NCJ Number
125931
Date Published
1988
Length
38 pages
Annotation
The authority to make laws in Canada is divided between the Parliament of Canada and the provincial legislatures. Provinces make laws that are within separate jurisdictions and are effective within their own boundaries, while the Federal government makes laws for the whole of Canada within its own jurisdiction.
Abstract
The Charter of Rights and Freedoms, a fundamental part of Canada's constitutional law, protects fundamental freedoms, democratic rights, mobility rights, language rights, equality, and legal rights. Although the Federal government is responsible for such matters as the Criminal Law, the provinces are responsible for the administration of justice and for law enforcement. Generally the courts deal with both civil and criminal matters. The level of court that hears a case is generally determined by how serious the case is. The trial procedure is basically the same in both criminal and civil law. The trial is a method for deciding the facts of the case: in a criminal trial, whether the accused is guilty, and in a civil trial whether the plaintiff is justified in his or her complaint. The judge then considers the evidence and makes a decision. In more serious criminal and civil trials, the accused or defendant may ask to be tried by a jury.