OHS 208 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Reasonable Person, Actus Reus, Criminal Negligence

• School: Ryerson University
• Department: Occupational Health
• Course: OHS 208
• Professor: Dwight Barratt

Document Summary

The judiciary branch to include the courts, judges and other officers of the court. The judiciary branch also provides guidance to the general public, ensuring there are no ambiguities in what the provision of a statute or legislation means. The court will seek to understand and uphold the intention of the legislature in deference to the doctrine of (cid:862)sepa(cid:396)atio(cid:374) of po(cid:449)e(cid:396)s(cid:863). Under this doctrine, a current court is bound by the decisions of earlier courts. The common law has been described as a building which is built by one block being nicely set on another. The primary way this happens is through the doctrine of precedent. It gives consistency and certainty to the law such that an aggrieved citizen in litigation is somewhat certain that the court decision in her case will be similar to previous cases. Two types of precedents: binding precedent -this is where a current court must follow and apply a previous decision of another court.