Influences on Canadian Law

Canadian Law is based upon the laws of France and England, the countries that colonized Canada French laws were codified (written down) quite early English law, on the other hand, was not written down until quite late in England’s history. Today, much of English law has still not been written down

Early British Law When the Romans conquered Great Britain in 43 CE, they imposed their laws on the inhabitants But when the Romans left Britain in 410 CE, Roman laws soon gave way to practices that followed local customs and traditions

Trial by Ordeal Trial by Ordeal: requiring a person to undergo torture to determine guilt or innocence God was said to be the judge, since it was believed that evil could never triumph over good Only used when the sentence for guilt was the death penalty

Trial by Ordeal Trial by hot iron / Trial by fire the accused was forced to hold a hot piece of iron The burn was bound for a number of days If the wound was healed when the bandage was removed, the person was innocent, if not, they were guilty Wounds rarely healed because bandages were not sterile and would cause infection

Trial by Ordeal Trial by Water Also called “swimming a witch” when used to judge a case of witchcraft The accused was thrown into a pond or lake with hands bound If they sank they were innocent (but often drowned before being rescued) If they floated, it was said that the purity of the water had rejected them, proving their guilt

Trial by Oath Helping Trial by Oath Helping: Requiring friends of the accused to swear on the Bible that he or she was innocent Used for less serious charges Sounds easy, right? But most people actually feared retribution from God if they lied under oath (origins of perjury)

Trial by Combat Trial by Combat: Determining guilt or innocence by having the parties fight in a duel It was presumed that God would be on the side of the innocent and that the innocent man would win Needless to say, a lot of innocent people died because they were weaker or couldn’t fight well 

Trial by Combat If they were weaker than their opponent, some would hire stronger individuals to fight on their behalf This is where we get our adversarial system where both sides are represented by lawyers who battle it out in a courtroom

The Feudal System In 1066, William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy, invaded England and conquered it He had absolute power that came from the concept of divine right, the belief that monarchs derived their power to rule from God. This placed him “above the law,” accountable only to God

The Feudal System William the Conqueror introduced a system of government called feudalism. The King owned all the land and divided it among his Lords and nobles. In return, the Lords became the King’s vassals (servants) and promised him loyalty and military service.

The Feudal System The Lord acted as the judge in any trial for those who were under his direct authority Inconsistent Some nobles were fair and reasonable and others were harsh and unjust Penalties for similar offences often differed from village to village

Common Law By the 12 th century, people rose up against the unfair treatment Assizes (travelling courts) and circuit judges travelled around to the different villages to resolve disputes They agreed that similar cases should be decided in the same way, so they began to record the cases and their decisions This became known as case law or common law because it was “common to all”

The Rule of Precedent Each time a decision was made it created a “precedent” that would serve as an example or rule for how other similar cases should be treated The rule of precedent is sometimes known as stare decisis a Latin phrase that means to “stand by the decision”

The Magna Carta During the reign of England’s King John ( ), the King considered himself above the law and abused his power Eventually, the most powerful groups forced him to sign the Magna Carta, the “Great Charter” in 1215 This famous document recognized the rule of law and was one of the first constitutions in history

Rule of Law 1.individuals must recognize and accept that law is necessary to regulate society 2.the law applies equally to everyone, including people in power, such as head of state, police officers, judges, and politicians 3.no one in our society has the authority to take away our rights except in accordance with the law

The Magna Carta Because of the Magna Carta, equality became important for the first time Legal rights could not be taken away without reason or changed without consent Also guaranteed the right of habeas corpus, which is Latin for “you must have the body”. It means that anyone detained is charged before a court within a reasonable amount of time

Aboriginal Law Before contact with the Europeans, the First Nations had a strong belief in a creator, and a strong sense of family and leadership.Before contact with the Europeans, the First Nations had a strong belief in a creator, and a strong sense of family and leadership. The Haida (west coast) and the Mi’kmaq (east coast) had established governments, religions, social structures, and legal systems.The Haida (west coast) and the Mi’kmaq (east coast) had established governments, religions, social structures, and legal systems. Their rules were passed orally from generation to generation.Their rules were passed orally from generation to generation.

Aboriginal Law When British and European settlers came to North America, they encountered well- established Aboriginal communities across the continent Five Aboriginal nations – the Mohawk, Onondaga, Seneca, Oneida, and Cayuga came together to form a League of Nations or Iroquois Confederacy

Aboriginal Law The constitution of the Iroquois Confederacy is known as The Great Binding Law It outlined rights, duties and responsibilities of the people contains many of the same principles of justice and fairness that are found in modern civil rights documents