APPENDIX AGLOSSARY OF LEGAL TERMS

Access:: The traditional term for the extent to which a court allows a parent who does not have custody of a child to see the child and be given important information about him or her. Now increasingly referred to as “parenting time” (c.f. Divorce Act).

Acquit:: To find someone not guilty of a crime in court.

Age of majority:: The age at which the law treats you as an adult (in Canada, 18 or 19, depending on the jurisdiction).

Appeal:: To challenge the decision of a court in a higher court.

Bill:: A proposal for a new law or for an amendment to an old law, before the Parliament or legislature passes it.

Binding:: Unbreakable or non-negotiable.

Case law:: The law that is established by judges’ opinions in court cases. See also common law.

Common law:: A legal system inherited from England that allows judges to make rules of law through their decisions in court cases instead of having to rely on the statutes alone. See also case law.

Constitution:: A law or set of laws in a state that provide the fundamental rules for how the state should function.

Convict:: To find someone guilty of a crime in court.

Crown Attorney:: A lawyer working for the government who prosecutes a person accused of a crime and tries to prove at his or her trial that he or she is guilty.

Custody:: (1) The traditional term for the rights and duties that parents have to care for and make decisions about their minor children (now increasingly called “decision-making responsibility”—c.f. Divorce Act); (2) State control, that is, being locked up in jail or, in the case of a minor, being handed over to the care of the state.

Defendant:: A person who is accused of a crime in criminal court or is being sued in civil court.

Discharge:: When a person is found guilty of a lesser crime, the judge may decide to give him or her a discharge, which means he or she will not be convicted and sentenced.

Emancipation:: In Québec law, when a court gives a minor many of the legal rights of an adult. Until then, the law considers a minor to be “unemancipated.”

Federation (adj. federal): A country like Canada that is made up of provinces or states that have a constitutional right to make their own laws on certain subjects.

Indictable offence:: A relatively serious criminal offence, usually carrying quite a heavy penalty.

International treaty:: An agreement between two or more countries.

Jurisdiction:: 1) A place such as a city, province, territory, or country that has the power to make laws about something. 2) The power a court has over someone or something.

Last will and testament:: A document in which a person states what he or she wants to be done with his or her property when he or she dies. A parent may also name a guardian for his or her minor children in a will.

Legal capacity:: The power to do legal acts such as sign a contract, buy things, or sue someone without the help or permission of a guardian. Until you reach the age of majority, you have some legal capacity, but not a great deal.

Litigation guardian:: An adult who acts on behalf of a minor in court actions; can also be called a “guardian ad litem” or a “next friend.”

Minor:: Someone under the age of majority. Some laws use “child” or “infant” to mean the same thing.

Parole:: When a person is released from his or her sentence early on condition of good behaviour.

Plaintiff:: A person who sues someone in a civil court.

Plea (vb. to plead/enter a plea: If a person charged with a crime admits his or her guilt, the person pleads guilty. If the person claims to be innocent, he or she pleads not guilty.

Precedent:: A rule laid out in a court decision, which is binding on that court and on lower courts until either that court or a higher court changes it.

Probation:: When a person convicted of a crime is sentenced to a period under court surveillance but is not fined or sent to jail as long as the person keeps the conditions of the probation order.

Ratify:: Officially agree to respect a convention, treaty, declaration, or charter. A country (sometimes referred to as a “State Party”) ratifies an international treaty when its government declares that it will respect the treaty.

Regulation:: An order given by the government or a minister giving rules that provide more details to those already given by a statute law.

Repudiate:: To refuse to fulfill your side of a contract when the law allows you to do so.

Status offence:: Something that is against the law only for a certain group of people who share the same status (such as something that is illegal for a youth to do but not for an adult).

Statute:: Any written law passed by a parliament or legislature.

Subpoena (pronounced “suh-pee-na”):: A paper ordering someone to come to court.

Summary offence:: A relatively minor criminal offence, usually carrying a light penalty.

Tort:: An offence involving personal injury or damage to someone’s property.

Unconstitutional:: The term used to describe a rule of law that goes against a rule in the Constitution and so is invalid.

Verdict:: The decision of a court as to whether an accused person is guilty or not guilty.

Void:: A court voids a contract when it declares it invalid.

Warrant:: An order issued by a judge allowing the police (or another government official) to arrest someone, to take them into custody, or to search them or their property.

Appendix B. How a Bill Becomes Law

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