The course will employ a variety of instructional methods to accomplish its objectives, including some of the following: lectures, presentations, audio-visual material, small group discussions and research papers.
I. Legal, Political and Constitutional Framework for the Administration of Justice in Canada
- Concepts and definitions of public law, politics, policy and the administration of justice in Canada
- The effects of the division of legislative powers in Canada on the administration of justice
- Concepts of parliamentary sovereignty, constitutional supremacy and the limits to legislative power
- The effect of the introduction of The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedomsas the supreme law of Canada
- Expanding roles of the judiciary and the developing interplay between courts and legislatures
- Legislative options
- The non-obstante clause
- Past and potential applications.
II. Government and Private Sector Agencies’ Processes and their Impact on Judicial Policy Making and Administration
- The separation of powers in Canada and the roles of the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government in policy making and implementation
- Interest groups and the administration of justice
- The role of the media
- The Judiciary: judicial selection, control and independence of the judiciary and proposals for reform.
- Judicial orientations to decision making; the Supreme Court of Canada and The Canadian Charter pf Rights and Freedoms, activism and judicial self restraint.
- Police and prosecutorial discretion, plea bargaining, legal aid, work load and compensation issues.
III. Current Issues in the Administration of Justice
This part of the course covers case studies on a number of current issues. The number and kinds of cases covered will vary over time to maintain currency in the course. Issues to be considered could include some of the following:
- Ethical/policy issues in developing reproductive and new medical technologies, such as:
- Abortion
- Euthanasia
- Assisted suicide
- Legal issues in control of reproductive technologies
- Developing civil liberties--the impact of The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
- Legal rights and exclusion of evidence in criminal cases
- Fundamental freedoms--balancing individual/collective interests
- Issues in sentencing and victims’ rights, such as:
- Faint hope provisions
- Conditional sentences
- Sentencing aboriginals
- Initiatives in restorative justice
- Dangerous offenders
- Criminal organizations
- Terrorism and the administration of justice
- Aboriginals and the administration of justice.
At the conclusion of the course the successful student will be able to:
- Locate sources of political authority/responsibility for the operations of the various components of the system and discuss the effects of the division of powers and the fragmented nature of the system on the implementation of policy.
- Discuss the effect of the introduction of The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the limits to parliamentary sovereignty, the expanded scope of judicial review and the policy dialogue between courts and legislators under The Charter.
- Critically analyze the roles of and interplay between legislators, government, the media, interest groups and the public in development and implementation of justice policy.
- Explain the concepts of the separation of powers, judicial selection, control and discipline, independence of the judiciary and the effects of different judicial orientations to decision making on the administration of justice.
- Discuss the development and current status of policy initiatives and judicial decisions on a variety of significant current issues in the administration of justice.
Evaluation will be based on course objectives and carried out in accordance with ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ policy. The instructor will provide a written course outline with specific evaluation criteria at the beginning of the semester. Evaluation will be based on some of the following:
- Exams
- Research project / term paper
- Oral presentations
- Class participation
An example of one possible evaluation scheme would be:
| Seminar Attendance and participation | 10% |
| Term paper | 25% |
| Oral presentation | 10% |
| Midterm exam | 25% |
| Final exam | 30% |
| Total | 100% |
Textbooks and Materials to be Purchased by Students:
Mellon, H., & Westmacott, M. (Eds.). (2000). Political Dispute and Judicial Review. Scarborough: Nelson Thomson Learning.
A Coursepack of relevant selected readings will be available. Subject to copyright approval, the Coursepack may include readings from:
Hausegger, L.,Hennigar,M.,and Riddell, T. (2009) Canadian Courts: Law, Politics and Process. Don Mills: Oxford University Press.
Macivor, Heather. (2006). Canadian Politics and Government in the Charter Era. Toronto: Nelson.
Canada.
Decisions of the Supreme Court of Canada.