Chapter 2: Common Law, Civil Law, and Indigenous Legal Systems

Question 1

Aboriginal Law

Answer 1

sub-area of Canadian public law involving rights, land claims, and other legal issues concerning Indigenous peoples in Canada

Question 2

Adversarial System

Answer 2

a system, used in common law courts, whereby the primary responsibility for the presentation of cases lies with the opposing litigants and their counsel, not with the judge presiding over the case

Question 3

Bijural

Answer 3

a term describing the operation of two legal systems in one jurisdiction, such as the common law and civil law systems in Canada; all of Canada is common law except Quebec

Question 4

Bill of Rights (1689)

Answer 4

English statute that formally ended the power of the Crown to legislate without the consent of Parliament

Question 5

Binding

Answer 5

a term used to describe a higher court decision that a lower court in the same jurisdiction must follow according to the principle of stare decisis

Question 6

Chancery

Answer 6

department of state established by the English monarch to assist with legal matters and to issue writs

Question 7

Civil Code

Answer 7

authoritative legislative encoding of a country’s private law

Question 8

Civil Code of Quebec

Answer 8

Quebec’s current civil code, which came into effect on January 1, 1994, and which replaced the Civil Code of Lower Canada that had been in force since 1866

Question 9

Civil Law

Answer 9

system of law based on codified rules; may also refer to private law

Question 10

Common Law

Answer 10

system of law, based on the English legal tradition, that relies on precedent rather than on codified rules; may also refer to rules as distinguished from equitable principles, or case law as opposed to legislation

Question 11

Corpus Juris Civilis

Answer 11

comprehensive codification of Roman civil law, compiled by the emperor Justinian (483-565 CE)

Question 12

Court of Chancery

Answer 12

English court, existing separate from common law courts, established to provide equity

Question 13

Court of King’s (or Queen’s) Bench

Answer 13

English court that decided criminal matters

Question 14

Distinguishable

Answer 14

the term is given to a precedent from a higher court that a lower court decides not to follow, usually on the grounds that the facts of the case differ

Question 15

Equity

Answer 15

discretionary legal decisions offered by judges in the Court of Chancery, based on fairness and providing relief from the rigid procedures that had evolved under common law courts

Question 16

Feudalism

Answer 16

socio-political system in medieval Europe based on relationships of obligation and allegiance among king, nobles, and subjects, with land given to subordinates in return for loyalty and military support

Question 17

Historic Treaties

Answer 17

treaties between Indigenous peoples and the government of Canada made between 1701 and 1923, under the terms of which Indigenous people surrendered large tracts of land in exchange for reserve lands and other benefits

Question 18

Indigenous Law

Answer 18

law of Indigenous peoples within states, as distinct from states’ laws in relation to them

Question 19

Inns of Court

Answer 19

professional associations for lawyers in England and Wales, with supervisory and disciplinary functions over their members and authority to call law students to the bar; the four Inns of Court today are Inner Temple, Middle Temple, Lincoln’s Inn, and Gray’s Inn

Question 20

Inquisitorial System

Answer 20

feature of civil law proceedings whereby trial judges actively assist lawyers in presenting their cases and are free to call and question witnesses and to order investigations into other evidentiary matters; contrasts with the adversarial system used in common law courts

Question 21

King’s Peace

Answer 21

the ideal peace and well-being of a nation that the English monarch was obliged to uphold and protect

Question 22

Modern Treaties

Answer 22

treaties between Indigenous peoples and the government of Canada made after 1973 when the Aboriginal title was recognized

Question 23

Persuasive

Answer 23

describes a precedent that a court is persuaded to give some weight to but is not bound to follow because the precedent is from another jurisdiction or is otherwise not binding

Question 24

Precedent

Answer 24

a court decision that, under the doctrine of stare decisis, is binding on lower courts in the same jurisdiction

Question 25

Ratio or Ratio Decidendi

Answer 25

Latin phrase (“the reason for the decision”) referring to the governing rule in a case or the way it was applied to the facts

Question 26

Stare Decisis

Answer 26

Latin phrase (“to stand by decided matters”) referring to the common law principle that a precedent is binding on lower courts in the same jurisdiction

Question 27

Writ

Answer 27

a court document obtained by a plaintiff, by which the defendant was informed that a particular type of action had been started against him