Lexis+ contains many primary and secondary legal documents from the UK, EU, USA and many other countries. It is the only online source for the full text of the All England Law Reports and Halsbury`s Laws. International content can be accessed via the «International» link on the homepage. British legal news and journals are also included in the Legal Classics library. Complete text of more than 100 legal texts, including Blackstone`s Commentaries (1803), Cardozo`s Growth of the Law (1924), and the first edition of Story`s Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States (1833). The provincial laws of Canada include the provincial laws of ten of the Canadian provinces. Contains public and private laws passed by Canadian provincial governments. Up-to-date, revised and historical content is now available for Alberta, British Columbia, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Ontario. Historical and revised content is only available for Manitoba, Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, Quebec and Saskatchewan. When there is little or no Canadian decision on a particular legal issue and it becomes necessary to turn to a non-Canadian legal authority, the decisions of the English and American courts are often used. [27] Given the long history between English and Canadian law, the English Court of Appeal and the House of Lords are often cited as persuasive authority and considered persuasive and often followed. [27] However, if the disputed legal issue is related to constitutional or privacy issues, U.S. court decisions are more likely to be used by Canadian lawyers, as there is much more jurisdiction in the United States.
Both law and English law in these areas. [ref. needed] The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (also known as the RCMP or «RCMP») with its red coats and wide-brimmed hats is one of Canada`s most iconic emblems, but not all Canadian law enforcement agencies are manipulated by it. In fact, it is up to each province or city to decide which specific police service they want to hire to handle their law enforcement. The RCMP, which is trained by the federal government, is an option, while other provinces can deploy a provincial police force or give each city its own municipal police. Canada`s legal system is pluralistic: its foundations are found in the English common law system (inherited from its time as a colony of the British Empire), the French civil law system (inherited from its French Empire past)[1][2] and the Indigenous legal systems developed by the various Indigenous peoples. For historical reasons, Quebec has a hybrid legal system. Private law follows the tradition of civil law, which was originally expressed in the Coutume de Paris, as it applied in what was then New France. [30] Today, the common jus of Quebec is codified in the Civil Code of Quebec. As for public law, after the fall of New France in 1760, it became that of the conquering British nation, that is, the common law.
It is important to note that the distinction between civil law and common law is not based on the separation of powers established in the Constitution Act, 1867. Consequently, laws adopted by the Land legislature in matters of public interest, such as the Code of Criminal Procedure, should be interpreted in accordance with the common law tradition. Similarly, laws passed by the federal Parliament in private matters, such as the Divorce Act, must be interpreted in accordance with the tradition of civil law and the Civil Code of Québec. Each province codified certain principles of contract law in a law on the sale of goods, which was based on the first English versions. Outside Quebec, most contract law is still common law, based on judges` decisions in contract disputes over the years. As a civil jurisdiction, Quebec does not have contract law, but its own law of obligations. [60] The majority of Canadian crimes are set out in the Canadian Criminal Code, a massive 300,000-word law that is constantly updated as Parliament creates new crimes. Every year, various legal groups publish an updated version of the penal code in book form, which lawyers and laymen can easily search to see what is illegal and what is not.
As in all common law countries, Canadian law adheres to the doctrine of stare decisis. [24] The lower courts must follow the decisions of the superior courts by which they are bound. For example, all lower courts in Ontario are bound by decisions of the Ontario Court of Appeal, and all lower courts in British Columbia are bound by decisions of the British Columbia Court of Appeal. However, no court in British Columbia is bound by the decisions of a court in British Columbia, and no court in British Columbia is bound by the decisions of an Ontario court. Nevertheless, decisions of provincial courts of appeal are often considered «persuasive», although they are not binding on other provinces. [25] In addition to the Supreme Court, the Canadian judicial system is divided into two categories of courts:[78] superior courts with general jurisdiction and courts with limited jurisdiction, sometimes referred to as subordinate courts. The superior courts established and maintained by the provinces are divided into superior courts of first instance and superior courts of appeal. These courts are sometimes referred to as «section 96» tribunals, referring to p. 96 of the Constitution Act, 1867, which gives the federal government the power to appoint judges to these courts. [14] As courts of general jurisdiction, provincial trial courts have jurisdiction over all matters of both federal and state law, unless the case has been assigned to another court or administrative authority by an Act promulgated by the competent legislative body. The superior courts of the original jurisdiction have broad civil jurisdiction under federal and state laws. According to the Penal Code, a federal law, they are responsible for the most serious crimes such as murder.
[79] They also hear appeals to provincial courts in criminal and some civil matters. Another appeal is usually made to the Superior Court of Appeal, the highest court in each province. [80] Canadian patent law is the legal system governing the granting of patents in Canada and the enforcement of those rights in Canada. [72] Canada recognizes only two systems of government whose sovereignty derives from heritage, common law and the Constitution: federal and provincial. All other forms of government, including local governments, must receive their powers by delegation, making local, local and regional authorities creatures of sovereign governments. The territories receive their powers by delegation from the federal government.
