LAWS 1000 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Ratio Decidendi, Precedent, Superior Court
Document Summary
Courts are key dispute-resolving institutions, entrusted with the responsibility of presiding over contentious cases (some cases, also issuing advisory cases) Contentious cases: one of these party"s rights trumps the others. State initiative: state going after one private party for injuring another private party, taking some sort of action to preserve the legal order that sustained the social system. Public defendant disputes: stems from individual, against the state. Courts wait for these to come to them. Provincial/territorial courts: criminal offenses, family law, things that relate to the province/territory. Hears appeals of decisions rendered by provincial/territorial courts. Supreme court of canada: the court of final instance. Needs to have worked its way all through the previous levels of courts, issue must be deemed by court to have general systematic implications. Legislature makes laws, laws that are then interpreted and applied by courts.
