Law of Canada

Module 4

Courts, administrative law and the profession: the court system, the Supreme Court, judicial independence, precedent, judicial review and the law societies

Canada has one unified court system with two sources of authority. Parliament may create federal courts and the Supreme Court, but the provinces run the administration of justice and the federal government appoints the judges of the main superior courts. The result is a single hierarchy that every lawyer must learn. Alongside the courts sits a large administrative state: tribunals, boards and officials who decide questions about immigration, human rights, employment, professional discipline and benefits. The courts supervise them by judicial review, and the framework for that supervision was rebuilt in 2019. This module sets out the courts, the guarantees that protect judges, the rule of precedent, the law of judicial review and the way the legal profession is organised.

General education on Canadian law, using invented people and businesses and abstract provinces. It states constitutional provisions and landmark decisions in simplified form, and it is not legal advice. Provinces and territories differ, the law changes, and every case turns on its facts. Consult a lawyer licensed in the province or territory that matters.