Browse "Types of Law"

Abduction, literally leading away, historically meant the seizure of a wife from her husband, or a female infant or heiress from her parent or lawful guardian, for marriage, concubinage or prostitution.

Administrative law is one of three basic areas of public law dealing with the relationship between government and its citizens; the other two are constitutional law and criminal law. (See also Rule of Law.) Administrative law ensures that government actions are authorized by Parliament or by provincial legislatures, and that laws are implemented and administered in a fair and reasonable manner. Administrative law is based on the principle that government actions must (strictly speaking) be legal, and that citizens who are affected by unlawful government acts must have effective remedies. A strong administrative law system helps maintain public confidence in government authority.

An advance directive (sometimes referred to as a "living will") is a legal mechanism which enables individuals to plan for their own incapacity, and specifically for the situation where decisions have to be taken with respect to their health care after they are no longer mentally capable of making (or communicating) these decisions personally.

Air law and space law are separate and distinct branches of law, although they are occasionally treated as one ("Aerospace Law"). Air law, the older of the 2, is the body of public and private law, both national and international, that regulates aeronautical activities and other uses of airspace.

Citizen's arrest originated in Medieval England when there was no police force and it was everyone's duty to assist in chasing criminals. These powers are now set out in the Criminal Code.

The development of nuclear weapons and the COLD WAR in the 1940s and 1950s forced Canadians to consider even more extensive measures.

Civil Law, the system of LAW that evolved from the Roman law compilations of the Emperor Justinian. Today it is found in countries of continental Europe as well as their former colonies and, in Canada, in Québec. In many jurisdictions it is in force in the form of a CIVIL CODE.

Civil procedure, the body of law concerning the prescribed methods of resolving disputes through litigation (see Civil Law). "Civil" distinguishes this body of law from criminal procedure, which concerns the methods of prosecuting criminal offences.

Commercial law is that branch of private law concerned primarily with the supply of goods or services by merchants and other businesses for profit. Textbooks on commercial law frequently differ on the range of topics treated in them.

Common law, the system of law that evolved from the decisions of the English royal courts of justice since the Norman Conquest (1066).

A common-law union occurs when two people live together in a conjugal relationship, generally for at least a year (or more depending on the province in which they reside). Common-law couples in Canada have many of the same legal, parental and financial rights and obligations as married couples.

Communauté des biens (community of property), term used in the legal codes of NEW FRANCE and Québec to describe the pooled assets of husband and wife. It began as part of the Coutume de Paris, introduced about 1640 and the sole legal code of the colony after 1664.

Compact Theory of Confederation, see CONSTITUTIONAL HISTORY.

The Constitution of Canada is the country’s governing legal framework. It defines the powers of the executive branches of government and of the legislatures at both the federaland provincial levels. Canada’s Constitution is not one legal document. It is a complex mix of statutes, orders, British and Canadian court decisions, and generally accepted practices known as constitutional conventions. The Constitution has been in constant evolution from colonial times to the present day. The story of the Constitution is the story of Canada itself. It reflects the shifting legal, social and politicalpressures facing Canadians, as well as their choices as a society.

Constitutional law is a branch of public law, the body of rules regulating the functioning of the state.

The branch of law concerned with the supply of goods and services in the most comprehensive sense for the personal use or consumption of individuals and their families is called consumer law.

A contract is a legally binding agreement between two or more persons for a particular purpose. It is an instrument for the economic exchange of goods and services. In Canada, contract law is administered both in common law and, in Quebec, civil law.

Copyright law is included in what is commonly known as the law of intellectual and industrial property. This branch of law also includes PATENTS, TRADEMARKS and the law of industrial designs.