PAP 2320 Lecture Notes - Lecture 10: Common Law, English Law, Precedent

• School: University of Ottawa
• Department: Public Administration
• Course: PAP 2320
• Professor: Joshua Zaato

Document Summary

Lecture 10 (feb 7th): the constitution and law. The history of the canadian legal system can be traced to 2 main sources: legal systems developed by the aboriginal communities, legal traditions imported by european settlers. To be effective, laws must be: knowable: citizens must be aware of the law, and behaviour they are expected to uphold. Hence, ignore the law is no excuse: predictable: the law can"t be arbitrary and capricious in its application. One of the main pillars or sources of law in canada is the common law tradition, also known as the english common law. It is a system of law whereby judges: dispense justice based on past customs, on the precedents built up over the years in prior legal findings. Also known as a case law or precedent, it is law developed by judges through decision of courts and similar tribunals.