class 1, intro. to can. business law ii-winter 2009 com

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AS ECON 4510 - Canadian Business Law IIWinter 2009

Prof. Emiliya Mashkovtseva, Course DirectorEmiliyaMashkovtseva@osgoode.yorku.caRoom 309, Osgoode Hall Law School(Today: Prof. P. Mazzacano, Guest Lecturer)

Today’s Objectives: To introduce Canadian Business Law IIReview Course Requirements & Course StructureTo introduce the Concept of “Law”To introduce the Judicial System

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AS ECON 4510 - Canadian Business Law IIWinter 2009

Introduction to Canadian Business Law IIThe context of this course:

A continuation of Canadian Business Law IA continuing survey of legal rights and responsibilitiesTo assist in the identification of legal issues and

problemsTo help you engage in legal discourse with others

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AS ECON 4510 - Canadian Business Law IIWinter 2009

Course RequirementsLecture attendance is important!Class Participation is strongly encouraged!Reading the text is important prior to lecture

attendance!Evaluation will be by one assignment, worth 25% of

the final grade, a mid-term examination, worth 25%, and a final examination, worth 50% of the final grade. There is an option to write a final exam worth 75%.

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AS ECON 4510 - Canadian Business Law IIWinter 2009

Course RequirementsThe Assignment:

Worth 25% of the final grade Issued in class on Thursday, March 19, 2009Due at the beginning of class on Thursday, April 9, 2009

Final Exam: Worth 50% (default) or 75% as an option of the final

gradeHeld during the regular exam period

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AS ECON 4510 - Canadian Business Law IIWinter 2009

Course StructureLectures:

First-half of the session

Short breakInteractive session:

Second-half of the session (case problem exercises, quizzes, teamwork exercises, etc.)

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AS ECON 4510 - Canadian Business Law IIWinter 2009

Required Course Textbook:John A. Willes & John H. Willes, Contemporary

Canadian Business Law, 8th ed.(Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson, 2006) (“Willes”)

Additional readings may be assigned

You will be tested on the material in the Willes textbook!

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What is “Law”?

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Where does Law come from?

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Where does Law come from?

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What is “Law”?

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What is “Law”?Willes: “The body of rules of conduct that are

obligatory in the sense that sanctions are normally imposed if a rule is violated”.

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What is “Law”?John Austin: laws are “commands, backed by threat of sanctions, from a sovereign, to whom people have a habit of obedience”.

Immanuel Kant: laws are the “universal laws of nature”.

H.L.A. Hart: law is a system of primary and secondary rules.

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What is “Law”?Ronald Dworkin: law is an “interpretive concept” that requires judges to find a just solution.

Joseph Raz: law is authority, identifiable through social sources, without reference to moral reasoning.

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What is “Law”?Natural Law Theorists: law is a philosophical system of moral and legal principles derived

from a “higher law”.

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What is “Law”?The Legal Realist: “law is politics”.

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What is “Law”?Critical Legal Studies: law is a tool that

promotes the interests of the powerful and legitimates injustice.

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What is “Law”?Feminists: law reflects the interests and

norms of white males.

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What is “Law”?Law & Economics: law is the legal

rationalization of economic efficiency.

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What is “Law”?Law is a system of rules.Law is the will of God.Law is the command of the sovereign.Law is patriarchy writ large.Law is what the courts say it is.Law is a marketing resource for lawyers.Law is a system of racial and ethnic subordination.Law is a tool of social engineering.Law is a weapon of class warfare.etc.(Allan Hutchinson, The Law School Book, 2d ed. (Toronto: Irwin Law Inc., 2000) at 18.

Civil Law Common Law International Law…Are there others?

Religious Law Socialist Law Pluralistic Systems Merchant Law (lex

mercatoria) Etc.

Civil Law: Civil Code guides interactions of

private parties Judges interpret code provisions to

determine rights and obligations

Common Law Genesis - early England Judges consulted earlier court decisions By applying rules from earlier decisions,

law in one part of England became “common” to other parts

Common Law v. Equity

International Law Conventions, Treaties…

Legislation Constitution Case Law

Public Law: governs relationships between the individual and the state

Private Law: relates to interactions between private citizens