DCC2118 - General Public Law Flashcards
Define General Public Law
- A law created by the Constitution that applies to everyone
- defines the organizations and function of the state
- rules and laws regulated by the country that may enforce consequences
What’s the Constitution?
- a bunch of different documents that collectively make up the highest
levels of Canadian law
-1867 constitution sets out the provincial
heads of power. Generally, matters affecting a single province fall
under provincial jurisdiction.
- Examples include taxation in a province, the establishment and
tenure of public officials in a province and the incorporation of
companies in a province
When was The ratification of the British North America Act?
1867 (confederation)
What other colonies were constituted in their turn as Dominions
- Australia (1901),
- New Zealand (1907),
- The Union of South Africa (1910),
- Newfoundland (1919), and
- The Irish Free State (1922)
What is The Statute of Westminster? And when was it created?
-1932
- Legislative equality with Britain.
* A full legal freedom except in areas of
Dominions’ choice.
* The powers of Canada’s Parliament and those
of the other Dominions
What is the British North American Act
- Created the Dominion of Canada,
- Provided for the union of three of the five
British colonies into a federal state, - Determined which powers are given to
Parliament and to the provinces, - The Constitution Act, of 1867 does not make up
all of the Constitution of Canada.
Describe Confederation
- The union of the three colonies: Nova Scotia, New
Brunswick, and the province of Canada. - Later, the province of Canada was divided into Ontario and
Quebec. - Newfoundland and Nunavut were the last ones to join
What is the Patriation of the Constitution
-1982
-Transfer the Constitution Act, of 1867 from the
authority of the British Parliament to
Canada’s federal and provincial legislatures
* A new amending formula, and
* The Charter of Rights and Freedoms
1920s Canada’s governments had been trying and failing to agree on a way to patriate and amend the country’s original constitution
2 important factors
- The failings of a half-century of diplomacy between federal and provincial governments made negotiations between the two very difficult
- An unexpected victory for Pierre Trudeau and the liberal party in Feb 1980
This meant the liberal party led the charge
Whats different about the Consistution act of 1982
- Canada’s full legislative independence from
the United Kingdom - No further British acts of Parliament will apply
to Canada - The power amendment to the constitution
What are Constitutional conventions?
- Are unwritten rules
- Are not enforced by the law courts
- Are binding rules of constitutional behaviour
- Conventions shape the relationship between the
executive and legislative authority - Conventions exist to protect some principles of the
constitution that would be negatively impacted. - Conventions have a complex relationship with
constitutional instruments, as they can interact with
the text of the Constitution in different ways
How do de Recognize a
constitutional Convention
The Supreme Court of Canada, in two related references,
determined those circumstances in which a court can declare
the existence of a conventional rule:
* Test of three criteria:
- there must be precedents,
- the actors must believe that they are bound by the rules, and
- there must be a rationale for the ru
What is an Imperial conference/statue?
-Power to amend Canada’s constitution be excluded from the provisions of the statute and Canada should thus square its autonomy at the same time with its other dominions and find a solution later
-Thus the British were asked to retain the power to amend the Canadian constitution
-Therefore the Canadian parliament was in charge of developing their own solutions on how to amend this constituting
Reasons for Confederation
- The violence of the Civil War took many British North Americans
- Saw a weak central government in the us
- This inspired the strong central government of the north
- Protection of US trade policies
- Fears of American aggression and expansion
- British increasing refusal to pay for the defence of the north
Define the Rule of Law
- It is a system that attempts to protect the rights of citizens from arbitrary and abusive use of government power
- It is a collection of ideas that govern how we all relate to each other
- Constitution Act, 1982: “Whereas Canada is founded upon principles that recognize the supremacy of God and the rule of law
Why does the Rule of Law matter?
-the Rule of Law was a
fundamental principle of the Canadian
Constitution and that the Criminal Code was part of a system of “positive laws” that governs in Canada and cannot be overridden
