CATEGORIES OF LAW CHART
Divisions of Law in Canada
Law divides into two basic types:
Substantive law: (substance of law)consists of all laws that list the rights and duties of
each person in society (i.e., criminal code)
Procedural law: (the process of law) outlines the steps involved in protecting the rights
in substantive law (i.e., formal procedures that police must follow to obtain a search
warrant)
But substantive law further branches into 2 other forms of law, public and private law.
Public Law: controls the relationships between governments and the people and
represents laws that apply to everyone (criminal, constitutional, and administrative law
Private (civil) Law: outlines the legal relationships between private citizens and
between private citizens and companies
 There is no Crown attorney involved in a civil case, only a lawyer
 The person who starts a civil case (sues) is a plaintiff
Instructions: using pages 12-14 from the textbook, fill in the following chart:
Category of
Law
Constitutional
Law
Administrative
Law
Criminal Law
Tax Law
Aboriginal Law
Environmental
Law
PUBLIC LAW
Description
Establishes the basic legal
rules concerning how the state
will be governed.
Example
The Charter of Rights and
Freedoms outlines the basic rights
all Canadian citizens are given.
PRIVATE LAW
Tort Law
Contract Law
Property Law
Family Law
Labour Law
Commercial
Law
Wills and
Estates
Employment
Law