POLS 257 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Perjury, Canlii, Terrorism Acts
Document Summary
The constitutional basis of legislative and judicial authority" part 1. (cid:862)o(cid:374)e of the (cid:272)hief p(cid:396)o(cid:271)le(cid:373)s in any constitutional system is to decide when decisions should be made within formal legal channels and when matters should be left to other (cid:373)o(cid:396)e i(cid:374)fo(cid:396)(cid:373)al a(cid:374)d usuall(cid:455) (cid:373)o(cid:396)e fle(cid:454)i(cid:271)le a(cid:396)e(cid:374)as. (cid:863) (cid:862)a (cid:272)o(cid:374)stitutio(cid:374) is (cid:373)o(cid:396)e tha(cid:374) a (cid:373)e(cid:272)ha(cid:374)i(cid:272)al set of g(cid:396)ou(cid:374)d (cid:396)ules. It is a mirror reflecting the (cid:374)atio(cid:374)al soul. (cid:863) (cid:862) a (cid:272)o(cid:374)stitutio(cid:374) assig(cid:374)s legal (cid:396)espo(cid:374)si(cid:271)ilities, defi(cid:374)es the li(cid:373)its of autho(cid:396)it(cid:455), a(cid:374)d establishes the processes which must be followed befo(cid:396)e this autho(cid:396)it(cid:455) is e(cid:454)e(cid:396)(cid:272)ised . Ca(cid:374)ada"s co(cid:374)stitutio(cid:374)al basis (cid:862)ou(cid:396) co(cid:374)stitution is primarily a written one, the product of 131 years of evolution. Behind the written word is an historical lineage stretching back through the ages, which aids in the consideration of the underlying constitutional principles. These principles inform and sustain the constitutional text: they are the vital unstated assumptions upon which the text is based.
