Law 12

Criminal Law

Ms. Ripley

The Nature of Crime and Criminal Law in Canada (guide, p.7 ! Crime is considered to be any action that threatens the peace and security of society as a whole. A crime may be committed against an individual, but is still considered to be a wrong against the well being of the entire society, which is represented by the state. Legislators in each jurisdiction determine what actions are offensive to the society and the state, and therefore, criminal offences. In turn, these same legislators are responsible for identifying and implementing societys reaction to crime, through sanctions and punishments set out in the statutes of written law. In order for an action or omission to be considered a crime, certain conditions must exist

the action must cause harm to other people, or to society the harm must be serious, both in nature and degree the harm must be best dealt with through the mechanism of criminal law. using the law to deal with the action must not violate the basic values of society

The Nature of Criminal Law !All About the Law, "ibson, p.#$%& 'arliament decides what is a crime and regularly passes laws to change the change the Criminal Code. At any given time, the Criminal Code reflects the values of society by declaring certain actions to be criminal. (eform of the Criminal Code usually reflects a shift in these values and may occur because of public pressure. )or example, in Canada, there has been some public pressure to decriminali*e the use of marijuana, which means that smo+ing marijuana would no longer be a crime. ,owever, not everyone agrees with this proposed change, and the issue is the subject of heated debate. Criminal "#tions -ecause different people have different values and beliefs, they may disagree on which actions are criminal. Law ma+ers, lobbyists, and members of the general public often debate such topics as euthanasia !mercy +illing&, gun control, abortion, and pornography. In a healthy, democratic society, such debates can help to determine what changes are needed in the law. In general, 'arliament will reexamine laws if the public is overwhelmingly in favour of reform, if an issue does not .go away,. or if an interest group that opposes an existing law has gained enough support to force a parliamentary debate. /ost people believe that criminal law should protect people and property. 0ome want harsh penalties to discourage potential offenders or to punish people for wrongdoing. 1thers want the criminal justice system to rehabilitate, or help, those who have already harmed society. 0ome thin+ that criminal law should have all these functions. "gents of Change ("ll "$out the Law, %i$son, p.1 &! 0vend (obinson is the 23' representative of -ritish Columbia4s -urnaby53ouglas constituency. )irst elected to the ,ouse of Commons in #676 at 89, (obinson began his

Law 12

Criminal Law

Ms. Ripley

political career as the youngest member of the 23' caucus. ,e has been reelected six times. (obinson is no stranger to controversy. ,e has engaged in civil disobedience and has ta+en legal ris+s to advance the causes he believes in. ,e supported 0ue (odrigue*, a -ritish Columbia woman suffering from Lou "ehrig4s disease, in her attempt to convince the 0upreme Court of Canada to legali*e doctor5assisted suicide. :hough (odrigue*4s efforts to change the Criminal Code failed, she did die in #66% with the help of an unidentified physician. (obinson was at her bedside and witnessed her death. )ollowing her death, a special 0enate Committee on ;uthanasia and Assisted 0uicide was appointed on )ebruary 8<, #66%. It undertoo+ .to examine and report on the legal, social and ethical issues relating to euthanasia and assisted suicide.. In #66=, the 0enate committee voted % to < against legali*ation. It was split on whether the current laws should be rewritten. In 2ovember #667, (obinson tried to change the law with a private bill. ,is move, li+e most bills not sponsored by government, failed. (ecent polls indicate there is growing support among Canadians for people being able to ta+e control of their own dying process, but there is no clear consensus about what +ind of rules are needed. 3espite differences of opinion within its membership, the Canadian /edical Association continues to state that members should not participate in euthanasia and assisted suicide. 'uestions #. ;xplain the main purpose of criminal law. 8. 3escribe three functions of criminal law and provide brief examples to support your understanding. <. >hen does 'arliament decide to ma+e certain actions criminal? %. >hy Is It Important to have a free and open debate about possible changes in the law? =. According to the Law Commission of Canada, what conditions must exist for an action to be considered a crime? ;xpress your opinion on whether you thin+ each condition set out by the law Commission is valid. 'rovide examples to support your opinion. 9. Identify information from this profile, Agents of Change that suggests Canadian attitudes about euthanasia and assisted suicide are changing. 7. >hat is the position of the Canadian /edical Association? @. 0hould courts decide on issues of euthanasia or assisted suicide or should legislators decide? ;xplain