Legal Glossary for CLN4U Grade 12 Law

Compiled by Julian Heidt Case The written record of a legal dispute that has proceeded through the courts.

Plaintiff (1) The person in a civil law suit who initially brings the action before the court. (2) a defendant who brings a counterclaim.

Defendant (1) in a civil proceeding, the party being sued. (2) in a criminal proceeding, the accused.

Civil Action Legal steps taken beginning when a plaintiff files a law suit against a defendant and ending when the court rules in favour of either the plaintiff or the defendant.

Crown Attorney The lawyer who, on behalf of the ueen (state) files charges against and prosecutes someone who has allegedly committed a crime.

Defence Attorney The lawyer representing the defendant

Principles of fundamental ustice The freedoms and democratic rights guaranteed in the !anadian !harter of "reedoms # $ights.

Case Law % collection of &udgements by &udges on various cases.

Common Law (1) a system of legal principles based on custom and past legal decisions, also called '&udge( made law) or 'case law)* (2) the law that came to !anada from +ritain* (,) the law that is common to all. %ll provinces in !anada e-cluding .uebec use this model of law.

Napoleonic Code The first modern organi/ed body of law governing "rance, also known as the !ode 0apoleon or !ode !ivil, enacted by 0apol1on 2 in 1345. .uebec civil law is largely based off of the 0apoleonic !ode. %dded unification of laws and regulation of civil matters such as property, wills, contracts and family law.

Criminal Code is federal and is regulated the same upon every province in Canada. Precedent % rule developed in one case and followed in subse uent similar cases

!tare Decisis 6tare 7ecisis is a Latin term meaning 'To stand by what has been decided.) That refers to the principle of following legal rules established in previous court cases (rule of precedence, case law) if the case is same or similar.

Actus "eus 8rongful %ction (%n element of criminal responsibility, the wrongful act or omission that comprises the physical components of a crime.)

#ens "ea 9uilty conscious. (%n element of criminal responsibility, a guilty mind* a guilty or wrongful purpose* a criminal intent. 9uilty knowledge and wilfulness. )

Criminal statutes generally require proof of both Actus Reus and Mens Rea on the part of a defendant in order to establish criminal liability. Circuit $udges :udges of travelling courts

"estitution % sentencing option whereby a &udge orders the offender to compensate the victim for a loss or harm done.

Great %inding Law The 9reat +inding Law is the oral constitution whereby the 2ro uois !onfederacy was bound together. %ll people treated e ually.

Assi&es court e-ercising civil and criminal &urisdiction, attended by itinerant &udges (!ircuit :udges). travelling court. %"ANC'(! )* LA+, Canadian and -nternational Law ).ford Canada

-nternational Law The customs, rules, and agreements, recogni/ed as binding on sovereign (independent) states to ensure orderly conduct within the international community.

Domestic Law The law that is enforceable within defined territory or boundaries of a particular nation or state.

!u/stantive Law The positive law enacted by government that creates, defines, and regulates, the rights and obligations of citi/ens. +ody of laws described in our various statutes, codes, and &udicial decisions. 2f someone is charged with negligence the !rown would have to demonstrate the accused was negligent according to the law of dealing with negligence. Procedural Law The process by which law is enforced, including the collection of evidence, the enforcement of rights, and the formal steps to be taken in any legal action. ;roper steps that must be applied and the rules that must be followed in any legal action. i.e, police officer arresting for drinking and driving. The officer who made the arrest would have to follow proper arrest procedure, administer a +reathaly/er test using proper procedure, and follow all the rules pertaining to the collection of evidence. %t trial, all the proper procedures must be followed, including those for the admission of evidence and the e-amination of witnesses, before a conviction can be registered against an accused. Pu/lic Law The law that regulates the relationship between the state and the individual* constitutional, administrative and criminal law are all branches of public law.

Constitutional Law The law that concerns the principles, rules, regulations, and laws that establish and define the political, governmental, and legal structure of the state. ;rinciples of rules that define the elements of the government of a country. 2.e., our constitution outlines the function of different levels of government and indicates the limitations on the governments< power. =ducation is under regulation of provincial government where as criminal law is federally regulated. (>nder +.0.%. %ct)

Criminal Law The law that regulates conduct that may be harmful to another individual or society as a whole. (i.e., an offence contrary to the !riminal !ode and other federal statutes) $egina (latin for .ueen) ?. The accused. 8hen the head of state is king, the term '$e-) (latin for @ing) is used as opposed to '$egina). !rown must prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt. % person who is found guilty or convicted of the crime can be fined or imprisoned. Administrative Law The law that governs the governmental agencies empowered by the legislature to make decisions on certain matters. %dministrative law affects many aspects of everyday life. "or e-ample, immigration and refugee tribunals (A general term for a court, or the seat of a judge.) determine who can or cannot be admitted to !anada. The 8orkers< !ompensation +oard decides if workers in&ured on the &ob are entitled to compensation. Private Law 0Civil Law1 The law that involves disputes between individual citi/ens andAor private entities such as corporations* see also civil law.

Civil Law (1) The branch of law that governs the relations between individuals, as opposed to criminal law, which governs relations between individuals and the state* (2) % system of law based on codified (arranged and recorded systematically) or statute law. +etween individual citi/ens andAor private entities sch as corporations. >sually the state does not interfere with civil disputes other than to provide a court or other agency to hear the dispute. !ivil Law includes tort, property, contract, estate, corporate, consumer, and family law. Codified Law The collection and systematic arrangement, usually by sub&ect, of the laws of a state or country, or the statutory provisions, rules, and regulations that govern a specific area or sub&ect of law or practice.

!tatute Law %n act of a legislature that declares, proscribes, or commands something* a specific law, e-pressed in writing

2ort Law % branch of civil law dealing with the right to compensation for damages resulting from another party<s unlawful action or negligence. 2f someone is in&ured as the result of another<s unlawful action or negligence. Property Law The branch of law dealing with the rights or interest associated with the ownership of property such as a home, cottage, or car. Laws dealing with property rights were originally found in +ritish case law* however, today most laws dealing with property in !anada can be found in statutes. Contract Law The branch of law that determines whether a promise to e-change or sell goods or services shall be legally binding 8hether you purchase a chocolate bar at your local store, get your hair cut, or buy a new car, you are entering into a contractual agreement. 2f everyone is satisfied with the service or sale, the law is not involved. Bowever, if one party failed to uphold the terms of the agreement, the other may seek a remedy in court. (state Law The law dealing with the degree, nature, and e-tent of an interest in ownership of land property and how that property is to be divided after death* also called '6uccession Law). =state Law is also involved when there is a dispute or if a challenge is made on the terms of a will after the person is dead. =state law also determines property division if a person dies without a will. Corporate Law The law that governs the rules and regulations associated with public and private corporations. 2ncluding the rules and regulations that govern the buying and selling of stocks on the stock market. The takeover of one company by another and ruling on corporate liability all fall under the category of corporate law.

Consumer Law The law that regulates the purchase and safety of products and services =-C if a company misrepresents its product by making false or unfair statements about its goods or services, its owner may be charged under the !onsumer ;rotection %ct. *amily Law The law that governs the rights and obligations of family members toward one another relating to marriage, support, custody of children, separation, and divorce.

$urisdiction The parameters within which power and authority may be e-ercised (e.g., a &udge in small claims court would have no &urisdictional authority to render a decision in a criminal case)

$urisprudence the science of law, sometimes reffered to as the 'philosophy of law)* the study of the structure of the legal system, one of whose functions is to determine how legal rules apply to new or doubtful cases.

Distinguis3 to argue that the rule in one appeals court decision does not apply to a particular case although there is an apparent similarity (i.e. it is DdistinguishedD).

%ylaws The rules and regulations enacted by an association or a corporation to provide a framework for its operation and management. +ylaws may specify the ualifications, rights, and liabilities of membership, and the powers, duties, and grounds for the dissolution of an organi/ation.

Diplomatic -mmunity the privilege of e-emption from certain laws and ta-es granted to diplomats by the state in which they are working. Dher embassy are claiming diplomatic immunity on her behalfD

Code of 'ammura/i The !ode of Bammurabi was a comprehensive set of laws, considered by many scholars to be the oldest laws established* they were handed down four thousand years ago by @ing Bammurabi of +abylon. %lthough the !ode of Bammurabi was essentially humanitarian in its intent and orientation, it contained the Deye for an eyeD theory of punishment, which is a barbarian application of the concept of making the punishment fit the crime. The !ode of Bammurabi recogni/ed such modern concepts as that of corporate personality.

Hammurabi was the ruler who chiefly established the greatness of Babylon the world!s first metropolis. Many relics of Hammurabi!s reign "#$%&'($%') BC*+ have been preserved and today we can study this remar,able -ing....as a wise law(giver in his celebrated code. .. By far the most remar,able of the Hammurabi records is his code of laws the earliest( ,nown e.ample of a ruler proclaiming publicly to his people an entire body of laws arranged in orderly groups so that all men might read and ,now what was required of them. /he code was carved upon a blac, stone monument eight feet high and clearly intended to be reared in public view. /his noted stone was found in the year $&)$ not in Babylon but in a city of the 0ersian mountains to which some later conqueror must have carried it in triumph. 1t begins and ends with addresses to the gods. 2ven a law code was in those days regarded as a sub3ect for prayer though the prayers here are chiefly cursings of whoever shall neglect or destroy the law. /he code then regulates in clear and definite stro,es the organi4ation of society. /he 3udge who blunders in a law case is to be e.pelled from his 3udgeship forever and heavily fined. /he witness who testifies falsely is to be slain. 1ndeed all the heavier crimes are made punishable with death. 2ven if a man builds a house badly and it falls and ,ills the owner the builder is to be slain. 1f the owner!s son was ,illed then the builder!s son is slain. 5e can see where the Hebrews learned their law of 6an eye for an eye.6 /hese grim retaliatory punishments ta,e no note of e.cuses or e.planations but only of the fact((with one stri,ing e.ception. An accused person was allowed to cast himself into 6the river 6 the 2uphrates. Apparently the art of swimming was un,nown7 for if the current bore him to the shore alive he was declared innocent if he drowned he was guilty. 8o we learn that faith in the 3ustice of the ruling gods was already firmly though somewhat childishly established in the minds of men. 9et even with this earliest set of laws as with most things Babylonian we find ourselves dealing with the end of things rather than the beginnings. Hammurabi!s code was not really the earliest. /he preceding sets of laws have disappeared but we have found several traces of them and Hammurabi!s own code clearly implies their e.istence. He is but reorgani4ing a legal system long established. httpCAAwww.fordham.eduAhalsallAancientAhamcode.asp

"etri/ution :ustice based on vengeance and punishment, 'an eye for an eye)

#osaic Law Laws given to Eoses to guide the Bebrew people, and recorded in the +ible. The laws (beginning with the Ten !ommandments) that 9od gave to the 2sraelites through Eoses* it includes many rules of religious observance given in the first five books of the Fld Testament (in :udaism these books are called the Torah)

2en Commandments The ten laws at the beginning of Eosaic law. (Thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, etc.)

#agna Carta % !harter of political and civil rights signed in 121G at $unnymede in =ngland. "irst charter of freedoms and rights. :n June $' $;$' in a field at Runnymede -ing John affi.ed his seal to Magna Carta. Confronted by <) rebellious barons he consented to their demands in order to avert civil war. Just $) wee,s later 0ope 1nnocent 111 nullified the agreement and 2ngland plunged into internal war. Although Magna Carta failed to resolve the conflict between -ing John and his barons it was reissued several times after his death. :n display at the =ational Archives courtesy of >avid M. Rubenstein is one of four surviving originals of the $;&% Magna Carta. /his version was entered into the official 8tatute Rolls of 2ngland. >uring the American Revolution Magna Carta served to inspire and 3ustify action in liberty?s defense. /he colonists believed they were entitled to the same rights as 2nglishmen rights guaranteed in Magna Carta. /hey embedded those rights into the laws of their states and later into the Constitution and Bill of Rights. /he @ifth Amendment to the Constitution "6no person shall . . . be deprived of life liberty or property without due process of law.6+ is a direct descendent of Magna Carta!s guarantee of proceedings according to the 6law of the land.6
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/featured_documents/magna_carta/

'a/eas Corpus % court order designed to prevent unlawful arrest by ensuring that anyone detained is charged before a court within a reasonable amount of time. the first royal recognition of Habeas Corpus is found in the Magna Charta. 1t was guaranteed to our 2nglish ancestors by the Habeas Corpus Act of $A%& and was often referred to as one of the 6dearest birthrights of Briton?s6. 1t came to our shores as a part of our inheritances as Americans from our forefathers as a free peoples and as a guaranteed birthright to all American citi4ens. /he great writ of habeas corpus is the most famous writ in the law7 and having for many centuries been employed to remove illegal restraint upon personal liberty no matter by what power imposed. 1t is often called the great writ of liberty. httpCAAwww.stanford.eduAgroupApsylawseminarABabeasH24!orpus.htm Gree4 Law 7emocracy demos 'the people) and cratos meaning 'power) or 'government). !iti/en involvement %thenian male citi/ens were e-pected to participate in ma&or decisions. 8omen were not allowed to speak on their behalf. (!hildren, aliens, and slaves also suffered) !ontributed to :ury 6ystem and 7emocracy.

"oman Law The legal system of ancient $ome, forming the basis for modern civil law. $oman law, the law of ancient $ome from the time of the founding of the city in IG, bce until the fall of the 8estern =mpire in the Gth century ce. 2t remained in use in the =astern, or +y/antine, =mpire until 15G,. %s a legal system, $oman law has affected the development of law in most of 8estern civili/ation as well as in parts of the =ast. 2t forms the basis for the law codes of most countries of continental =urope(see civil law) and derivative systems elsewhere. httpCAAwww.britannica.comA=+checkedAtopicAG4IIGJA$oman(law The Twelve Tables 1) ;romoted the public prosecution of crimes, 2) =nacted a system of victim compensation ,) ;rotected the lower class (plebs) from abuse by the ruling class (;atricians) ;atriarchal society, &ustice. Een lower class protected, women had no status of 'persons). Laws are recorded, a person could seek legal advice, concept of &ustice (derived from the name of emperor :ustinian, :ustinian<s !ode).

(arly %ritis3 Law 2rial /y )rdeal Fnly used if sentence for guilt was the death penalty (trial by cold water or trial by hot iron) $e uired the accused to undergo torture to determine guilt or innocence. 2rial /y )at3 'elping re uiring friends of the accused to swear on the +ible that he or she is innocent. (used for less serious charges). ;eople feared retribution from 9od if they bore false witness. 2rial /y Com/at determining guilt or innocence by having the parties fight a duel* presumed 9od was on the side of the innocent. (2n !anada, e-tending or accepting a challenge to fight a duel is a criminal offence that carries a penalty of imprisonment for up to two years) Adversarial !ystem :udicial process where evidence is presented by two opposing parties to an impartial &ury or &udge. *eudalism +attle of Bastings (14KK) changed =uropean history. The +attle of Bastings was fought on 15 Fctober 14KK between the 0orman("rench army of 7uke 8illiam 22 of 0ormandy and an =nglish army under the %nglo(6a-on @ing Barold 22, during the 0orman con uest of =ngland. They win and con uer. death of the childless @ing =dward the !onfessor in :anuary 14KK, which set up a succession struggle between several claimants to his throne. Divine "ig3t The concept that monarchs and their successors derived their power to rule from 9od and were accountable only to 9od. @ing<s word is LawL ;laced Eonarchs above the law. >nified the system and assumed overall authority. 7ivided +ritain into parcels of land. 0oblemen controlled everything within his parcel of land. Fver course of time since this period has established !ommon Law.

Talked about sections of the charter in classC Legal "ig3ts 6ection I =veryone has the right to life, liberty, and security of the person and the right not to be deprived thereof e-cept in accordance with the principles of fundamental &ustice. 6ection 3 =veryone has the right to be secure against unreasonable search or sei/ure 6ection J =veryone has the right not to be arbitrarily detained or imprisoned 6ection 14 =veryone has the right on arrest or detention (a) to be informed promptly of the reasons therefor* (b) to retain and instruct counsel without delay and to be informed of that rightC and (c) to have the validity of the detention determined by way of habeus corpus and to be released if the detention is not lawful