Canadian Law @canadianlaw - Tumblr Blog

"Law is order, and good law is good order"

Aristotle

How Laws Shape, Influence and Benefit Canadian Citizens

Arguably, laws are one of the most influential aspects in the majority of a Canadians day-to-day life. Whether individuals chose to abide by these law is up to them, however consequences will be enforced. Laws in Canada are made to benefit society because they are created to ensure peace and functionality between specific parties. Laws have been a result of imbedded values and beliefs which influence peoples everyday routines and have allowed people to fight for what they want, as long as it is in a peaceful manner. For example legalizing same-sex marriage. Recently laws have been passed allowing this type of marriage to occur, thus broadening the Canadian spectrum of acceptance toward others. Twenty-years ago this law would have been protested like there was no tomorrow. However with the ever-changing society that we live in laws have had to adapt to ensure they support society. If the people are unhappy with the current legal system and laws that are present, within reason they can simply vote a new government into power who would attempt to change it. Furthermore Canada has a strong legal system, the power of society has the ability to a voice in how they would like run a country that they proudly live in.

How Federal Laws Are Passed

"Innocent until proven guilty."

The Rule of Law

Then: The great thing about the Canadian legal system is individuals equality under the law. In England, before Canada had been discovered, kings ruled the land. King John (1199-1216) was an important aspect in the development of English law. Since the King considered himself to be of the utmost importance and above the law, many of the nobles, clergy and freemen forced King John to sign the Magna Carta, otherwise known as the “Great Charter.” This charter ensured that even rulers such as the prime minister today were to be treated just like any other citizen under the law. Habeas Corpus was also guaranteed in the Magna Carta. The Habeas Corpus ensures that any individual who is imprisoned without an explanation has the right to appear before the courts within a reasonable time. VS Now: Canada is governed by the rule of law, meaning that every dispute must be settled peacefully. This is good for Canada because it ensure that individuals will not use violence to settle disputes causing harm physically or mentally or even in extreme cases death of an individual. This ensures peace between not only individuals but also society, ensuring peaceful functionality.

HOW PRECEDENTS ARE USED IN OUR LEGAL SYSTEM

Q & A Session With Canadian Law Expert

Lawstudent77: Dear Canadian Law Expert, why is The Rule Of Precedent good for Canada?

Law Expert: Well, Lawstudent77, I am guessing that you have heard the statement “cruel and unusual punishment.” By upholding precedents in our legal system we are able to ensure that punishments are fair and equal. The precedent allows for no biases to come into play when a judge or jury are determining their verdict in any given case. This is great for Canada because with the use of precedents we are able to stand by the statement of “letting the punishment fit the crime.” If ever an individual feels as if the verdict is unfair, the individual can appeal and the decision may be revised by a different court. Overall precedents are good for Canada because it allows the aptness of the punishment for an individual to be just and fair when compared to other who have committed similar crimes and it allows for predictability so no surprised arise when a verdict is reached.

Common Law

What Is It? Common Law is type of law that was derived from customs and judicial precedents. It began in England and was development to ensure regular punishments for specific crimes rather than statues, and was brought over when they settled in Canada. Why Is It Important? Common law is important because it helps to ensure equal punishments for similar crimes that are committed. It ensures that by following a precedent there will not be any prejudice or unfairness towards any specific individuals while a verdict is being made in a judicial proceeding.

The Canadian Legal System

Overview of Canadian Law: The Canadian Legal System, though strong does not originate from Canada. It was derived and further revised from a version that was brought over when the English immigrated to Canada. In 1867, when the constitution came into play Canada slowly began to take control over its country and began the journey in fabricating the legal system that we know today. This legal system is based on common law and equality. Run off the basis that an individual is innocent until proven guilty and that no form of prejudice involving race, sex, ethnicity or religious beliefs is or should be present. History of Law Law began a long time ago due to agriculture, people stopped following herds and settled down in one spot. They became neighbours and to abstain from fighting, laws were put in place in order to keep the peace, for example no stealing. Since then laws have become more complex, but here is a quick look at how laws came to be... 1. The Code of Hammurabi Hammurabi was a famous king who ruled Babylonia which is now known as Iraq about 3800 years ago. He was the first recorded person to take laws and write them down, the funny thing is that back in those days most people couldn't actually read, so laws were spread by the word of mouth or observation. Hammurabi was important because he invented codification which is the process of preparing a code/law. In Canada today this is something that we use all the time in law. Every law is codified and recorded to ensure they cannot be adapted if they were to be spread simply by the word or mouth. Hammurabi also believed in retribution which was the idea that every crime should have an equal punishment, "an eye for and eye." 2. Moses and Mosaic Law Centuries after Hammurabi died, Moses gave laws to the people of Hebrew. These set of laws were largely influenced by religion. For example the ten commandments. This is important because Canada today is also partly influenced by religious beliefs, such as the ten commandments; for example thou shall not kill. Moses also brought in the idea of restitution, of which we see present in some cases in Canadian society today. 3. Roman Law Roman law is significant because it is what inspired the English and Western European judicial system, which is what our Canadian legal system is based upon. Roman law is also significant because they were the first ones to invent lawyers to help those in need of assistance in legal issues. Lawyers today play a major role in the functionality of the Canadian judicial system to help those in need. The Romans also emphasized equity; meaning that laws should be fair and just, and that all people are equal under the law, regardless of power or wealth.

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