Canadian law: an introduction

Part 1. Role and origin

• The role of law: competing perspectives on legal order 
• The sources of Canadian law: an archaeology of statutes and judicial decisions 
• Interpreting ambiguous statutes: rules and principles and their application 

Part 2. Building blocks of the Canadian legal system

• The Constitution of Canada: the British North America Act, 1867, the Constitution Act, 1982, and the future of federalism 
• Canada's courts: the processes of dispute resolution 
• The study of law, lawyers, and judges: the evolution of the legal profession 

Part 3. Substantive law

• Torts of intention and negligence : private law, public interest 
• The changing family and family law: marriage, divorce, support, and custody 
• Administrative law: the state and its duty to be fair 
• Criminal law: mens rea, actus reus, and changing definitions of intolerable conduct