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Fundamentals of the Law of Evidence: Cases and Commentaries
Nikos Harris
The emphasis of these commentaries and case excerpts is on the common law rules of evidence from a criminal law perspective. The common law is the single largest source of the rules of evidence, and many of the evidentiary rules applied in criminal proceedings are the same, or very similar, to those applied in civil and administrative cases.
Some statutory evidence rules which apply in criminal proceedings are referred to in this resource, including sections of the Criminal Code of Canada, R.S.C., 1985, c. C-46 (“Criminal Code”) and the Canada Evidence Act, R.S.C., 1985, c. C-5 (“Canada Evidence Act”). However, many sections of these statutes which relate to the rules of evidence are not discussed. Further, this publication does not discuss statutory provisions relevant to rules of evidence for other areas of law, including civil and administrative proceedings.
Statutory evidence provisions are critical because they take precedence over common law rules. For example, in a criminal trial, the common law concerning the timing for disclosure of expert evidence is replaced by the provisions in section 657.3 of the Criminal Code. While statutory evidence provisions often:
-borrow from the common law; and,
-in many instances supplement the common law rules rather than replace them,
it is critical that parties first assess whether there are any statutory provisions which are relevant to an evidentiary issue before relying on the common law.
This is an educational resource which is aimed at assisting persons in understanding basic principles of evidence. Authority for the content in the commentaries is sometimes provided in a case reference in that section, but more commonly relies on the case excerpts provided after the commentary. This resource does not address all rules of evidence, and does not provide a comprehensive analysis of those rules which are discussed. The case excerpts and cases referenced in the commentaries are intended to help understand the rules, but do not necessarily represent the current law on each issue.
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AI & Policing: Research Report on the Governance and Use of AI by Police in Canada
Benjamin Perrin
Examines the growing use of AI by police, the benefits and risks these technologies present, and opportunities for stronger governance across the following areas:
- Police uses of AI: What types of AI technologies are currently in use, or have been used, by Canadian police forces, and for what specific purposes? What evidence is there of their benefits and risks?
- Police self-regulation: How effectively are police agencies in Canada governing their own use of AI technologies?
- Governance approaches: How can international and Canadian AI governance initiatives help guide responsible and trustworthy AI adoption in Canadian policing?
We relied on published research and knowledge from a wide range of public sources, as well as on roundtables with stakeholders. These roundtables were especially important, given the rapidly evolving nature of this topic. Across three cities, 40 participants contributed candidly under the Chatham House Rule, enabling the free sharing of ideas and experiences. This included representatives from human rights and law reform bodies, privacy commissioners, police services and oversight agencies, academics and researchers, civil society and advocacy organizations, criminal defence lawyers and legislators.
While this report focuses on published research and open-source materials on this topic, a second report describing the research roundtable discussions was published in January 2026.
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Tort Law: Cases and Commentaries, 2025 ed
Samuel Beswick
The first edition of this casebook was published in July 2021. Updates were published in July 2022, February 2023, August 2023, May 2024 and July 2025.
Preface
The law of obligations concerns the legal rights and duties owed between people. Three primary categories make up the common law of obligations: tort, contract, and unjust enrichment. This casebook provides an introduction to tort law: the law that recognises and responds to civil wrongdoing. The material is arranged in two main parts. Following a brief introduction (§1), the first main part addresses intentional, dignitary and dishonesty torts as well as corresponding defences and remedies (§2-§10). The focus pivots with a consideration of the overarching theories and goals of tort law (§11) and no-fault compensation schemes as an alternative to the tort system (§12). The second main part addresses negligence, nuisance, strict liability, and further defences and remedial doctrines (§13-§23). The casebook concludes with two chapters that explore the place of common law tort within our broader legal systems (§24-§25).
This casebook was compiled and edited by Assistant Professor Samuel Beswick of the University of British Columbia Peter A. Allard School of Law. Maddison Zapach (J.D. 2023) assisted on the first edition published in July 2021. We gratefully acknowledge the influence on our approach to this subject of Professor Joost Blom QC of the Allard School of Law, Professor John C.P. Goldberg of Harvard Law School, and Associate Professor Rosemary Tobin of the University of Auckland Faculty of Law. The support of Open UBC and the UBC Teaching and Learning Enhancement Fund is also gratefully acknowledged.
Gabriella Pasolli (J.D. 2025), Lillian Callender (J.D. 2025), Joey He (J.D. expected 2026) and Malik Dhami (J.D. expected 2026) assisted on the 2024 edition.
Themes
Themes explored within this casebook include:
- Tort law is grounded in community standards and values.
- Rights of action in private law afford plaintiffs the right to sue.
- Our common law constitution assumes equality of all (including public officials) under law.
- The common law develops incrementally: precedent upon precedent.
- The common law is a dialogue taking place over time within and between jurisdictions.
Notable illustrations of these themes include the High Court of Australia’s judgment in Binsaris v. Northern Territory (§2.2.4) recognising incarcerated indigenous youths’ claims of unlawful battery by prison officers; the Supreme Court of Canada’s judgment in R v. Le (§2.4.5) addressing police racial profiling, trespass, and wrongful detention; the opinion dissenting from the Supreme Court of the United States’ denial of certiorari in Baxter v. Bracey (§6.6.8.2) concerning the US doctrine of qualified immunity from constitutional tort liability for government officers; and the Ontario Court of Appeal’s judgment in Cloud v. Canada (§19.7.1) certifying a class action of First Nations residential school survivors’ claims in negligence, battery, and assault.
While primarily focussing on Canadian case law, this casebook incorporates judgments from comparative common law jurisdictions, including Hong Kong, India, Kenya, New Zealand, and Singapore, as well as excerpts of and links to commentaries from the world’s leading tort law scholars.
Teaching and learning from this casebook
This casebook is designed to aid the teaching of tort law in common law Canadian law schools. The readings are complemented by commentary in the UBC Common Law Torts Wiki.
The cases have been selected and curated to help build up understanding of concepts and material over a course. One way this is achieved is by returning to different portions of judgments across topics. For example, the case of Gokey v. Usher & Parsons appears across twelve cross-referenced sections addressing the topics of battery (§2.2.1), assault (§2.3.3), statutory invasion of privacy (§4.2.3), harassment (§5.2.6), trespass to land (§7.1.2), non-pecuniary damages (§9.3.4), aggravated damages (§9.4.3), punitive damages (§9.5.4), permanent injunctions (§9.8.2.1), intimidation (§10.2.1), private nuisance (§21.1.3), and legal costs (§20.8.1). The case of Lu v. Shen appears in the sections on intentional infliction of mental suffering (§3.2.5), invasion of privacy (§4.2.4), defamation (§5.1.1), harassment (§5.2.3), non-pecuniary damages (§9.3.8), and permanent injunctions (§9.8.2.4). Hill v. Hamilton-Wentworth Police Services Board appears in the sections on duty of care (§13.4.2.2), standard of care (§14.1.3.3), breach of duty (§14.2.5.3), damage (§15.2.1), and but-for causation (§16.1.3).
The casebook is designed with flexibility in mind. Each chapter is largely self-contained so that instructors can assign sections to suit their syllabi. The edited cases link back to original judgment transcripts on open-access platforms. Extracts of relevant Federal and British Columbia statutes are accompanied by lists of other provinces’ equivalent statutes.
Dinkuses (“***”) indicate where content has been edited out. To aid classroom discussion, paragraph numbering has been added to case excerpts where it was not already included in the original transcript.
To aid comprehension, each reading is followed by the editor’s Reflection questions. Students will find it helpful to review these questions before reading the case or material that they reflect on, and to read the cases in light of the commentary in the Common Law Torts Wiki. Students can find past exams, multiple-choice quizzes and guided exam answer exercises based on the casebook content by visiting https://blogs.ubc.ca/beswick/torts/.
Readers who wish to delve deeper can follow the links to podcasts 🎧, videos 📺, blogs, news, articles, and books on relevant topics that are cited and hyperlinked in the Further material sections.
Instructors may subscribe to a mailing list for edition updates.
Recommended reference reading on Canadian tort law
- E. Chamberlain, S. Pitel, A. Botterell, M. McInnes, J. Neyers & Z. Sinel, Introduction to the Canadian Law of Torts (4th ed, Toronto: LexisNexis, 2020).
- E. Chamberlain, S. Pitel, A. Botterell, M. McInnes, J. Neyers & Z. Sinel, Fridman’s The Law of Torts in Canada (4th ed, Toronto: Thomson Reuters, 2020).
- G.H.L. Fridman, Torts: A Guide for the Perplexed (Toronto: LexisNexis, 2017).
- L. Klar & C. Jefferies, Tort Law (7th ed, Toronto: Thomson Reuters, 2023).
- A. Linden, B. Feldthusen, M. Hall, E. Knutsen & H. Young, Canadian Tort Law (12th ed, Toronto: LexisNexis, 2022).
- M.H. Kerr, J. Kurtz & L.M. Olivo, Canadian Tort Law in a Nutshell (5th ed, Toronto: Thomson Reuters, 2019).
- P.H. Osborne, The Law of Torts (6th ed, Toronto: Irwin Law, 2020).
- S. Shields, Is That Legal? Torts, http://www.isthatlegal.ca/index.php?name=Torts.
Recommended reading on succeeding as a first-year law student
- B. Friedman & J.C.P. Goldberg, Open Book: The Inside Track to Law School Success (2nd ed, New York: Wolters Kluwer, 2016).
- JD Advising, “A Case Brief Template” (2020) and “An In-Depth Guide to Outlining” (2020).
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Frustration of Contract
Bruce MacDougall
Frustration of Contract is a comprehensive treatment of the law of frustration in Canada and is the first book on this subject matter. Frustration is perhaps the strongest legal intervention in a contract bringing it to a termination when an unexpected catastrophic event makes the contract radically different from that to which the parties agreed.
Frustration of Contract examines what circumstances lead to frustration (and which do not) and discusses the consequences of frustration. It also examines the use of force majeure clauses that obviate the need for the doctrine of frustration.
[From https://store.lexisnexis.com/en-ca/frustration-of-contract.html]
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Halsbury's Laws of Canada: Personal Property and Secured Transactions (2025 Reissue)
Bruce MacDougall
The law relating to personal property has been of central importance to lawyers in all fields of practice, since well before the King's Bench in 1722 famously proclaimed the principle of "finders, keepers". That is never more true than today, with the personal property security regimes in each jurisdiction providing comprehensive rules to govern the rights of creditors and debtors when personal property is used as collateral to secure the payment of a debt.
This invaluable volume by Bruce MacDougall delivers a national, organized summary of the legislation and case law relevant to the common law field of personal property law and to the creation, perfection and enforcement of security in personal property. Designed for legal professionals who do not specialize in issues of personal property security, this accessible volume comprehensively deals with the key aspects of secured transactions under legislation in Canada's common law jurisdictions.
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Artificial Intelligence & Criminal Justice: Cases and Commentary
Benjamin Perrin
When I was given the chance to develop a seminar this year at UBC’s Peter A. Allard School of Law, I jumped at the opportunity to develop something new and engaging. After brainstorming ideas with students, it quickly became evident that there was substantial interest and enthusiasm for a seminar on the growing integration of artificial intelligence and the criminal justice system.
Embarking on this journey has been a steep learning curve for me as my students and I worked together to shape the course along with input from generative AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity, along with open-source materials from the Canadian Legal Information Institute and the Creative Commons search portal.
Delving into the case law in Canada and the U.S., reading the critical commentary, listening to podcasts and webinars, and playing around with the latest AI tools has been a lot of fun, but also made me realize how crucial it is at this point in time to have a focussed critical exploration of the benefits and risks of AI in the criminal justice context.
I hope that this open access casebook will be a valuable resource for students, instructors, legal practitioners and the public, offering insights into how AI is already influencing various aspects of the criminal justice lifecycle – including criminality and victimization, access to justice, policing, lawyering, adjudication, and corrections. If you’re interested in a quick overview of topics covered in this casebook, you can download the companion: Artificial Intelligence & Criminal Justice: A Primer (2024).
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Intellectual Property Futures: Exploring the Global Landscape of IP Law and Policy
Graham Reynolds, Alexandra Mogyoros, and Teshager W. Dagne
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Business Organizations: Practice, Theory and Emerging Challenges, 3rd Edition
Robert Yalden, Mark Gillen, Janis P. Sarra, Mary Condon, Mohamed F. Khimji, Paul D. Paton, Carol Liao, Bradley Bryan, Barnali Choudhury, Frankie Young, and Peer Zumbansen
Business Organizations: Practice, Theory and Emerging Challenges, 3rd Edition is more than just a comprehensive guide to the fundamentals of business structures, including partnerships and corporations. It highlights diverse perspectives on the objectives of business organizations, the roles and responsibilities of their officers and directors, and the functions of these organizations in Canadian society. This approach strives to promote a deep understanding of business organizations and of the ways in which legal and policy decisions impact their function.
This thoroughly updated and reorganized edition introduces an entirely new chapter on the principles of agency, along with a fresh examination of Indigenous business structures, including commentary on the challenges of imposing organizational structures conceived outside indigenous communities to enterprises operating within them. The casebook features expert insights from three new authors: Frankie Young, Peer Zumbansen, and Barnali Choudhury.
Drawing on the perspectives of leading Canadian business scholars, this casebook is designed to be an accessible classroom and research resource. It is a must-have addition to the faculty, firm, or private library of anyone interested in the various dimensions of the law of business organizations.
[From Business Organizations: Practice, Theory and Emerging Challenges, 3rd Edition ]
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Tort Law: Cases and Commentaries, 2024 ed
Samuel Beswick
Preface
The law of obligations concerns the legal rights and duties owed between people. Three primary categories make up the common law of obligations: tort, contract, and unjust enrichment. This casebook provides an introduction to tort law: the law that recognises and responds to civil wrongdoing. The material is arranged in two main parts. Following a brief introduction (§1), the first main part addresses intentional, dignitary and dishonesty torts as well as corresponding defences and remedies (§2-§10). The focus pivots with a consideration of the overarching theories and goals of tort law (§11) and no-fault compensation schemes as an alternative to tort liability (§12). The second main part addresses negligence, nuisance, strict liability, and further defences and remedial doctrines (§13-§23). The casebook concludes with two chapters that explore the place of common law tort within our broader legal systems (§24-§25).
This casebook was compiled and edited by Assistant Professor Samuel Beswick of the University of British Columbia Peter A. Allard School of Law. Maddison Zapach (J.D. 2023) assisted on the first edition published in July 2021. We gratefully acknowledge the influence on our approach to this subject of Professor Joost Blom QC of the Allard School of Law, Professor John C.P. Goldberg of Harvard Law School, and Associate Professor Rosemary Tobin of the University of Auckland Faculty of Law. The support of Open UBC and the UBC Teaching and Learning Enhancement Fund is also gratefully acknowledged.
Gabriella Pasolli (J.D. expected 2025), Lillian Callender (J.D. expected 2025), Joey He (J.D. expected 2026) and Malik Dhami (J.D. expected 2026) assisted on the 2024 edition.
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International Tax Law in Canada: Taxation of Cross-Border Income in the Canadian Context
David G. Duff
This book provides a comprehensive explanation of international tax law in the Canadian context, considering domestic rules, treaty provisions, judicial decisions and administrative guidance that governs the taxation of non-residents on income from Canadian sources and the taxation of Canadian residents on income from foreign sources.
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Sustainable Development, International Law, and a Turn to African Legal Cosmologies
Godwin Eli Kwadzo Dzah
This original book analyses and reimagines the concept of sustainable development in international law from a non-Western legal perspective. Built upon the intersection of law, politics, and history in the context of Africa, its peoples and their experiences, customary law and other legal cosmologies, this ground-breaking study applies a critical legal analysis to Africa's interaction with conceptualising and operationalising sustainable development. It proposes a turn to non-Western legal normativity as the foundational principle for reimagining sustainable development in international law. It highlights eco-legal philosophies and principles in remaking sustainable development where ecological integrity assumes a central focus in the reimagined conceptualisation and operationalisation of sustainable development. While this pioneering book highlights Africa as its analytical pivot, its arguments and proposals are useful beyond Africa. Connecting global discourses on nature, the environment, rights and development, Godwin Eli Kwadzo Dzah illuminates our current thinking on sustainable development in international law.
[From https://doi.org/10.1017]
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Administrative Law: Cases and Commentaries
Alexandra Flynn
This casebook was compiled by Alexandra Flynn, Associate Professor, Allard School of Law, University of British Columbia. Jennifer Nguyen provided outstanding research support – indeed, this book would not have been possible without Jennifer’s excellent suggestions and tremendous work.
Administrative agencies are a powerful part of modern government and crucial to our daily lives. There are many excellent Administrative Law textbooks. This one – which has the benefit of being open-source - was created to support my Administrative Law course at Allard School of Law, which surveys the legal framework of administrative bodies. The course – and the book – provide an overview of the legal framework (rules, principles, and policy considerations) that shape the powers of these administrative decision-makers in a diverse range of areas including human rights, municipal law, First Nations governance, and professional self-governance. In particular, the book provides material on how courts review public bodies based on the principles and rules that constrain their decision-making.
I am especially grateful to Professor Sam Beswick for inspiring me to create this book (and for being such a fabulous colleague). I learn so much from him. Thanks as well to Professors Jocelyn Stacey and Mary Liston for many insightful conversations on Administrative Law pedagogy. But the biggest thanks is for my wonderful students – I feel so grateful for the chance to steward you through this fascinating area of law.
All errors and omissions are my own.
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Cities and the Constitution: Giving Local Governments in Canada the Power They Need
Alexandra Flynn
Empowering Canadian cities with the legal authority to manage their own obligations is a crucial democratic project.
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The Past, Present, and Future of Canadian Cities: Where the Law Went Wrong and How We Can Fix It
Alexandra Flynn, Richard Albert, and Nathalie Des Rosiers
In 1861, just a few years before Confederation, 84 per cent of Canadians lived in rural areas; today, it’s less than 20 per cent. Our municipal governments are asked to do more for their citizens than ever before, yet they must confront myriad challenges – from the public health pandemic to the housing crisis – without the tools they need. They have no constitutional protection from jurisdictional overstepping by provincial governments and no assurance that they will be able to complete any effort they undertake.
The Past, Present, and Future of Canadian Cities explores the historical functions of municipalities, their current ability to tackle major problems, and what the future holds for shifting legal and political powers. This volume examines how pre-Confederation cities came to have their current constitutional and legislative forms; how current local governments make decisions within existing legal parameters, highlighting Indigenous-municipal relationships and emergency management; and, finally, looks to the world to investigate future innovation in municipal governance.
The Past, Present, and Future of Canadian Cities makes the case that constitutional concepts must be repurposed to support the transition from nation-building to city-building in a global context.[From Past, Present, and Future of Canadian Cities, The | McGill-Queen’s University Press]
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Halsbury's Laws of Canada – Estoppel (2024 Reissue)
Bruce MacDougall
The doctrine of estoppel is used to hold parties to their promises or agreements, whether formal or informal. Estoppel applies to many different fields of law, both public and private. This authoritative title provides an extensive overview of the various types of estoppel, including estoppel by deed, estoppel by convention, estoppel by representation, promissory estoppel and proprietary estoppel. The title describes and analyzes each individual doctrine, summarizes its development, and sets out its current application in case law from a variety of jurisdictions.
[From Halsbury's Laws of Canada]
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The Power & Limits of Private Law
Marcus Moore and Samuel Beswick
This collection of legal essays draws upon the third Canadian Law of Obligations conference held in June 2022 in Vancouver, British Columbia.
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Trusts in Common-Law Canada, 4th ed.
Dennis Pavlich
Written for both novices and veterans, this book introduces readers to the foundations of trust law and provides an up-to-date exposition and analysis of the legislation and case law that have shaped the Canadian trust landscape.
[From Trusts in Common-Law Canada, 4th Edition | LexisNexis Canada]
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Labour Justice: A Constitutional Evaluation of Labour Law
Supriya Routh
This book argues that the imagination of the worker-citizen, inherent in citizens' constitutional duty to work, is the very foundation of constitutional citizenship and its social justice agenda. The design of social justice in the constitution takes labour as its core ideological and political commitment, seeking to treat workers fairly for their social contribution through work. Employing this constitutional design, this book evaluates the recently repealed labour law against the constitutional metric of social justice. Drawing on the components of social justice, the book evaluates the new labour law in its capacity to promote market-based distribution, respecting basic individual liberties; the complementary redistribution of public goods, upholding the principle of solidarity; and worker participation in decisions about the operation of the market and the state. In offering such evaluation, the book conceives of work in its wider social relationship in contrast to its narrower private exchange rationale.
[From Labour justice constitutional evaluation labour law | Employment law | Cambridge University Press]
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Rights, Freedoms, and Their Limits: Reimagining Section 1 of the Charter
Brian Bird and Derek Ross
When can the state place limits on basic human rights? This is a fundamental question for any liberal democracy.
In Canada, for rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the answer is found in section 1 of this constitutional document. Section 1 provides that the state may only subject Charter rights and freedoms to limits that are “reasonable”, “prescribed by law”, and “demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society”.
But interpreting these standards has proven a difficult task, one which courts, decisionmakers, and legislatures have wrestled with over the first four decades of Charter jurisprudence.
This collection offers fresh, innovative, and insightful perspectives on these challenges, and on the proper scope, contours, and limits of rights and freedoms. It will be of value to jurists, scholars, governments, lawyers, students, and litigants alike.
[From https://store.lexisnexis.com/en-ca/products/rights-freedoms-and-their-limits-reimagining-section-1-of-the-charter.html]
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Canadian Income Tax Law, 7th ed.
David G. Duff, Geoffrey Loomer, Bradley Bryan, and Rory Gillis
This work provides an overview of the foundations of tax law and the critical cases which have shaped each component of the tax regime, uniquely combining the best features of both a textbook and casebook.
[From Canadian Income Tax Law, 7th Edition | LexisNexis Canada]
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Canadian Personal Property Security Law, 3rd ed
Bruce MacDougall
A comprehensive, up-to-date treatise covering personal property secured transactions law in Canada, this resource deals with all significant statutory and regulatory provisions applicable under the Personal Property Security Act (PPSA), the Securities Transfer Act and the Bank Act.
[From Canadian Personal Property Security Law,3rd Edition | LexisNexis Canada]
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Sex, Sexuality, and the Constitution: Enshrining the Right to Sexual Autonomy in Japan
Shigenori Matsui
Sex and sexuality are an integral part of human life and vital for the survival of the human race, but sexual freedoms in many countries have yet to be enshrined as constitutional rights.
Focusing primarily on Japan, Sex, Sexuality, and the Constitution critically reconsiders the relationship between individual freedoms and constitutionally entrenched protection of sexual autonomy. As a sharply declining birthrate triggers population loss and shrinks the working population in Japan, national spending on social security is under increasing pressure to support an aging population. In response, government policy is increasingly focused on boosting the birthrate. Shigenori Matsui explores the extent to which governments should be allowed to restrict or influence sexual autonomy in pursuit of population goals to support desired population policy outcomes. Should the constitution protect the following rights: an individual’s right to decide or change sexual or gender identity; to have sex, to refuse to have sex; to have a child, through natural birth or through access to medically assisted reproduction; or to not be forced to have a child, through access to abortion?
This rigorously detailed legal analysis argues for sexual autonomy as a constitutional right, a position that has potential implications for government policy not only in Japan but in all countries facing similar issues.
Researchers and scholars of law, Japanese legal studies, gender and sexuality studies, and population policy will find this an invaluable study with broad implications for individual autonomy and rights.
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Indictment: The Criminal Justice System on Trial
Benjamin Perrin
#MeToo. Black Lives Matter. Decriminalize Drugs. No More Stolen Sisters. Stop Stranger Attacks.
Do we need more cops or to defund police? Harm reduction or treatment? Tougher sentences or prison abolition? The debate about Canada’s criminal justice system has rarely been so polarized – or so in need of fresh ideas.
Indictment brings the heartrending and captivating stories of survivors and offenders alike to the forefront to help us understand why the criminal justice system is facing such an existential crisis. It offers a new transformative justice vision – one that reviewers call “revolutionary” and “a beautiful vision for healthy communities that are safe for everyone”.
Benjamin Perrin draws on his expertise as a lawyer, former top criminal justice advisor to the prime minister, and law clerk at the Supreme Court of Canada to investigate the criminal justice system itself. Indictment critiques the system from a trauma-informed perspective, examining its treatment of victims of crime, Indigenous people and Black Canadians, people with substance use and mental health disorders, and people experiencing homelessness, poverty, and unemployment.
Perrin also shares insights from others on the frontlines, including prosecutors and defence lawyers, police chiefs, Indigenous leaders, victim support workers, corrections officers, public health experts, gang outreach workers, prisoner and victims’ rights advocates, criminologists, psychologists, and leading trauma experts. Bringing forward the voices of marginalized people, along with their stories of survival and resilience, Indictment shows that a better way is possible.
[From Books]
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Criminal Law: Canadian Law, Indigenous Laws & Critical Perspectives
Benjamin Perrin, David Milward, Michelle Lawrence, and Myrna McCallum
Criminal Law: Canadian Law, Indigenous Laws & Critical Perspectives is an innovative open access eBook for Criminal Law & Procedure JD/JID courses. It is also a valuable resource for Criminology and Law & Society courses as well as for students, researchers and the general public.
This is the first Canadian open access criminal law casebook, incorporating a wide range of traditional and audio/visual materials such as podcasts and documentary films. It is also notable for being the first to present Indigenous laws alongside Canadian criminal law. Cree law is featured throughout and the editors hope to include more Indigenous laws in future editions.
Considered by many to be an emerging core competency for lawyers and other legal professionals, a trauma-informed approach is taken in this eBook. This is reflected in the selection of materials, use of content notes, inclusion of mental health and counselling resources, and substantive materials on trauma-informed lawyering, cultural humility, vicarious trauma, and resilience.
Critical perspectives are also included on topics such as criminal law as colonial violence, anti-Black racism, intersectionality, social determinants of justice, victims of crime, wrongful convictions, policing, restorative justice, incarceration and prison abolition, and the criminalization of people who use substances and/or experience homelessness, poverty and mental health issues.
Click here for more
[From Books]
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House Rules: Changing Families, Evolving Norms, and the Role of the Law
Erez Aloni and Régine Tremblay
The paradigm of family has shifted rapidly and dramatically, from nuclear unit to diverse constellations of intimacy. At the same time, some norms resist change, such as women’s continuing role as primary care providers despite their increased uptake of paid work. This tension between transformation and stasis in family arrangements has an impact on economic, emotional, and legal aspects of daily life.
House Rules critically explores the intertwining of norms and laws that govern familial relationships. The authors in this incisive collection engage with four countries – Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Taiwan – and expose the ingrained and unsettled norms that affect families and the law’s role in regulating them. They reveal the assumptions that create inequality and animate legislation, evaluating the effects of laws and scrutinizing reforms.
Over recent decades, the law has struggled to adjust to transformations in what typifies the structures and practices of family life. House Rules provides tools to analyze those difficulties and, ultimately, to design laws to better respond to ongoing change and avoid entrenching inequalities.
Family law scholars, gender studies and feminist scholars, and sociologists of the family will all find this a valuable and informative work.
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