Philosophers
• Aquinas
– Believed in law leading men to virtue
– Believed there needs to be an authoritative body
• Aristotle
– Justice should aspire to equality
– Believed in an egalitarian society where justice could be exercised in
distribution of wealth (distributive justice)
• Plato
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Natural Law (law with moral authority)
Believed an ideal society run by a philosopher king
Initially believed justice could be levied without law
Lost faith in idea of philosopher king (unrealistic)
• Cicero
• Bentham
Sources Of Law
• Primary
– Customs and conventions
– Religion
– Social and Political Influences
• Secondary
– Constitutions
– Statute Law
– Judicial decisions (case law)
Terms/Concepts
• Justinian Code- the basis of the legal systems in
most European countries
– Corpus Juris Civilis
– Ensured laws would be coded (recorded)
– Made slavery against the law
• Code Of Hammurabi- established the concept of
an eye for an eye
• Ratio Decidendi
– A Latin term meaning reason for the decision referring
to that part of the judges decision that provides the
legal reasoning for the judgment
Terms/Concepts
• Case Law
– extracting legal principles from past judgments
• Tort Law
– Branch of civil law
– Deals with personal damages
– Negligence issues
Rights and Freedoms
• Charter of Rights and Freedoms
– Equality rights means that every individual is free
and equal before the law
– Section 1 Reasonable Limits Clause
– Section 24 Exclusion of Evidence
Case Study
• R. v. Keegstra
– Case dealt with freedom of expression in regards
to hate laws.
Criminal Law
• Defenses
– Mental Disorder
• Not responsible because they cannot form mens rea
– Automatism
• A defense for unconscious or involuntary behaviour
– Alibi
• is a defense that places the accused at the relevant
time in a different place than the scene of the crime.
Cases
• R v. Manninen
– Result was the exclusion of illegally gathered
statements
• R. v Hufsky
– Alberta Random Spot police checks
– Charged with failing to provide breath analyzer
sample
– Dealt with detention to protect right of society
Criminal Law Concepts
• Resolution discussion = plea bargaining
– Negotiation between crown and defense for a lighter
sentence in exchange for a guilty plea
• Leading question- questions that suggest the
answer
• Hearsay- testimony that comes from a third party
and is not within the knowledge or personal
experience of a person
• Direct Examination
– Questioning your own witness
Criminal Law Concepts
•
•
•
•
•
•
Indictable
Summary
Hybrid
Mens Rea/ Actus Reus
Non Culpable
Manslaugher
– The causing of death by an unlawful act where there was no intention
to cause death is called
• Infanticide
– Charge which can be used when a mother kills her infant.
• Non culpable homicide
– Death by which the accused cannot be held legally responsible
• Double Jeopardy
– Prevents a person from being tried for a crime twice
• Denunciation
– Objective of sentencing
– Considers society’s revulsion for a particular crime
of the character of actions of a particular accused
• Motive
– Reason why a person acts
– Necessary to convict in a murder case
Criminal Law Concepts
• Cross Examination
– Questioning of opposing side’s witness
International Law
• Hugo Grotius
– known as the father of international law
• Geneva Conventions
– agreements stipulates that prisoners of war must
be treated in a humane manner
• Extradition treaties
– Double criminality rule
– Principle of reciprocity
– Principle of specialty
LABOUR LAW CONCEPTS
•
•
Compensation package = employees contract
Trade Unions Act
– made it fully legal to organize and form unions
•
Act for the Prevention of Cruelty to and Better Protection of Children
– Major impact was creating Canada’s first Childrens’ Aid Society
•
Master And Servant Act
– A servant must remain with his or her master regardless of the working conditions
•
Industrial Disputes Investigation
– responded to increasing strikes by passing an act that allowed them to form a conciliation
board
•
Wartime Labour Relations Regulations
– Made it fully legal for workers to organize and join a union
•
Closed shop
– Means that new employees have to already be members of a union
•
Individual bargaining
– individual negotiation with the employer to set out the terms of the contract
– Terms must be valid under federal and provincial legislation and contract law
LABOUR LAW CONCEPTS
• Collective Bargaining
– bargaining through a representative or association
• Employment Standards Act
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Minimum wage and OT
Pregnancy and emergency leave
Holidays and vacations
Ontario Act amended to allow employers to have
employees work a 60-hour workweek without
receiving overtime.
• Labour Day created to celebrate worker’s rights
LABOUR LAW CONCEPTS
• Certification
– Union is certified when the majority of workers
approve its status
• Decertification
– a majority of members vote to remove the union.
Environmental Law
• Kyoto Accord
– International agreement dealing with climate
change
– Primary reason for refusal to sign is impact on
economic growth
– Aim to cut worldwide emissions by 5%
– Canada agreed to cut 6%
– Key problem was the United States did not sign
ESSAY
• Write an essay on one of the major legal issues studied throughout
the course related to Rights and Freedoms. Your paper should
attempt to address the issue of whether the rights related to this
particular issue are acceptable or should change in the future. You
may choose from one of the following topic areas:
•
•
•
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Prostitution Law
Marijuana Law
Right To Strike
Abortion
• Your paper should attempt to address the specific Charter right, and
whether the rights and freedoms should or should not protect this
particular right. Your essay paper should provide background/
historical information regarding the issue, examine the Charter
right, include relevant Supreme Court decisions, and discuss future
direction of law in regards to this right(s).