The Canadian Legal System
Overview
- The Nature of Law
- Why we have laws, legal philosophy
- Introduction to the Legal System
- Main divisions of law, how to read and cite cases and statutes, the court structures
- Sources of Law
- Historical sources, legal sources, constitutional sources, the legislative process
- British Legal Tradition
- The Canadian reception and acceptance of this tradition, the basis of our constitutional system, the rule of law, parliamentary sovereignty, common law and equity.
- The Constitution
- BNA Act, Statue of Westminster, Canada Act 1982 (U.K.), Constitution Act, 1982, Quebec Legal System.
- Constitutional change, Meech Lake Accord, Charlottetown Accord, Quebec Referendum, First Nations Treaties
- Canadian Legal Institutions
- The courts, the role of judges and lawyers
- The Basic Elements of Legal Reasoning
- Precedent and Stare Decisis
- The process of distinguishing
- Statutory interpretation
- Introduction to Administrative Law
- Tribunals, procedural fairness, federal and provincial rule-making agencies
- The Nature of Tort Law
- Definition of torts, distinction between tort and crime, categories of torts, the principle of vicarious liability, remedies for tort actions.
- The Law of Contract
- Elements of a contract, remedies for breach of contract
- Law Reform
- alternative methods of dispute resolution, court reforms
The course will employ a variety of instructional methods to accomplish its objectives, including some of the following: lectures, audio-visual material, group work, library research, guest lectures, seminars and presentations.
Evaluation will be based on course objectives and carried out in accordance with Douglas College policy. The instructor will provide a written course outline with specific evaluation criteria at the beginning of the semester. Evaluation will include some of the following:
- Quizzes
- Mixed format exams (e.g. multiple choice, essay)
- Term papers
- Research project
- Class participation
- Oral presentations
An example of an evaluation scheme would be:
Legal Research Assignment | 10% |
Midterm exam | 30% |
Term Paper | 30% |
Final exam | 30% |
Total | 100% |
At the conclusion of the course the successful student will be able to:
- Define the major philosophies of law.
- Identify how the legal system derives its authority and legitimacy.
- Describe the historical development of Canadian law.
- Discuss the Canadian Constitution, Canadian legal institutions and the role of judges and lawyers.
- Describe how law is made and changed.
- Describe administrative law, tort law, and contract law.
- Conduct legal research.
- Discuss the basic elements of legal reasoning.
Textbooks and Materials to be Purchased by Students:
Texts will be updated periodically. Typical examples are:
Boyd, Neil. Canadian Law, An Introduction, (latest edition). Toronto: Nelson Education
Gall, G. The Canadian Legal System, (latest edition). Toronto: Carswell
Horner, J. Canadian Law and the Canadian Legal System (latest edition). Toronto: Pearson
Requisites
Prerequisites
No prerequisite courses.
Corequisites
No corequisite courses.
Equivalencies
No equivalent courses.
Course Guidelines
Course Guidelines for previous years are viewable by selecting the version desired. If you took this course and do not see a listing for the starting semester / year of the course, consider the previous version as the applicable version.
Course Transfers
These are for current course guidelines only. For a full list of archived courses please see https://www.bctransferguide.ca
Institution | Transfer Details for CRIM 1160 |
---|---|
Camosun College (CAMO) | CAMO CRIM 170 (3) |
Capilano University (CAPU) | CAPU LAW 101 (3) |
Coast Mountain College (CMTN) | CMTN CRIM 135 (3) |
Justice Institute of BC (JIBC) | JIBC LAWS 1204 (3) |
Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) | KPU CRIM 1107 (3) |
Langara College (LANG) | LANG CRIM 1116 (3) |
North Island College (NIC) | NIC CRM 135 (3) |
Okanagan College (OC) | OC CRIM 235 (3) |
Simon Fraser University (SFU) | SFU CRIM 135 (3) |
Thompson Rivers University (TRU) | TRU JUST 2350 (3) |
Trinity Western University (TWU) | TWU GENS 1XX (3) |
University of British Columbia - Okanagan (UBCO) | UBCO POLI_O 1st (3) |
University of British Columbia - Vancouver (UBCV) | UBCV SOCI_V 2nd (3) |
University of Northern BC (UNBC) | UNBC SOSC 1XX (3) |
University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) | UFV CRIM 135 (3) |
University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) | UFV CRIM 1XX (3) |
University of Victoria (UVIC) | UVIC SOSC 2XX (1.5) |
Vancouver Community College (VCC) | VCC CRIM 1160 (3) |
Vancouver Island University (VIU) | VIU CRIM 135 (3) |
Course Offerings
Winter 2025
CRN | Days | Instructor | Status | More details |
---|---|---|---|---|
CRN
12272
|
Mon | Instructor Last Name
David
Instructor First Name
Lisa
|
Course Status
Open
|
CRIM 1160 001 is a combined section with CRIM 1160 002.
This section is restricted to Youth Justice students.
See Legal Studies (LGST) for other university transferable law and legal system courses.
CRN | Days | Instructor | Status | More details |
---|---|---|---|---|
CRN
12310
|
Tue | Instructor Last Name
Dowdeswell
Instructor First Name
Tracey
|
Course Status
Waitlist
|
See Legal Studies (LGST) for other university transferable law and legal system courses.
CRN | Days | Instructor | Status | More details |
---|---|---|---|---|
CRN
12372
|
Mon | Instructor Last Name
David
Instructor First Name
Lisa
|
Course Status
Waitlist
|
CRIM 1160 002 is a combined section with CRIM 1160 001.
This section is available for general registration students.
See Legal Studies (LGST) for other university transferable law and legal system courses.
CRN | Days | Instructor | Status | More details |
---|---|---|---|---|
CRN
12749
|
Fri | Instructor Last Name
Hunter
Instructor First Name
Kathleen
|
Course Status
Open
|
CRIM 1160 005 is a combined section with 1160 004
See Legal Studies (LGST) for other university transferable law and legal system courses.
CRN | Days | Instructor | Status | More details |
---|---|---|---|---|
CRN
12847
|
Fri | Instructor Last Name
Hunter
Instructor First Name
Kathleen
|
Course Status
Open
|
CRIM 1160 004 is a combined section with 1160 005
See Legal Studies (LGST) for other university transferable law and legal system courses.