims are terrorists Prejudice * opinion/judgement based on irrelevant consideration Discrimination * Treating someone different for no valid reason * Stems from stereotyping and prejudice * Is ILLEGAL Human Rights * Rights of an individual that are basic to life * Influences * Magna Carta: England * Bill of Rights: England * Declaration of Independence Universal Declaration of Human Rights * First document for international human rights (1948) * Proclaimed by United Nations * Includes fundamenal freedoms, equality rights, economic rights, legal rights, social rights and cultural rights Mechanisms to Protect Human Rights 1. Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms 2. Canadian Human Rights Act 3. Provincial Human Rights Legislation * Ontario Human Rights Code 4. Human Righs Commissions Ontario Human Rights Code * Provides protection from discrimination in 5 different areas 1. Services, goods and facilities 2. Housing 3. Contracts 4. Employment 5. Membership vocational association and trade unions * Composed of * Racial Discrimination Act: 1944 * Fair Employment Practices Act: 1951 * Fair Accomodation Practices Act: 1954 Forms of Discrimination 1. Direct * Just because they are different than you 2. Indirect * Rules that seem fair but causes people to be treated differently 3. Systemic * Organizations rules/cultures that causes people to be treated differently 4. Reprisal * Punishing someone for having a human rights complaint or witnissed discrimination 5. Poisoned Environment * comments/actions that make one feel uncomfortable/unwelcome 6. Harassment * Troblesome comments/actions that are known to be unwelcome 7. Racial profiling * Making assumptions about individuals because they belong to a certain group Racial Rights (brief History) * Africans arrive in North America in 1619 * Civil Right Act of 1875 gives black equl access to public accommodaions, and forbade job discrimination Jim Crow Laws * Character created by Thomas “Daddy” Rice * Playing character was white person with black face makeup (mimicking 80y/o black man) * By late 1800s “black” code laws were created limiting gains of Civil Rights Act * Any state or local laws that enforced or legalized racial segregation Plessey V. Ferguson * June 7, 1892, Homer Plessey bought 1st class train ticket, sat in vacant seat in white only car * Charged with violating Lousianas law of 1890, “providing for separate railway carriages for white and coloured races” * Lead to doctrine “separate but equal” Separate but Equal * Blacks founded many Civil Rights organizations like the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People) * Founded in 1909, aimed to end racial violence/discrimination and promote equal rights * Civil Rights Movement (1950) * Revolution in race relations (in a peaceful manner) * Martin Luther King Jr. became a symbol of this movement Brown V. Board of Education * Linda Brown (7 y/0) had to take all black bus to get to school despite schools being much closer but only for white people * NAACP encouraged parents to take their students to closest school for first day, knowing they would get denied admission * Once denied admission, NAACP filed class actions lawsuit, which eventually reached US Supreme Court * Thurgood Marshall’s strategy showed that separate schools were not equal, proved by psychologist tests showing black students internalizing inferiority * On May 17, 1954, Supreme Court delivered unanimous decision recognizing separate schools were inherently unequal * Ruling prompted 21 states to integrate segregated schools and marked major victory for racial rights Canadian Charter of RIghts and Freedoms * Rights and Freedoms (Section 1) * Fundamental Freedoms (Section 2) * Democratic Rights (Sections 3-5) * Mobility Rights (Section 6) * Legal Rights (Sections 7-14) * Equality Rights (Section 15) * Languages of Canada (Sections 16 - 22) * Minority Language Educational Rights (Section 23) * Enforcement (Section 24) * General (Sections 25 - 31) * Application of Charter (Section 32)