POLS 3130 Chapter Notes - Chapter 8: Crown Attorney, Restorative Justice

• School: University of Guelph
• Department: Political Science
• Course: POLS 3130
• Professor: Dennis Baker

Document Summary

Reference procedure: when the federal government asks the supreme court or a province asks its highest court of appeal for an advisory opinion on any question of law or fact. Although not technically legally binding, reference decisions are usually treated by governments and the courts like any other court ruling. They have often been used on highly politically charged issues, such as same-sex marriage, the patriation of the constitution, and quebec"s right to secede unilaterally. Five ways in which a government can appear in court: four of which as direct parties in the case, and one of which as a third party. The most common reason governments appear in court is to prosecute offences and enforce municipal bylaws. In criminal law, the government in the prosecuting state and is usually called the crown or crown attorney. An unusual feature of canadian law is that criminal offences which are created by the federal government are usually prosecuted by the provincial governments.