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Introduction to the Study of Law
- GenresNonfictionLaw
192 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1992
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January 25, 2026
A really good introduction to studying law in Canada. I think for the longest time, I abstractly had the idea that laws are unjust sometimes but I never understood why. The author explicitly points out this naivety at the beginning and tells the reader that the law cannot in fact deliver 'justice' as the layperson understands it. Justice, as defined within legal contexts, is the ability to make rational, fair, and consistent choices. In fact, later on, the author even clarifies that if someone is 'guilty' and let's say you 'know' that they stole something. Assuming that you 'know' takes power away from the courts. Even if you are defending someone you 'know' to be guilty, you need to put up a proper defense and find a way for the law to exempt it as 'theft'. This was a thoroughly comprehensive book and compelling for those interested in pursuing law or for those that are just curious about how the legal education system and the system as a whole works in Canada. Very interesting wake up call for me; how are lawyers and law-adjacent professionals (paralegals, law clerks etc.) actually creating meaningful change?
Below are notes that are kind of all over the place but make sense to me lol. This book costs $90 CAD and I managed to borrow it from the library so I need to keep these notes somewhere!
"A universal feature of human society has been conflict. Individuals have individual interests. On occasion, they conflict with each other...The law manifests the common values of a society and, at the same time, supplies a system for resolving its conflicts" (1)
"The conflict between individual rights and group rights is one of the most difficult and divisive social issues"(13)
Disputes arise between individuals, between an individual and the community, between different governments in a federal state, and between states. The law applicable to disputes between individuals (including corporations and government agencies) is generally called private law, or civil law. Disputes between an individual and the state are governed by [[criminal law]], administrative law, tax law, and constitutional law. Disputes between governments within a federal state are the concern of constitutional law; disputes between states fall into the sphere of public international law. (16-17)
The law is full of uncertainty and changes rapidly. The point is not to study rules, rather to study complex legal and ethical issues that arise from precedented cases, to facilitate future advocacy and decision-making as a future lawyer/advocate. Additionally, when resolving disputes, the court must achieve justice between the two parties but also think about the long-term effects that decision may have in the bigger picture of law-making. Therefore, "the study of law is, to a large extent, the study of statutes and judicial decisions". (17)
"As each decision is reported, the law changes, and it is still quite uncertain. It is closer to the truth to regard the law as a continuing process of attempting to solve the problems of a changing society, than as a set of rules" (4)
Law is "the mirror of the attitudes of society" (14)
"Intention is only to be inferred from conduct" (15)
"It is rare that a resolution of a dispute leaves both parties equally happy and it would be Utopian to expect that a working system should satisfy the losing party all the time. The best that can be expected is that the losing party will admit that she has had a fair hearing according to fair procedures and that the result has been determined by principles that she will recognize as the appropriate sort of principles to apply in such a case." (4)
"There is a perpetual tension in the law between stability, certainty and predictability on the one hand, and equity, fairness and justice in the individual case on the other...judge said that he would not be drawn by some abstract idea of justice to ignore his first duty, which was to administer the law (Scruttons Ltd. v. Midland Silicones Ltd., [1962] A.C. 446 at 467-8 (H.L.), per Viscount Simonds)" (5)
"The idea of justice and the rule of law are both ideals - part of Western society's dreams - never fully attainable" (8)
Judicial reasoning is often result-oriented...result-oriented reasoning is inevitable and indeed desirable. (72-73)
"The lawyer's concept of justice includes the concept of rationality. If disputes are determined by fair procedures before an impartial tribunal honestly trying to give rational and consistent reasons for its results, we will not satisfy every litigant all the time, but we will come as close as humanly possible to administering justice." (5)
The law recognizes and protects certain values. The most difficult and interesting cases are studied in law school because they 'bring two principles into sharp conflict and compel a choice' and the attempt at making a fair, rational, and consistent choice is called a 'reasonable administration of justice'. (6)
"There is no better guarantee of impartiality and rationality in decision-making than the requirement of reasons, based on pre-existing principles, open to the scrutiny of the public and of an appellate tribunal" (9) - Appellate tribunals review decisions made by lower courts, they hear appeals and re-examine the case and then uphold, modify, or overturn the decision.
"Abstract ideas must be disciplined by concrete instances. It is not enough to know how human communities might go about resolving a particular problem; we must know how a court in this jurisdiction in fact resolved it yesterday, and what it is likely to do with it tomorrow. So the theorist cannot ignore the practical...Neither can the practitioner ignore the theory...It is useless to know that on a particular set of facts the law requires a particular result, if the reason for the result is not also appreciated. Without an appreciation of the principle that governs the decision one cannot even begin to pick out from the mass of facts that constitute each case those that are relevant. The assessment of what the law actually is at any time is a complex process involving elements of historical enquiry, theory, synthesis, advocacy, and prediction." (19)
"The well-educated lawyer is equipped to challenge former decisions where they are weak and to practice law not only in the lower courts tomorrow but to argue either side of the case in the Supreme Court ten years later." (20)
"The good lawyer expresses herself with clarity, simplicity and brevity...Lord Denning was notorious for the clipped simplicity of his style." (35)
**"It is the task of the law student first to understand the reasoning of the decided cases on an issue of this sort and secondly, to subject it to critical analysis. Perhaps the reasons given by the courts are not entirely persuasive. Perhaps even the framework of the court's analysis points us in the wrong direction... One day a lawyer will make such an argument and the Supreme Court of Canada will accept it." (43)**
The lawyer in every field must express his meaning by words, but words never have had or can have fixed and certain meanings. In statutes, wills, contracts and other documents, words can only take meaning from their context. (100)
When you say you 'know' a person is guilty, you usurp the function of the court. If you put up a successful defense, then he is not guilty in the law...He may think he is guilty, but there may be a defense, namely that his acts do not in law constitute theft let's say. (114)
Areas of Specialization in Ontario as of 2023:
Bankruptcy and Insolvency Law
Citizenship and Immigration Law (Immigration/Refugee Protection)
Civil Litigation
Construction Law
Corporate and Commercial Law
Criminal Law
Environmental Law
Estates and Trusts Law
Family Law
Health Law
Indigenous Legal Issues (Rights and Governance/Litigation and Advocacy/Corporate and Commercial)
Intellectual Property Law (Trademark/Patent/Copyright)
Labour and Employment Law
Municipal Law
Taxation Law
Real Estate Law
Workplace Safety and Insurance Law
Curriculum - Most law schools in Canada require students to take courses in Contracts, Torts, Property, Criminal Law, Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law and Legal Ethics.
The Case Method - This method "requires students to read the relevant material (usually reported judgements in decided cases) before class." (23). The instructor uses a Socratic method to encourage discussion and "bring out the force of the conflicting arguments" (24). "The standard and essential tool of the case method of teaching is the 'casebook', a collection of materials, generally judicial decisions, that the student is expected to read in order to prepare herself for the discussion of each case/group of cases." (28)
[[Case Briefs]] "Writing a note on a decided case compels one to ask: exactly what does this case decide? Which facts were essential? How far does the principle extend?...Every case should be looked at from two points of view, to discern the narrowest principle that must have been accepted by the court to support the decision and to discern the widest principle that the decision might be subsequently held to support." (28) - Most students make notes on a case that includes the summary of the facts, the decisions, and the reasons for said decisions.
LSAT - "The LSAT is the only ready means of making a reasonably fair distinction among applicants." (31)
Practicing Law - "The general requirement is a law degree from a Canadian common law school, followed by about twelve months of articling under the supervision of a lawyer practicing in the province...students may also enrol in the Law Practice Program which consists of four months of coursework and a four-month work placement." (33-34)
civil litigation:
"The parties to an ordinary civil action are called the plaintiff and defendant in the court where proceedings commence (the court of first instance) and the appellant and respondent on appeal. The party initiating the proceedings is called the applicant and the other party the respondent. A case is known by the names of the parties. So if Smith sues Jones then the case is known as Smith v. Jones...It is common in Canada to pronouns the names of the case as 'Smith and Jones' or 'Smith against Jones'...Names of cases are usually italicized in Canadian legal writing." (36-37)
"Pleadings is the name given to formal statements of the parties that precede the court hearing in civil litigation. Their object is to define as many possible of the issues before trial."
"Proceedings usually start with a Statement of Claim (or, in older cases, a declaration, bill, complaint, petition, or prayer), to which the defendant makes a Statement of Defence. If the defendant has their own complaint against the other party, they can enter a counterclaim."
"Before trial there is an opportunity, called Discovery, of questioning the other party to the action and for compelling the production of relevant documents."
"These pre-trial procedures, though designed to save time and expense at trial, often give rise to disputes in themselves (called 'interlocutory' proceedings) and a disputed point arising out of proceedings might even go to the Supreme Court of Canada. Often the key question of law in a case arises at the interlocutory stage."
"Modern judges reserve a liberal power of permitting amendments to pleadings, even retrospectively, provided it can be done with fairness to both parties. The plaintiff ought no longer to lose her case because she misstates the legal nature of her claim." (38)
"The reasons given by judges for their conclusions are generally called judgements and are sometimes known as reasons or opinions." (38)
Clarity in legal writing is the arbiter of elegance. Be as brief as possible, but not at the expense of clarity. Ex. "In my opinion there is no real answer to the arguments in favour of A. However, B has a good chance of winning in court." (41)
If you cannot make your mind on a question, stop writing and ask why it seems difficult. Then say that it is difficult. Develop the arguments on each side, say what you think the court would (in your opinion) decide, and then add your own comments, with reasons, on the merits or otherwise of that conclusion. The reader will then know: a) that you see why it is a difficult question, b) what you think the law is, and c) what you think the law should be and why. Even if the reader disagrees with your opinion on b and c, the analysis will be far superior to a fudging of the issue by choice of a verbal formula that obscures your meaning. (41)
In analyzing a legal problem, do not jump to a conclusion in your first sentence. The danger is that this will lead you to adopt a defensive posture and undervalue the arguments that lead in the other direction...A better approach is to develop the argument for each side and only then to express your opinion. (43)
**State the basic legal principle and the basic arguments for each side, step by step.
Do not write as though to a lay client, who knows no law. The model should be a counsel's opinion addressed to A's solicitor. (44)
Some teachers advise students that citation of decided cases is unnecessary...In my view, the skillful use of decided cases can illuminate analysis and is an important part of the lawyer's ability.
When analyzing facts in decided cases: If an event is stated as a fact, do not speculate on its probability or ask how it could have been proved. Accept it as given...Similarly, when analyzing an appellate case on such a problem, do not be distracted by your personal opinion that the accused in the case was, in point of fact, guilty...Often facts will be omitted from a problem. In that case, do not speculate as to what they may be. Consider all reasonable possibilities... (47)
Problems in Several Parts (48) - review this w the copy of the book
Never avoid a problem because you do not know the answer. (49)
Questions that directly invite your opinion: Start out by putting the argument against your own view as strongly as possible. Conclude by expressing your own view, but do not let it interfere with your appreciation of the strength of the opposing view.
When asked to comment on a quotation: Read the quotation carefully.
Case comment inviting a critical examination of a court's analysis of a legal problem:
- examine prior state of law
- assess the change made by new case
- discuss reasons given by court
- conclude with your own views of the merits of the decision
contracts:
Concerned with expectations induced by the conduct of others. (61)
Includes enforceability, excuses for non-performance, remedies and the effect of contracts on third parties. (61)
Every system of contract law must develop a criterion of enforceability. In Anglo-Canadian law the **chief criterion of enforceability has been the bargain**, an agreed exchange, and every contracts course will devote attention to the constituent parts of a bargain. (61)
The chief excuses for non-performance of contracts are mistake, unfairness, public policy and non-performance by the other party. (61)
Remedies are a large part of contract law...Contract formation is closely linked with remedies for breach, for it is only where the remedy seems appropriate that a contract will be found to exist in the first place. The court gives **two kinds of remedies for breach of contract: specific and monetary.** Specific remedies include a decree of specific performance ordering the defendant to perform her promises and an injunction ordering the defendant to refrain from doing what she promised not to do. Monetary remedies, usually damages, aim at compensating the plaintiff by measuring her loss in money. (62)
Unjust enrichment (restitution) falls under this category as well (64)
One way of approaching the law of torts is to divide the subject according to the defendant's state of mind into: [[intentional wrongs]], negligence, and strict liability (that is, liability without fault).
A second way of approaching it is to consider the various interests of the plaintiff that are protected, that is, injury to the person, injury to property, injury to reputation, interference with the use of land, rights of privacy, and interference with economic interests.
A third approach is to classify by the activity carried on by the defendant, for example, liability for animals, for products, or occupiers and owners of property and employer's liability.
(63)
Concerns rights over goods and land, including their extent, acquisition, transfer. (64)
The study of property law is divided into real and personal property. Real property is land and interests in land (joint ownership, leases, future interests). Transfer of interests in land, land security transactions/mortgages is reserved to a specialized course on real estate. Personal property includes goods and intangible items of property. Patents, copyrights and trademarks are usually reserved for a course on intellectual property. Security interests (pledges, liens, chattel mortgages, conditional sales, personal property security), and law relating to transfer of goods by sale are for a course on commercial law. (65)
Latin Words and Phrases in Common Legal Use
An aspect of the rule of law is that if a behaviour was lawful when it was engaged in, it cannot retroactively be made punishable. This is based in a principle of legality called 'nulla poena sine lege' - no punishment without a law. This principle is also included in the Charter (Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, s.11(g), Part I, of the Constitution Act, 1982, being Schedule B to the Canada Act 1982 (UK), 1982, c. 11). (7)
The principle of reliance on decided cases: standing by former decisions - stare decisis
Below are notes that are kind of all over the place but make sense to me lol. This book costs $90 CAD and I managed to borrow it from the library so I need to keep these notes somewhere!
"A universal feature of human society has been conflict. Individuals have individual interests. On occasion, they conflict with each other...The law manifests the common values of a society and, at the same time, supplies a system for resolving its conflicts" (1)
"The conflict between individual rights and group rights is one of the most difficult and divisive social issues"(13)
Disputes arise between individuals, between an individual and the community, between different governments in a federal state, and between states. The law applicable to disputes between individuals (including corporations and government agencies) is generally called private law, or civil law. Disputes between an individual and the state are governed by [[criminal law]], administrative law, tax law, and constitutional law. Disputes between governments within a federal state are the concern of constitutional law; disputes between states fall into the sphere of public international law. (16-17)
The law is full of uncertainty and changes rapidly. The point is not to study rules, rather to study complex legal and ethical issues that arise from precedented cases, to facilitate future advocacy and decision-making as a future lawyer/advocate. Additionally, when resolving disputes, the court must achieve justice between the two parties but also think about the long-term effects that decision may have in the bigger picture of law-making. Therefore, "the study of law is, to a large extent, the study of statutes and judicial decisions". (17)
"As each decision is reported, the law changes, and it is still quite uncertain. It is closer to the truth to regard the law as a continuing process of attempting to solve the problems of a changing society, than as a set of rules" (4)
Law is "the mirror of the attitudes of society" (14)
"Intention is only to be inferred from conduct" (15)
"It is rare that a resolution of a dispute leaves both parties equally happy and it would be Utopian to expect that a working system should satisfy the losing party all the time. The best that can be expected is that the losing party will admit that she has had a fair hearing according to fair procedures and that the result has been determined by principles that she will recognize as the appropriate sort of principles to apply in such a case." (4)
"There is a perpetual tension in the law between stability, certainty and predictability on the one hand, and equity, fairness and justice in the individual case on the other...judge said that he would not be drawn by some abstract idea of justice to ignore his first duty, which was to administer the law (Scruttons Ltd. v. Midland Silicones Ltd., [1962] A.C. 446 at 467-8 (H.L.), per Viscount Simonds)" (5)
"The idea of justice and the rule of law are both ideals - part of Western society's dreams - never fully attainable" (8)
Judicial reasoning is often result-oriented...result-oriented reasoning is inevitable and indeed desirable. (72-73)
"The lawyer's concept of justice includes the concept of rationality. If disputes are determined by fair procedures before an impartial tribunal honestly trying to give rational and consistent reasons for its results, we will not satisfy every litigant all the time, but we will come as close as humanly possible to administering justice." (5)
The law recognizes and protects certain values. The most difficult and interesting cases are studied in law school because they 'bring two principles into sharp conflict and compel a choice' and the attempt at making a fair, rational, and consistent choice is called a 'reasonable administration of justice'. (6)
"There is no better guarantee of impartiality and rationality in decision-making than the requirement of reasons, based on pre-existing principles, open to the scrutiny of the public and of an appellate tribunal" (9) - Appellate tribunals review decisions made by lower courts, they hear appeals and re-examine the case and then uphold, modify, or overturn the decision.
"Abstract ideas must be disciplined by concrete instances. It is not enough to know how human communities might go about resolving a particular problem; we must know how a court in this jurisdiction in fact resolved it yesterday, and what it is likely to do with it tomorrow. So the theorist cannot ignore the practical...Neither can the practitioner ignore the theory...It is useless to know that on a particular set of facts the law requires a particular result, if the reason for the result is not also appreciated. Without an appreciation of the principle that governs the decision one cannot even begin to pick out from the mass of facts that constitute each case those that are relevant. The assessment of what the law actually is at any time is a complex process involving elements of historical enquiry, theory, synthesis, advocacy, and prediction." (19)
"The well-educated lawyer is equipped to challenge former decisions where they are weak and to practice law not only in the lower courts tomorrow but to argue either side of the case in the Supreme Court ten years later." (20)
"The good lawyer expresses herself with clarity, simplicity and brevity...Lord Denning was notorious for the clipped simplicity of his style." (35)
**"It is the task of the law student first to understand the reasoning of the decided cases on an issue of this sort and secondly, to subject it to critical analysis. Perhaps the reasons given by the courts are not entirely persuasive. Perhaps even the framework of the court's analysis points us in the wrong direction... One day a lawyer will make such an argument and the Supreme Court of Canada will accept it." (43)**
The lawyer in every field must express his meaning by words, but words never have had or can have fixed and certain meanings. In statutes, wills, contracts and other documents, words can only take meaning from their context. (100)
When you say you 'know' a person is guilty, you usurp the function of the court. If you put up a successful defense, then he is not guilty in the law...He may think he is guilty, but there may be a defense, namely that his acts do not in law constitute theft let's say. (114)
Areas of Specialization in Ontario as of 2023:
Bankruptcy and Insolvency Law
Citizenship and Immigration Law (Immigration/Refugee Protection)
Civil Litigation
Construction Law
Corporate and Commercial Law
Criminal Law
Environmental Law
Estates and Trusts Law
Family Law
Health Law
Indigenous Legal Issues (Rights and Governance/Litigation and Advocacy/Corporate and Commercial)
Intellectual Property Law (Trademark/Patent/Copyright)
Labour and Employment Law
Municipal Law
Taxation Law
Real Estate Law
Workplace Safety and Insurance Law
Curriculum - Most law schools in Canada require students to take courses in Contracts, Torts, Property, Criminal Law, Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law and Legal Ethics.
The Case Method - This method "requires students to read the relevant material (usually reported judgements in decided cases) before class." (23). The instructor uses a Socratic method to encourage discussion and "bring out the force of the conflicting arguments" (24). "The standard and essential tool of the case method of teaching is the 'casebook', a collection of materials, generally judicial decisions, that the student is expected to read in order to prepare herself for the discussion of each case/group of cases." (28)
[[Case Briefs]] "Writing a note on a decided case compels one to ask: exactly what does this case decide? Which facts were essential? How far does the principle extend?...Every case should be looked at from two points of view, to discern the narrowest principle that must have been accepted by the court to support the decision and to discern the widest principle that the decision might be subsequently held to support." (28) - Most students make notes on a case that includes the summary of the facts, the decisions, and the reasons for said decisions.
LSAT - "The LSAT is the only ready means of making a reasonably fair distinction among applicants." (31)
Practicing Law - "The general requirement is a law degree from a Canadian common law school, followed by about twelve months of articling under the supervision of a lawyer practicing in the province...students may also enrol in the Law Practice Program which consists of four months of coursework and a four-month work placement." (33-34)
civil litigation:
"The parties to an ordinary civil action are called the plaintiff and defendant in the court where proceedings commence (the court of first instance) and the appellant and respondent on appeal. The party initiating the proceedings is called the applicant and the other party the respondent. A case is known by the names of the parties. So if Smith sues Jones then the case is known as Smith v. Jones...It is common in Canada to pronouns the names of the case as 'Smith and Jones' or 'Smith against Jones'...Names of cases are usually italicized in Canadian legal writing." (36-37)
"Pleadings is the name given to formal statements of the parties that precede the court hearing in civil litigation. Their object is to define as many possible of the issues before trial."
"Proceedings usually start with a Statement of Claim (or, in older cases, a declaration, bill, complaint, petition, or prayer), to which the defendant makes a Statement of Defence. If the defendant has their own complaint against the other party, they can enter a counterclaim."
"Before trial there is an opportunity, called Discovery, of questioning the other party to the action and for compelling the production of relevant documents."
"These pre-trial procedures, though designed to save time and expense at trial, often give rise to disputes in themselves (called 'interlocutory' proceedings) and a disputed point arising out of proceedings might even go to the Supreme Court of Canada. Often the key question of law in a case arises at the interlocutory stage."
"Modern judges reserve a liberal power of permitting amendments to pleadings, even retrospectively, provided it can be done with fairness to both parties. The plaintiff ought no longer to lose her case because she misstates the legal nature of her claim." (38)
"The reasons given by judges for their conclusions are generally called judgements and are sometimes known as reasons or opinions." (38)
Clarity in legal writing is the arbiter of elegance. Be as brief as possible, but not at the expense of clarity. Ex. "In my opinion there is no real answer to the arguments in favour of A. However, B has a good chance of winning in court." (41)
If you cannot make your mind on a question, stop writing and ask why it seems difficult. Then say that it is difficult. Develop the arguments on each side, say what you think the court would (in your opinion) decide, and then add your own comments, with reasons, on the merits or otherwise of that conclusion. The reader will then know: a) that you see why it is a difficult question, b) what you think the law is, and c) what you think the law should be and why. Even if the reader disagrees with your opinion on b and c, the analysis will be far superior to a fudging of the issue by choice of a verbal formula that obscures your meaning. (41)
In analyzing a legal problem, do not jump to a conclusion in your first sentence. The danger is that this will lead you to adopt a defensive posture and undervalue the arguments that lead in the other direction...A better approach is to develop the argument for each side and only then to express your opinion. (43)
**State the basic legal principle and the basic arguments for each side, step by step.
Do not write as though to a lay client, who knows no law. The model should be a counsel's opinion addressed to A's solicitor. (44)
Some teachers advise students that citation of decided cases is unnecessary...In my view, the skillful use of decided cases can illuminate analysis and is an important part of the lawyer's ability.
When analyzing facts in decided cases: If an event is stated as a fact, do not speculate on its probability or ask how it could have been proved. Accept it as given...Similarly, when analyzing an appellate case on such a problem, do not be distracted by your personal opinion that the accused in the case was, in point of fact, guilty...Often facts will be omitted from a problem. In that case, do not speculate as to what they may be. Consider all reasonable possibilities... (47)
Problems in Several Parts (48) - review this w the copy of the book
Never avoid a problem because you do not know the answer. (49)
Questions that directly invite your opinion: Start out by putting the argument against your own view as strongly as possible. Conclude by expressing your own view, but do not let it interfere with your appreciation of the strength of the opposing view.
When asked to comment on a quotation: Read the quotation carefully.
Case comment inviting a critical examination of a court's analysis of a legal problem:
- examine prior state of law
- assess the change made by new case
- discuss reasons given by court
- conclude with your own views of the merits of the decision
contracts:
Concerned with expectations induced by the conduct of others. (61)
Includes enforceability, excuses for non-performance, remedies and the effect of contracts on third parties. (61)
Every system of contract law must develop a criterion of enforceability. In Anglo-Canadian law the **chief criterion of enforceability has been the bargain**, an agreed exchange, and every contracts course will devote attention to the constituent parts of a bargain. (61)
The chief excuses for non-performance of contracts are mistake, unfairness, public policy and non-performance by the other party. (61)
Remedies are a large part of contract law...Contract formation is closely linked with remedies for breach, for it is only where the remedy seems appropriate that a contract will be found to exist in the first place. The court gives **two kinds of remedies for breach of contract: specific and monetary.** Specific remedies include a decree of specific performance ordering the defendant to perform her promises and an injunction ordering the defendant to refrain from doing what she promised not to do. Monetary remedies, usually damages, aim at compensating the plaintiff by measuring her loss in money. (62)
Unjust enrichment (restitution) falls under this category as well (64)
One way of approaching the law of torts is to divide the subject according to the defendant's state of mind into: [[intentional wrongs]], negligence, and strict liability (that is, liability without fault).
A second way of approaching it is to consider the various interests of the plaintiff that are protected, that is, injury to the person, injury to property, injury to reputation, interference with the use of land, rights of privacy, and interference with economic interests.
A third approach is to classify by the activity carried on by the defendant, for example, liability for animals, for products, or occupiers and owners of property and employer's liability.
(63)
Concerns rights over goods and land, including their extent, acquisition, transfer. (64)
The study of property law is divided into real and personal property. Real property is land and interests in land (joint ownership, leases, future interests). Transfer of interests in land, land security transactions/mortgages is reserved to a specialized course on real estate. Personal property includes goods and intangible items of property. Patents, copyrights and trademarks are usually reserved for a course on intellectual property. Security interests (pledges, liens, chattel mortgages, conditional sales, personal property security), and law relating to transfer of goods by sale are for a course on commercial law. (65)
Latin Words and Phrases in Common Legal Use
An aspect of the rule of law is that if a behaviour was lawful when it was engaged in, it cannot retroactively be made punishable. This is based in a principle of legality called 'nulla poena sine lege' - no punishment without a law. This principle is also included in the Charter (Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, s.11(g), Part I, of the Constitution Act, 1982, being Schedule B to the Canada Act 1982 (UK), 1982, c. 11). (7)
The principle of reliance on decided cases: standing by former decisions - stare decisis
September 27, 2007
I understand that this book has become a sort of a standard book to introduce the laws to potential law students.
Some of the ideas like, judicial reasoning and stare decisis is different than what I thought it would be.
A common sense guide to common law.
Some of the ideas like, judicial reasoning and stare decisis is different than what I thought it would be.
A common sense guide to common law.
November 30, 2008
Good prep to read in the summer before law school.
October 28, 2013
Clear and easy to read. This serves as a great introduction for future law students.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews