CRIM 1161: The Canadian Legal System
Students focus on the history, development, and present-day operation of the Canadia legal system. Students discuss how laws are developed and evolve, the Canadian course system, and the exercise of judicial power. Students are introduced to substantive areas of law, including constitutional, tort, family, and criminal law.
Learning outcomes
- Define the fundamental concepts of law, including the perspectives of law, legal reasoning, common law, and statute law.
- Describe the fundamentals of the Canadian legal system and legal institutions, including historical sources of Canadian law, and the divisions and branches of law in Canada.
- Describe the development of the Canadian Constitution, and identify provisions of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
- Discuss the structure of the court system in Canada, including the adversarial system, and alternative disupte resolutions models.
- Describe legal system actors and their roles, including education of lawyers and appointment of judges.
- Describe the different types of law and their main elements, including tort law, contract law, family law, criminal law, and administrative law.
- Identify legal sources and conduct legal research.
Course topics
- Unit 1: The Role of Law in Society and Theoretical Perspectives on the Law
- Unit 2: Historical Sources of Law
- Unit 3: Modern Sources of Canadian Law and Introduction to Legal Research
- Unit 4: Classifications 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, the Practice of Law, and the Role of Judges
- Unit 10: Tort Law and Contract Law
- Unit 11: Family Law
- Unit 12: Administrative Law
- Unit 13: Criminal Law
Required text and materials
Students require the following e-textbook, which can be purchased directly from the TRU bookstore site at: https://thebookstore.tru.ca/site_digital.asp
- Boyd, N., Love, H., & O’Doherty, T. (2024). Canadian Law: An Introduction (8th ed.). Emond Publishing.
Type: E-Textbook. ISBN: 978-1-77462-612-2
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: The Canadian Legal System—Legal Research Citations | 8% |
| Assignment 2: Statutory Interpretation and 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.
