If you were the minister of justice for a day?
Previously you have been asked to:
1) access and skim the criminal code of Canada
2) select ONE, SPECIFIC part of a section, not the entire section
3) apply the following questions
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If you were the minister of justice for a day, what laws would you enact, discard or amend?
What would be the implications for society?
Would your initiatives pass the moral tests?
4) you need to skim the moral tests as follows
5) word process your responses and hand them in by the end of the second period. Be aware this
is a marked assignment.
**should you need further assistance with Dialectics/Moral Testing, please access my web page at
Law 30 main page, click on Dialectic Guides under Criminal Law
Student Handout 2.1 - The Concept of Moral Testing
The Need to Make Moral Choices
In our daily lives, we must make choices that involve questions of honesty, the treatment of other people,
acting responsibly, and personal ethics. These are moral choices because they are about right and
wrong. Moral choices are choices between what might be good for us personally and what would be
good for others. We may want to do one thing, but we have doubts about whether we are doing the right
thing. When a situation is morally doubtful, we have to have some basis for deciding what to do. Should
an individualistic, personal point of view be taken? Should one always be “nice” and make sure that
everyone else is satisfied? When should individuals look out for themselves and when should they be
concerned about others?
Moral Reasoning as the Basis for Making Moral Choices
The concept of moral testing provides guidance for making moral choices. It is based on a number of
principles or criteria:
 I may not do something unless it is right for everyone to do that thing.
 I must be aware that my actions may be hurtful to others in some way.
 I must be willing and able before taking action to:
 seek out all the information about the effect of my proposed actions on others
 imagine the consequences of my action(s) on others
 imagine myself in the place of another person in order to better understand the effect of my
actions on that person
 seek advice from others
 test the moral reasoning I am using and reject it if it is faulty
 demand from others that they test their moral reasoning and reject it if it is faulty.
 After applying the above criteria I must be resolved to carry out that which is morally correct and
reject that which is morally wrong.
The Process of Moral Testing
All of the above principles can be summarized into four tests that can be used to determine whether a
morally doubtful choice or an action should be taken.
In using the four tests there are three things that must be done before any of the tests are applied. The
moral decision-maker must:
 clearly understand the critical parts of the situation where a moral choice is being made
 make a preliminary moral choice
 clearly lay out the reasons for the moral choice.
When this has been done, then the moral tests may be applied, in any order.
If you were the minister of justice for a day?
The New Cases Test - This test holds that:
 you should be able to apply the same moral conclusion to other similar situations
 if you find in another case it is not morally acceptable to make that moral conclusion,
then it is not acceptable to make the claim in the first situation
 if you find in another case it is morally acceptable, then your moral conclusion has
passed this test and you can look at other moral tests for further conclusion.
The Role Exchange Test - This tests hold that:
 before carrying out your moral conclusion, you should imagine how another person who
might be affected by your choice would react to your actions
 you must also imagine how you would react if some other person treated you the way
you are thinking of treating them (remembering that another person might not accept
everything you accept)
 the issue is not whether you “like” the treatment but whether the treatment is right for
everyone
 there may be circumstances where another individual may not like the treatment but it is
clearly good for them, then the choice may be made for the other person (a child not
wanting to take the bad tasting medicine they need)
 the critical issue is to clearly understand the consequences of the moral conclusion for
others and that the consequences are morally acceptable for everyone
 if they are not, then the moral conclusion has failed the role exchange test
 if they are, then you are ready to move to the next test
The Universal Consequences Test - This test holds that:
 you must imagine what the consequences would be if everyone carried out the actions
involved in your moral choice
 a moral choice cannot be acceptable if the consequences of acting upon it are
unacceptable
 if it is wrong for everyone to act on a moral choice, then it is wrong for anyone to act on
that choice
 if it is right for everyone to act on a moral choice, then it has passed this test and may be
morally acceptable.
The Process of Evaluation
When you have finished the moral testing, you then have to decide what you have learned.
There are some things to consider when evaluating the results of moral testing.
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No test takes precedence over another test so if a moral choice fails any of the four
tests, then the moral choice needs to be reconsidered.
In selecting which of the four tests to apply, it must be remembered that:
the most difficult test for any given situation should be applied
not all cases apply to every situation
the New Cases and Role Exchange tests fit well for situations where an action will have
negative consequences for one or more persons
the Universal Consequences test suits situations where the effect of many people
performing the action will have negative consequences for others
Tests should continue to be applied until you are satisfied that the toughest test has
been applied.