Course

Administration of Justice

Faculty
Humanities & Social Sciences
Department
Criminology
Course code
CRIM 2261
Credits
3.00
Semester length
15
Max class size
35
Method(s) of instruction
Lecture
Course designation
Certificate in Global Competency
Industry designation
None
Typically offered
To be determined

Overview

Course description
This course introduces students to the study of law, politics, and the administration of justice in Canada. The course examines elements of governmental structures and processes impacting on justice policy making and administration. A discussion of these roles and the interplay between judges, legislators, and government and justice system agencies in creation and implementation of policy are also examined. The course will also apply these concepts to a variety of significant current issues in the administration of justice.
Course content

  I.       Legal, Political and Constitutional Framework for the Administration of Justice in Canada

  1. Concepts and definitions of public law, politics, policy and the administration of justice in Canada
  2. The effects of the division of legislative powers in Canada on the administration of justice
  3. Concepts of parliamentary sovereignty, constitutional supremacy and the limits to legislative power
  4. The effect of the introduction of The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedomsas the supreme law of Canada
  5. Expanding roles of the judiciary and the developing interplay between courts and legislatures
  6. Legislative options
    • The non-obstante clause
    • Past and potential applications.

 II.       Government and Private Sector Agencies’ Processes and their Impact on Judicial Policy Making and Administration

  1. The separation of powers in Canada and the roles of the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government in policy making and implementation
  2. Interest groups and the administration of justice
  3. The role of the media
  4. The Judiciary:  judicial selection, control and independence of the judiciary and proposals for reform.
  5. Judicial orientations to decision making; the Supreme Court of Canada and The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, activism and judicial self restraint.
  6. Police and prosecutorial discretion, plea bargaining, legal aid, work load and compensation issues.      

III.      Current Issues in the Administration of Justice

This part of the course covers case studies on a number of current issues.  The number and kinds of cases covered will vary over time to maintain currency in the course.  Issues to be considered could include some of the following:

  1. Ethical/policy issues in developing reproductive and new medical technologies, such as:
    • Abortion
    • Euthanasia
    • Medical Assistance in Dying
    • Legal issues in control of reproductive technologies
  2. Developing civil liberties--the impact of The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
    • Legal rights and exclusion of evidence in criminal cases
    • Fundamental freedoms--balancing individual/collective interests
  3. Issues in sentencing and victims’ rights, such as:
    • Faint hope provisions
    • Conditional sentences
    • Indigenous peoples
    • Initiatives in restorative justice
  4. Dangerous offenders
  5. Criminal organizations
  6. Terrorism and the administration of justice
  7. Indigenous peoples and the administration of justice.
Learning activities

The course will employ a variety of instructional methods to accomplish its objectives, including some of the following:  lectures, presentations, audio-visual material, small group discussions and research papers.

Means of assessment

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 be based on some of the following:

 

  1. Exams
  2. Research project / term paper
  3. Oral presentations
  4. Class participation

 

An example of one possible evaluation scheme would be:

Seminar Attendance and participation    10%
Term paper  25%
Oral presentation  10%
Midterm exam  25%
Final exam  30%
Total 100%
Learning outcomes

At the conclusion of the course the successful student will be able to:

 

  1. Locate sources of political authority/responsibility for the operations of the various components of the system and discuss the effects of the division of powers and the fragmented nature of the system on the implementation of policy.
  2. Discuss the effect of the introduction of The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the limits to parliamentary sovereignty, the expanded scope of judicial review and the policy dialogue between courts and legislators under The Charter.
  3. Critically analyze the roles of and interplay between legislators, government, the media, interest groups and the public in development and implementation of justice policy.                 
  4. Explain the concepts of the separation of powers, judicial selection, control and discipline, independence of the judiciary and the effects of different judicial orientations to decision making on the administration of justice.
  5. Discuss the development and current status of policy initiatives and judicial decisions on a variety of significant current issues in the administration of justice.
Textbook materials

Text will be update periodically.  Testbooks may include:

Mellon, H., & Westmacott, M. (Eds.).   Political Dispute and Judicial Review.  Scarborough: Nelson Thomson Learning. Current edition.

 

A Coursepack of relevant selected readings will be available.  Subject to copyright approval, the Coursepack may include readings from:

 

Hausegger, L.,Hennigar, M., and Riddell, T.  Canadian Courts: Law, Politics and Process.  Don Mills: Oxford University Press. Current Edition.

 

Macivor, Heather.  Canadian Politics and Government in the Charter Era.  Toronto: Nelson. Canada. Current Edition.

 

Decisions of the Supreme Court of Canada.

Requisites

Prerequisites

CRIM 1160

Corequisites

Courses listed here must be completed either prior to or simultaneously with this course:

  • No corequisite courses

Equivalencies

Courses listed here are equivalent to this course and cannot be taken for further credit:

  • No equivalency 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.

(Current)

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 2261
Camosun College (CAMO) CAMO CRIM 150 (3)
Capilano University (CAPU) CAPU LAW 101 (3)
Justice Institute of BC (JIBC) JIBC LAWS 2200 (3)
Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) KPU CRIM 2341 (3)
Langara College (LANG) LANG CRIM 1XXX (3)
Simon Fraser University (SFU) SFU POL 151 (3)
Thompson Rivers University (TRU) TRU POLI 2250 (3)
Trinity Western University (TWU) TWU GENS 2XX (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 2XX (3)
University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) UFV CRIM 2XX (3)
University of Victoria (UVIC) UVIC SOCI 2XX (1.5)
Vancouver Island University (VIU) VIU POLI 151 (3)

Course Offerings

Winter 2025

CRN Days Instructor Status
Maximum seats
35
Currently enrolled
33
Remaining seats:
2
On waitlist
0
Building
Coquitlam - Bldg. A
Room
A1150
Times:
Start Time
9:30
-
End Time
12:20
Section notes

See Legal Studies (LGST) for other university transferable law and legal system courses.