Deck 6: Law

Question 1

Which of the following is an advantage of legislation?

A) Legislators can foresee situations and prevent conflicts.
B) Legislation can be created or changed in a relatively short period of time.
C) Legislators are always reasonable, rational people.
D) Legislation may offer greater certainty because the law is not inferred.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

The most important reason why some social rules or customs do not require coercive enforcement is:

A) The costs of deviating from the rules are greater than the incentives of following them
B) Most people agree that they are good rules.
C) They exist in the private realm and cannot be coercively enforced.
D) They are effectively enforced by the family.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

A speedy driver receives a $250 ticket for breaking the speed limit.This ismost closely related to which function of law enforcement?

A) retribution
B) redistribution
C) restitution
D) restraint

Answer 3

A

Question 4

What is one of the great advantages of common law?

A) being systematically planned
B) being made by statute
C) its flexibility
D) its brevity

Question 5

Which term is a synonym for the concept of stare decisis?

A) habit
B) precedent
C) custom
D) state decision

Question 6

Which of the following factors is NOT required for a society to develop a system of customary law?

A) A means of passing on behavioural norms from one generation to the next
B) A general agreement on important rules
C) A desire for some form of social order
D) Spoken language

Question 7

Which of the following is an example of legislation?

A) A king writes down specific rules about trespassing in various locations
B) A court case from 1690 about trespassing on a farm is used to decide a case in 1990 about trespassing on an apple orchard.
C) All members of a society agree not to trespass on each other's property.
D) The Golden Rule is used to justify anti-trespassing rules.

Question 8

Which of the following factors is required for the successful development of common law?

A) rational judges
B) a political system based on the British parliamentary tradition
C) the existence of religious-based customary law
D) rules that can be easily understood by the common people

Question 9

What period of history saw the origins of the common law system of England?

A) the Age of Absolutism
B) the Norman conquest
C) the Roman conquest
D) the Glorious Revolution

Question 10

When do rules require the use of coercive enforcement?

A) When they cannot be enforced by the family.
B) When the incentives to break them are greater than the benefits of following them.
C) When they are created through community consensus.
D) When they apply to large, complex societies.

Question 11

In order for laws to function most effectively,what must retribution and restitution be accompanied by?

A) retaliation and resolution
B) retaliation and restraint
C) redistribution and restraint
D) rehabilitation and restraint

Question 12

What is the relationship between legislation and common law in Canada?

A) Both have their own important role in the legal system.
B) Legislation is quickly taking over the common law tradition.
C) The common law tradition makes legislation difficult.
D) Early legislation makes the use of common law difficult.

Question 13

As society evolved,law became more a matter of conscious control.What is the most important requirement for such an evolution?

A) An authority figure, such as Napoleon, who desires legal reform.
B) The recording of laws in a series of codes.
C) The prior development of common law.
D) The development of a unified court system.

Question 14

Which of the following statements best describes the relationship between "customary" law and "common" law?

A) Common law is customary law that has been written down.
B) Common law applies to more members of a society than customary law.
C) Common law often develops out of customary law.
D) Common law is enforceable with coercion, while customary law is non-coercive.

Question 15

Behaviour is regulated by laws,which can be enforced by coercion and in other ways without coercive enforcement.Which of the following behaviour choices is an example of non-coercive enforcement?

A) A high school student chooses not wear shirts with violent or offensive slogans on them.
B) A woman leaves lunch early to put more money in her parking meter.
C) A child does not take her friend's toy on the playground without asking.
D) A man attends the birthday dinner of his boss, even though he does not like him.

Question 16

What transcends positive law,according to many writers since the time of the Stoics in late antiquity?

A) legislation
B) judicial interpretation
C) natural law
D) codified law

Question 17

What is it about the Napoleonic Code that makes it an excellent example of early legislation?

A) It was based on Justinian's Code.
B) It was the first document of its kind.
C) It formed the basis of the legal systems of France, Italy, and Spain.
D) It involved recording aspects of French customary law.

Question 18

What is the most fundamental similarity between customs and formal laws?

A) They both must be learned
B) They both influence human behaviour
C) They both help order society
D) They both must be followed and obeyed

Question 19

In the future,a new technology is invented that allows everybody to see through walls.This would obviously create serious implication for privacy laws.Which system would be best equipped to deal with this situation?

A) A legal system based on common law.
B) A legal system based on civic law.
C) A legal system based on private law.
D) A legal system based on natural law.

Question 20

What is the main reason why law,when applied to humans,is different from law when it applies to plants or animals?

A) Humans live in complex societies
B) Humans are not bound by biological necessities
C) Humans have freedom of choice
D) Humans can make rules for other species

Question 21

What is the primary source of legislation in a democracy?

A) judicial interpretation
B) the constitution
C) precedent
D) the representative assembly

Question 22

Which of the following is the best example of a human right?

A) The right to support one's family at any cost.
B) The right to access government services in one's native language.
C) The right to post-secondary education.
D) The right to believe whichever religion one wants.

Question 23

The concept of stare decisis is an important one for law.What does this term mean?

A) It means the law of nations.
B) It means no punishment except for a breach of the law.
C) It means that the decision must be studied further.
D) It means to stand by what is decided.

Question 24

Which of the following promotes the view that the law is not just the command of the sovereign?

A) natural law theory
B) private law
C) Legislation
D) Precedent

Question 25

There are two systems of private law in Canada.One of them is the code civil of Quebec.What is the other?

A) positive law
B) the English common law system
C) statutory law
D) the criminal code

Question 26

Which term refers to formal decisions of the cabinet?

A) Codification
B) Precedents
C) orders-in-council
D) by-laws

Question 27

Which term most precisely refers a particular piece of legislation?

A) a code
B) a statute
C) a law
D) a positive law

Question 28

Which term is sometimes used to refer to laws made by the state?

A) state law
B) government law
C) positive law
D) natural law

Question 29

Which of the following is an example of a code?

A) A representative assembly decides on, and writes out, everything that will be considered a criminal offence.
B) The judges in the highest court decide what will be considered criminal offences.
C) A representative assembly writes out regulations governing the use of smart phones in courtrooms.
D) A judge writes out regulations governing the use of smart phones in courtrooms.

Question 30

Given the use of doctrine of stare decisis in Canada,which of the following scenarios is LEAST likely to occur?

A) A speeding driver on a country road hits and kills three sheep. The farmer's defence lawyer uses arguments from a case from England about sheep bandits in 1675 to sue the driver.
B) A Supreme Court decision angers Canadians. After days of civilian protests, the Supreme Court decides to change the decision.
C) A female stowaway is found on a ship. While precedent states that the woman should be handed over to her closest male guardian, the court decides to grant her her freedom.
D) A case is lost at the Supreme Court. 20 years later a group of lawyers try to win the case again, but lose a second time despite complete change in Supreme Court judges.

Question 31

An innovative high-tech company has announced that it will be releasing a mini device that can be used to track strangers through GPS positioning and cell phones.Which legal system would be best able to deal with legal implications of such a device?

A) A system based on common law.
B) A system based on customary law.
C) A system based on legislative initiatives.
D) A system based on natural law.

Question 32

Which of the following is NOT an expression of natural law principles?

A) Human beings have a biological predisposition to follow the laws of a political leader.
B) Human beings are made in the image of God and must follow His laws.
C) There is such a thing as human dignity, which no law should violate.
D) All human beings have the right to freedom from torture.

Question 33

Representative assemblies,such as the Parliament of Canada,pass statutes that set up a framework for other bodies to create legally enforceable rules.Which term refers to this framework?

A) Codification
B) Custom
C) delegated legislation
D) stare decisis

Question 34

Which of the following is NOT an example of private law?

A) A famous divorced couple fights a high profile custody battle over their children
B) A man sues his former employer for firing him on the grounds that the employer was racist.
C) A woman challenges a statute legislated by the federal government on the grounds that it violates her rights and freedoms.
D) A lawyer defends her client based on laws writing in the code civil of Quebec.

Question 35

From the practical viewpoint of the average citizen,what is the difference between 'regulations' and 'by-laws'?

A) Regulations are more serious than by-laws.
B) By-laws are more serious than regulations.
C) There is no difference - they should be respected equally.
D) Regulations are encountered more in day-to-day life.

Question 36

Which of the following is an example of a statute?

A) A representative assembly decides on, and writes out, everything that will be considered a criminal offence.
B) The judges in the highest court decide what will be considered criminal offences.
C) A representative assembly writes out regulations governing the use of smartphones in courtrooms.
D) A judge writes out regulations governing the use of smartphones in courtrooms.

Question 37

A purely personal rule of conduct is usually called a statute.

Question 38

One rural region requires its citizens to recycle or face a fine.The neighbouring region allows its citizens to throw everything in the garbage with no penalty.What is the most likely reason for this distinction?

A) The regions have differing customary laws
B) The recycling requirement is a by-law.
C) Both regions rely on common law, where specific rules are not codified.
D) There was no precedent for recycling, as the laws were written before recycling was invented.

Question 39

Law in the broadest sense means a rule or regularity in the behaviour of any element in the universe.

Question 40

Stare decisis means "to stand by what is decided." What does this mean in general for Canadian courts?

A) They always follow legislative decisions.
B) They always follow decisions of British courts.
C) They decide on the merits of each case as it appears before them.
D) They attempt to follow precedent when it applies.

Question 41

____________ are higher standards against which the laws and practices of states and governments are evaluated.

Question 42

What are the essential differences between customary law and legislation?

Question 43

The private law of the province of Quebec was codified in 1866 and is known as the bar code.

Question 44

The older kind of law,which arises gradually,is called __________ law.The newer kind of law,which is consciously formed and deliberately constructed,is called ___________.

Question 45

Common law refers to the practice of law among the common people of the Middle Ages.

Question 46

A formal decision of the Canadian cabinet is called an order in council.

Question 47

Legislation refers to the kind of law that is created on purpose to solve a societal problem.

Question 48

The general rule is that positive law retains its validity until the state displaces it with common law.

Question 49

While there are two kinds of law,the general rule is that only legislation is valid and enforceable.

Question 50

Common law was developed in England and was carried over to North America with the settlers to the United States and Canada.

Question 51

Law orders society by providing a means of retribution as well as _________,________,and ________.

Question 52

The private law of the province of Quebec was systematized in the ___________ of 1866.

Question 53

A by-law is a rule passed by the Supreme Court of Canada.

Question 54

The general rule is that _________ law retains its validity until the _________ displaces it with _________ law.

Question 55

Since the time of the Stoics,many writers on law and government have argued that a _________ law exists that transcends the ________ law put in place by the ________.

Question 56

What are the purely personal rules that we follow on a daily basis?

Question 57

The Latin phrase stare decisis means "stand by what is decided."

Question 58

Customary law exists in every society and emerges gradually over time.

Question 59

Should the law lead or follow public opinion (or social change)?

Question 60

Compare and contrast the concepts of common law and a civil code.

Question 61

In your opinion,is common law or legislation a better legal system? Discuss advantages and disadvantages in your response.

Question 62

What is the relationship between natural law and the evolution of human rights?

Question 63

Define and explain the significance of delegated legislation.

Question 64

Explain how systems based on common law work and evolve if they do not include a written legal code.

Question 65

Compare the advantages and limitations of common law and legislation.