CLU 3MI
INFLUENCES ON
CANADIAN LAW
Name
Date
 British law has had the most influence on Canadian law
 examples of the British influence are still seen in Canadian courtrooms today:
 photograph of Queen Elizabeth II in courtrooms
 Judge, lawyers, and parties involved sit in separate area from public
 Judges and lawyers wear long black robes
 Justices in the Supreme Court of Canada wear scarlet robes trimmed with
ermine
Early British Law
 in approximately 410 CE, the Romans left Britain and the Britons followed local customs and traditions for
their laws
 they turned to God to determine guilt or innocence; God's judgment would be revealed using the methods
listed below
Trial By Ordeal
 used in situations where the sentence for guilt was death penalty
 required a person to undergo torture to determine guilt or innocence
 _____________________________ - the accused was forced to hold a hot piece
of iron; the burn was bound for several days; if the wound had healed when the
bandage was removed, they were declared
 also ___________________________ , _______________________________
 inefficient and barbaric way to determine guilt or innocence
Trial by Oath Helping
 used for less serious charges


 at the time, friends would not often lie because
Trial by Combat
 this determined guilt or innocence by
 believed
 many weaker people, although innocent, were killed
 some people hired stronger individuals to fight on their behalf
 this led to our present day adversarial system:
 like Trial by Combat, a stronger person (intellectually stronger, not physically) person is hired (lawyer) to
"battle" in court
Page 2
The Feudal System
 William the Conqueror became the King of England and wanted to make sure his word was law
 Divine right - a concept that monarchs (like King William) and their successors
 King William developed a system of land ownership, known as the feudal system
Problems:
Result:
Common Law
 King Henry II wanted consistency and fairness in law and created a system of travelling courts
 assizes -

circuit judges -
 circuit judges used their common sense, personal principles of justice, and local customs and traditions to
decide what was fair/unfair
 over time, judges noticed similarities in legal issues and agreed that these should be decided in the same
way
 this lead to written records of cases and their decisions
 case law -
Page 3

common law -

stare decisis -

rule of precedent -
Legal Reforms
 a jury system of 12 men was used in land disputes, but
 travelling judges evolved into a complex system of courts, which dealt with all issues - both civil and
criminal
 remember the concept of divine right  people began to realize that, with the current court system, the King was no longer "making the law";
therefore he was not above the law
 King John (Henry's son) was pressured into signing the

Magna Carta -

habeas corpus -
Aboriginal Law
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North American Aboriginals had rules that were passed down orally from generation to generation
in 1820, the Six Nations (aka the Iroquois Confederacy) was made up of the Mohawk, Onondaga,
Seneca, Oneida, Cayuga, and Tuscarora Aboriginal nations
their influence stretched from Quebec to Illinois
the constitution of the Iroquois Confederacy became the Great Binding
Law, or Gayanashagowa
it outlined the rights, duties, and responsibilities of the people
laws covered adoption, emigration, treason, and secession
Independent Study
Read pages 28 – 35 and answer questions #1 - 5