The Judicial Branch of Government
Now that we have considered the executive and the legislative branches of government, we’re going to
look at the judicial branch. The judicial branch is the independent system of courts whose job it is to
interpret and apply the laws which are passed by the other two branches of government.
We are also going to consider some aspects of the notion of “law”. Law is an important concept in all
levels and branches of government, not only the Judicial, but here is a good place to look at it in more
detail.
The “rule of law” and the courts
http://lop.parl.gc.ca/about/parliament/senatoreugeneforsey/book/chapter_5-e.html
The Judicial system
http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/judiciary/
http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/courts-of-law/
What do Judges do?
https://www.cjc-ccm.gc.ca/english/resource_en.asp?selMenu=resource_judges_en.asp
What do Lawyers do?
https://www.cjc-ccm.gc.ca/english/resource_en.asp?selMenu=resource_lawyers_en.asp
The Supreme Court
http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/supreme-court-of-canada/
Badge of the Supreme Court of Canada
What is Law?
http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/law/
The Law in Canada
Here is a good overview of how all the levels and branches of government are involved with law:
Canada’s laws and you
Laws are enforced by government agencies, and the courts are sometimes
involved in resolving disputes. So, there is a dynamic and important relationship
among the branches of the government. The government makes and administers
our laws (legislative and executive branches), and the courts apply the laws
when settling legal disputes (judicial branch).
Legislative branch functions
Every level of government creates laws (legislation) that affect you. Every day
your municipal, provincial or territorial, and federal governments make, alter, and
revoke laws. For example, your municipal government may pass a bylaw that
says you can only construct a building of a certain size in your neighbourhood.
Your provincial or territorial government has the jurisdiction authority to create
laws that affect you in many other ways, such as the rights between a landlord
and a tenant or an employer and employee. The federal government has
jurisdiction over other matters, such as income tax and aviation.
Executive branch functions
The executive branch of government is responsible for administering and
enforcing the laws. For example, you may have to get a permit from your
municipal government to construct a new house. You may want to call the
employment standards branch in your province or territory to find out about
money you believe your employer owes you. Or, you may have to report to
Canada Revenue Agency about your income tax return.
Judicial branch functions
When a legal dispute cannot be resolved outside the court system, the case
“goes to litigation” or “goes to court” and after hearing all the evidence from the
parties involved in the dispute, a judge makes a decision about the case, based
on the law that applies to the facts.
There are many ways to resolve disputes without going to court and having a
judge hear the case. Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), refers to the various
ways disputes are resolved outside the court system, such as negotiation,
mediation and arbitration. Lawyers are skilled in settling legal disputes without
going to court. Mediation and arbitration services are other options for ADR.
From: https://www.cjc-ccm.gc.ca/english/resource_en.asp?selMenu=resource_courtsystem_en.asp (Don’t open this link)
What about Law enforcement?
We read above that “the executive branch of government is responsible for administering and enforcing
the laws.” The word enforcement may be confusing here. The executive branch is responsible for
implementing policy; they direct the government and influence which laws get made and how. They get
to decide how the laws get enforced and who they delegate this enforcement to, but that doesn’t mean
that they personally track down criminals (unless perhaps the Prime Minister and his Cabinet have secret
superhero alter-egos that we’re not aware of).
The actual “on-the-ground” work of law enforcement is handled by independent police agencies
contracted by the government. These police forces may be utilized by any level of the government: there
are municipal “city cops”, as is the case in both Edmonton and Calgary for example, there are provincial
police forces specific to certain provinces like in Ontario and Quebec, and there are also federally run
police for the whole country—examples here include national park wardens, the border services agency,
and the RCMP.
http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/law-enforcement/
http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/police/
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), often simply referred to as “Mounties” are Canada’s
national police force. They are an iconic Canadian institution, and a famous national symbol.