POLS 2140 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Breathalyzer, Arbitrary Arrest And Detention, Statutory Interpretation

• School: University of Windsor
• Department: Political Science
• Course: POLS 2140
• Professor: Emmanuelle Richez

Document Summary

Lecture objectives: to understand how the judiciary shapes criminal law in canada, to assess which theory of courts best explains the canadian criminal justice process. Under the constitution act, 1867, the federal government was given jurisdiction over criminal law, while the provinces were given jurisdiction over property and civil rights and matters of a merely local and private nature . As the umpire of canadian federalism, courts are responsible for ruling on the jurisdictional question and delineating criminal law. Example: canada (a. g. ) v. phs community services society, With the adoption of the canadian charter of rights and. Freedoms, 1982, the judiciary has the power to invalidate federal and provincial laws that contravene protected rights. This power has been used to determine what should be criminalized and to regulate the criminal justice process. Example: canada (a. g. ) v. bedford, 2013, scc 72. Courts also shape the criminal law through statutory interpretation of the criminal code and other criminal law legislation.