ACS 2003
Criminal Law – CG#1
Content (Teacher Information)
Concepts and Knowledge Objectives
Crime as a Social Construct
Non-Criminality
Decisions about which activities will be offences
against the law, and how society will collectively
respond, are made through legislative processes in
Canada, and are reflections of a worldview of society.
Laws are constantly debated, defended, and
redefined as political and social changes occur.
Something that was not against the law at one time
may, at another time, be unlawful, or vice versa. The
sale of liquor was, during the period of prohibition,
illegal, whereas it is now legal, regulated and
controlled through law.
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Know that the concept of non-criminality states that
nothing is a crime unless the law specifically so provides.
This means that an accused must be charged under a
specific statute and the burden is upon the prosecution to
present facts to prove the offence charged.
Society
Know that society is a system in which individuals and
social organizations performing a variety of roles
interrelate with each other according to a set of mutual
expectations and in ways controlled by the social and
natural environments.
The Nature of Crime and Criminal Law in Canada
Change
Crime is considered to be any action that
threatens the peace and security of society as a
whole. A crime may be committed against an
individual, but is still considered to be a wrong
against the well being of the entire society, which
is represented by the state. Legislators in each
jurisdiction determine what actions are offensive
to the society and the state, and therefore,
criminal offences. In turn, these same legislators
are responsible for identifying and implementing
society’s reaction to crime, through sanctions and
punishments set out in the statutes of written law.
In order for an action or omission to be considered a
crime, certain conditions must exist:
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the action must cause harm to other people, or
to society
the harm must be serious, both in nature and
degree
the harm must be best dealt with through the
mechanism of criminal law.
The Criminal Code
The best known of the offence creating statutes
enacted by governments is the Criminal Code. The
Criminal Code is a set of statutes enacted by the
federal government, and applied uniformly throughout
the entire nation. The Criminal Code was first adopted
in 1892, and is regularly revised to reflect changes in
social, political and economic environments. Some
revisions are administrative, whereby regulations
attached to the statutes are updated or modernized.
Other changes have been substantive. Substantive
changes include creating, changing and discarding
offences by changing legislation.
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Know that as the values, norms and mores of society
change, laws are changed to reflect the current
worldview of dominant groups in society.
Jurisdiction
Know that under sections 91 and 92 of the Constitution
Act, 1867, the federal government has sole power and
responsibility to create criminal law, while the provinces
have the power and the responsibility for the
administration and enforcement of criminal law.
Crime
Know that crime is an act or omission, prohibited by
law, which is considered a wrong against society
and society’s values and morals.
Harm
Know that some actions are deemed criminally offensive
because they cause harm to the individual, in a physical
or social-emotional manner. Other actions are deemed
criminally offensive because they may harm or damage
public institutions or practices.
Morality
Know that some actions are deemed criminally offensive
because they offend the morality of the predominant
worldview in society.
Criteria
Know that criteria are rules or standards that are
accepted and used to provide a consistent basis for
making judgments.
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ACS 2003
Skills/Abilities Objectives
Criminal Law – CG#1
2
Values Objectives
Develop an hypothesis from data.
Understand that morality provides guidance for
making moral choices. It is based on a number of
Develop and apply criteria as a basis for making principles or criteria:
value judgments.
 an action may not be taken unless it is right
for everyone to take that action
Practice recording ideas in individual setting.
 actions which may be hurtful to others in
some way must not be carried out
Share information verbally.
 before any action is taken:
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all information about the consequences of the
Summarize oral data in written format.
proposed action(s) on others must be sought
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the effect of an action on another person must
be considered
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advice from others should be considered
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the moral reasoning should be tested and
rejected if it is faulty
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others involved in the action should test their
moral reasoning and reject it if it is faulty.
Appreciate that criminal offences are actions
that are against the law because society has
deemed they should be, based on the moral
reasoning at the time the legislation was
enacted.
Instructional Notes
1.
Examine issues associated with morality and criminality. Identify instances in which criminal laws reflect the moral
code of Canadians. See Student Handout 2.1 - The Concept of Moral Testing.
2.
Speculate on new criminal laws that may be needed in the 21 st century. Have students write a scenario describing the
need for a new law, or summarizing a debate that might occur with regard to a proposed new law.
3.
Using a think-pair-share strategy, have students select a particular criminal law, and examine the purpose for the law.
Consider questions such as:
Why is the particular action deemed criminally offensive?
What is the basis in morality for the law?
What is the social policy objective the law attempts to achieve?
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4.
Have students consider issues within their social network. Are there situations or actions that are not criminally
offensive, but that students think should be? Are there current criminal laws they disagree with? What are their
reasons?
Issues in the Law
1.
Are any of our current criminal laws out of date, thus not reflecting the worldview of the majority of Canadians?
2.
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?
Law 30
Herron
Criminal Law – CG#1
ACS 2003
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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:
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seek out all the information about the effect of my proposed actions on others
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imagine the consequences of my action(s) on others
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imagine myself in the place of another person in order to better understand the effect of my actions
on that person
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seek advice from others
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test the moral reasoning I am using and reject it if it is faulty
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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.
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.
Law 30
Herron
ACS 2003
Criminal Law – CG#1
4
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
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if they are not, then the moral conclusion has failed the role exchange test
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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.
(Source: Canadian Studies 30. Saskatchewan Education.)
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