CLASSIFYING LAW

CLASSIFYING THE LAWOur laws get divided or classified in a

number of ways:

SUBSTANTIVE LAW – (The Substance of law) consists of all laws that list the rights and obligations or duties of each person in society

PROCEDURAL LAW – (The Process of law) outlines the steps involved in protecting the rights or enforcing the obligations given under substantive law

EXAMPLE

Let’s say a police officer stops a motorist and charges that person with drinking and

driving…

What would be the substantive and procedural aspects of what the officer must

do?

DIVISIONS OF LAWOur Substantive category of law then gets

divided into two distinct categories:

PUBLIC LAW

PRIVATE LAW

PUBLIC LAWControls the relationship between

government and the people who live in society and represents laws that apply to all individuals

The three types are:CriminalConstitutionalAdministrative

PUBLIC LAWCRIMINAL LAW

Set of rules passed by Parliament defining acts called “crimes” which are offenses against society;

Consists of acts defined in the Criminal Code, and also Controlled Drugs and Substances Act and the Youth Criminal Justice Act

Main purposes of criminal law are to punish offenders, protect society, and prevent crimes

Burden of Proof in a criminial action is beyond a reasonable doubt

PUBLIC LAWCONSTITUTIONAL LAW

The laws that set out the structure of the federal, provincial, and territorial governments and the division of powers among them

For example, since the responsibility for education was given to the provinces under the British North America Act, the federal government could not make a ruling on what courses should be taught in high schools.

Oh, and don’t forget the Constitution Act on April 17, 1982…kinda important

CONSTITUTIONAL LAW

PUBLIC LAWADMINISTRATIVE LAW

Is the area of law that controls the relationship between citizens and government agencies

LLBO (Liquor Control)CRTC (Communications)Workers Compensation (Employment)Various Tribunals (Landlord/Tenants)

PRIVATE LAWOutlines the legal relationship between

private citizens/organizations (Also known as Civil law)

Its purpose is to manage the behaviour of persons and organizations in conflict with each other, and to pay damages to those who have been wronged

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8W5_aGA3Cc&safe=active

PRIVATE LAWIn a civil case, each party is usually represented by a

lawyer

Person who starts an action is the Plaintiff

Person who is being sued is the Defendant

Burden of proof in a civil action is on a balance of probabilities

Defendant will try to show no fault and/or no damages

Private law has SEVERAL divisions….

PRIVATE LAWFAMILY LAW – Support, child custody, division of property, divorce

CONTRACT LAW – Outlines requirements for legally binding agreements. Simply (Buying something from a store) or very complicated (Purchasing a string of malls)

TORT LAW - Negligence cases

PRIVATE LAWPROPERTY LAW - Property is anything that has value and includes personal property (things in general), real property (land and buildings), and intangibles (something you can own but can’t hold eg. Stocks)

LABOUR LAW – Governs the employer/employee relationship and also deals with union/management issues, pay equity (equal pay for equal work), wrongful dismissal, minimum wage, etc.WILLS & ESTATESCORPORATECONSUMER