Canada's Court System Flashcards
CANADA’S COURT SYSTEM
- Dispute resolution
- Dispensing justice
- Enforcing contracts
- Answering legal questions
- Enforcing the constitution
- Creating case law
- Setting directions in society toward social control
ADMINISTRATIVE BOARDS & TRIBUNALS
Regulation & dispute resolution outside of the court process
- Adjudication: rule-making and standard setting roles
- Deals with both public and private law
- Established by provincial and federal legislation; regulated by statute
LABOUR RELATIONS BOARD
resolves disputes between employers and employees, overseeing collective bargaining processes
HUMAN RIGHTS TRIBUNAL
Deals with cases of discrimination and violations of human rights, enforcing relevant legislation
NATIONALE PAROLE BOARD
responsible for granting or denying parole to federal offenders, assessing their rehabilitation
WORKER’S COMPENSATION REVIEW BOARD
reviews disputes related to workers’ compensation claims and entitlements
MILITARY COURTS
- Address violations of the Code of Service Discipline
- Composed of various military court types and the Court Martial Appeal Court
- Have rights, powers, and privileges equivalent to superior courts
- Appointed by the Minister of National Defense
R. v. Genereux, 1992
Military Authority vs Individual Rights
PROVINCIAL & TERRITORIAL COURTS
- The primary entry into Canada’s court system
- With the exception of civil law in Quebec, Canadian provinces and territories practice common law
- Judges are appointed by provincial governments
DIVISONS OF PROVINCIAL & TERRITORIAL COURTS
- Youth Division
- Family Division
- Civil Claims Division
- Criminal Division
SUPERIOR COURTS OF THE PROVINCES
- the highest level of courts in the provinces and territories
- judges appointed by federal government
DIVISONS OF SUPERIOR COURTS OF THE PROVINCES:
Trial Division: handles indictable offenses, larger claims, criminal appeals from lower courts
Appeal Division: deals with appeals from the Trial Division
2 DIVISIONS OF FEDERAL COURT OF CANADA
Trial division: responds to civil disputes involving federal actions, federal-provincial disputes, intellectual property, citizenship/immigration, refugee law, and maritime law
Appeal Division: hears appeals from the trial division and the federal administrative boards and tribunals
TAX COURT OF CANADA
hears appeals from tax assessments by individuals and companies
McLean v. Canada (2018)
sought compensation from Canada for harms suffered by students who attended an residential schools
Merlo v. Canada (2017)
lawsuit against the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) for gender-based discrimination and harassment in the workplace.
THE SUPREME COURT OF CANADA
Canada’s final court of appeal
Hears appeals in relation to criminal cases from provincial court of appeals and the Federal Court of Appeal
Offer legal opinions to government
Hears both common and civil law cases
COMPOSITION OF THE SUPREME COURT OF CANADA
Consists of 8 justices and 1 chief justice:
○ 3 must be from Quebec
○ 3 come from Ontario
○ 2 from Western provinces
○ 1 from Atlantic provinces
○ Appointments made on recommendation by the Prime Minister
R. v. Morgentaler (1998)
Abortion rights, constitutional law
Vriend v. Alberta
Vriend lost his job at King’s College because of his sexuality
sexual orientation was not under the Canadian constitution
Dunmore v. Ontario (2001)
Important precedent for challenging the repeal of protective legislation
farmers are not allowed to form a workers union
unionized argicultural workers
CHARACTERISTICS OF CANADA’S COURT SYSTEM
- An adversarial system
- High level of formality
- Open access
- Jury of peers
- Reasonable timeliness
ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RSOLUTION IN CANADA
- Dispute resolution beyond the traditional, adversarial court system
- Employs negotiation medication, and conciliation
- Typically conducted by non-judicial officer
RESTORATIVE JUSTICE IN CANADA
An approach seeking to repair harm by facilitating communication between those harmed and those responsible
Focus on recognition, inclusion, accountability, dialogue, and voluntariness
R. v. Gladue (1999)
Advises that lower courts consider an Indigenous offender’s background and make sentencing decisions accordingly
