CRIM 1161: The Canadian Legal System
This course focuses on the history, development and present day operation of the Canadian legal system. The topics that will be examined include: constitutional law; criminal, contract and tort law; human rights; administrative law; the court system; the functions of judges and lawyers; and the basic elements of legal reasoning.
Learning outcomes
- Define the role of law in society
- Describe perspectives of law
- Identify legal sources and conduct legal research
- Describe the historical sources of Canadian law
- Identify the divisions or branches of law in Canada
- Describe interpretation of ambiguous statutes
- Describe the development of the Canadian Constitution
- Identify provisions of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
- Discuss the structure of the court system in Canada
- Describe the adversarial system and alternative dispute resolution models
- Discuss legal reasoning and the application of precedent
- Describe how lawyers are educated and trained and how judges are appointed
- Describe the main elements of tort law, contract law, family law and criminal law
- Define administrative law and the function and review of administrative tribunals
Course topics
- Unit 1: The Role of Law in Society and Legal Perspectives
- Unit 2: Historical Sources of Law
- Unit 3: Modern Sources of Canadian Law and Introduction to Legal Research
- Unit 4: Classifications (Divisions) of Law
- Unit 5: Interpreting Ambiguous Statutes
- Unit 6: The Development of the 1867 Constitution and Amendments
- Unit 7: The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
- Unit 8: The Canadian Court System
- Unit 9: Lawyers and the Practice of Law, Judges and Their Roles
- Unit 10: Tort and Contract Law
- Unit 11: Family Law
- Unit 12: Administrative Law
- Unit 13: Criminal Law
Required text and materials
Students will need to source the following on their own:
- Boyd, N. (2018) Canadian Law: An Introduction, (7th ed.). Nelson Education.
Type: Textbook. ISBN: 978-0-17-672442-9 / 978177412596-0
Assessments
Please be aware that should your course have a final exam, you are responsible for the fee to the online proctoring service, ProctorU, or to the in-person approved Testing Centre. Please contact exams@tru.ca with any questions about this.
To successfully complete this course, students must achieve a passing grade of 50% or higher on the overall course and 50% or higher on the mandatory Final Exam.
| Assignment 1: Canadian Legal System: Legal Research Citations | 8% |
| Assignment 2: Statutory Interpretation & the Canadian Constitution | 10% |
| Assignment 3: The Role of Lawyers and Judges | 10% |
| Assignment 4: Private Law – Tort, Contract, and Family Law | 10% |
| Assignment 5 : Public Law – Administrative and Criminal Law | 12% |
| Mandatory Final Exam | 50% |
| Total | 100% |
Open Learning Faculty Member Information
An Open Learning Faculty Member is available to assist students. Students will receive the necessary contact information at the start of the course.
