Canada's legal system is based on the principles of constitutionalism, federalism, and the rule of law. It is a dualistic system, meaning that it has both federal and provincial jurisdictions.
The Constitution Act of 1867 establishes the division of powers between the federal government and the provincial governments. The federal government has authority over criminal law, national defence, foreign affairs, and other matters of national importance. The provincial governments have jurisdiction over areas such as education, healthcare, property and civil rights, and other local matters.
Canada's legal system is also influenced by common law, which is based on the principle of stare decisis (precedent). The judiciary plays a crucial role in Canada's legal system. The Supreme Court of Canada is the highest court in the country and has the final authority on legal matters. It is responsible for interpreting and applying the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which protects fundamental rights and freedoms of individuals.
In Canada, individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty, and have the right to a fair trial. The legal system ensures access to legal representation, and defendants have the right to remain silent and not self-incriminate. Canada's legal system is designed to uphold the principles of justice, equality, and the protection of individual rights and freedoms.
The Parliament of Canada
The Supreme Court of Canada
To look for law reports in FIND@HKUL, you may search with their titles with “Books+” search scope.
Alternatively, you may also change to Advance Search and enter the following search term for all available law reports within the HKUL Collection:
Authorised Law Reports
Currently, there are two official reporter series in Canada, the SCR and FCR. Both titles are published in English with headnotes and other editorial enhancements included.
Supreme Court Reports [SCR]
Federal Courts Reports [FCR]
Exchequer Court Reports [ECR]
Published in 1877 - 1971, the ECR was once an authorised law report series in Canada. The Exchequer Court of Canada was replaced by the Federal Court of Canada in 1971. Hence, the reporting agent was being replaced as a result.
Major Law Reports
Other than official reporter series, a number of esteemed law reports are available in the country. Below only listed a few titles. You may visit our subscribed databases and browse for more law report titles on different subjects and jurisdictions.
Canadian Criminal Cases [CCC]
As from its title, the CCC covers significant criminal cases in the country.
Dominion Law Reports [DLR]
This reputable title covers all aspects of law in Canada.
The Canadian Abridgement
The Canadian Abridgment serves as an important tool in legal research, for locating a case by its legal issue in an efficient way. The title includes a collection of case digests or summaries, issued by the Canadian court and administrative tribunals. To know more about how it works, in print and via BestCase Library, you may check out this Guide by Westlaw Canada.
Maintained by the Department of Justice in Canada, this website offers brief background information on how the court system works in Canada and other relevant topics.
Office of the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs Canada
This Office was established in 1978 to handle federal judicial affairs with support to federally appointed judges. Here, you can find the Federal Courts Reports in full-text dating back to 1870s to the present, which are the official reports of the decisions issued under the Federal Court of Appeal and the Federal Court.
Served as the highest court at the federal level in Canada, the Supreme Court can be noted as the final court of appeal in Canada. Decisions are published in the official report titled Supreme Court Reports. Documented judgments, bulletins of proceeding and reports available on this site can be traced back to the 1870s; while access to Court Records are upon request that abide by set policies.
The Federal Court of Appeal generally hears appeals from the Federal Court and the Tax Court of Canada. Decisions displayed on this site can be dated back to 1988, with more comprehensive collections available starting from 1997 and onwards. Selected decisions may be issued in French, depends on the language used in the court.
In general, the Federal Court conducts hearings and provides decisions in disputes across the country. Decisions issued by the Court can be found on this site, dating back to 1972, with more comprehensive collection available starting from 1996 and onwards.
In general, the Tax Court deals with disputes regarding tax issues. Decisions issued by this Court can be found on this site, dating back to 1996, with a more comprehensive collection available starting from 1997 and onwards. You may search by the case citation, case name or subject (i.e. which Act the case is relevant to).
Below are listed some quick access links to official court websites of each province in Canada (arranged in alphabetical order):
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Maintains by the Department of Justice, this website offers e-access to federal materials in both French and English, which are both equally authoritative. Here, you can find constitutional documents of the country, consolidated Acts and regulations, Annual Statues from 2001 and onwards and etc.
Paraliament of Canada offical webiste , offering free resources of current and previous federal bills and legislations.
The Canada Gazette generally separates into three parts - Part I: Notices and proposed regulations; Part II: Official regulations; and Part III: Acts of Parliament. Publications from 1998 to the present can be accessed via the stated site (click the title above). For documents from 1841 to 1997, you may visit the Library and Archives Canada Collection.
Records of Bills and legislative history of each document can be searched, traced and accessed via this platform, with earliest available Parliament begins from the 35th (1994) to the current. Bills under consideration, or in progress, are also available from the 37th Parliament (2001) to the present.
To understand more about the legislative process of the government, you may visit House of Commons’ website.
Below gathers some quick links to access the legislations and relevant materials of different provinces in Canada, via corresponding official websites.
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Official website of the Government of Canada, offering free resources of previous and latest treaties, laws, and regulations.
Canadian Legal Information Institute (CanLII)
Supporting the free access of legal information, an extensive collection of legal materials are available via CanLII. Here, you can access full-text of cases by browsing by jurisdictions (i.e. federal or provinces) and select the level of court under Courts; in which the coverage of each court would differ and depend on each court. You may search in French or English, but please note that most cases are reported in English.