Canadian and International Law, Grade 12 (University Preparation)

Unit 1: Legal Skills and Careers

How investigating Canadian and international law builds transferable and analytical skills, applying them to current events, and the careers — from lawyer to diplomat to mediator — where a background in law is an asset.

• Skills the study of law builds
• Thinking like a legal reasoner
• Legal issues in the news
• Careers in law

Unit 2: Foundations of Law

The foundational concepts and principles of law and their significance; the legal theories and procedures that have shaped Canadian and international legal systems; and the individuals, groups, and forces that drive legal change.

• Key legal and political concepts
• Non-legal influences on law
• Distinctions and areas of law
• How law affects everyday life

• Legal theories and perspectives
• Theories of criminal behaviour
• Systems for adjudicating disputes
• Advocating for legal reform

• Issues that drive legal change
• Social attitudes and legal change
• Reformers and their reasons

Unit 3: Rights and Freedoms in Canada and the World

The principles and significance of human rights law in Canada and internationally; the issues in its development; the roles of the legislative and judicial branches in protecting rights; and contemporary threats to rights and freedoms.

• Comparing rights charters
• Charter rights and responsibilities
• International human rights treaties

• Landmark rights legislation
• Progress in removing barriers
• Addressing human rights violations
• Strengthening rights protection

• Parliament, the courts, and the Charter
• How people protect their rights
• Justifying limits on rights
• Rights protection across countries

• Contemporary threats to rights
• Workers' rights across jurisdictions
• Rights and the environment

Unit 4: International Law

The key principles and issues of international law; the factors and organizations that have shaped its development; and how treaties, agreements, and conventions influence conflict and cooperation between states.

• Principles and concepts of international law
• Challenges in making treaties
• Types of international crimes

• Agreements that shaped international law
• International organizations and courts

• Resolving international disputes
• The ICJ and ICC compared
• Canadian and international perspectives
• Domestic laws that violate international rights
• Canada's record on alliances and treaties

Unit 5: International Legal Issues

Key concepts and issues in criminal law across countries; the effectiveness of domestic and international environmental legislation; legal protection of parties in the workplace worldwide; and emerging global issues facing international law.

• Morality and definitions of crime
• Bringing an accused to trial
• International intervention in crimes
• Enforcing law across borders
• Legal power across borders
• Sentencing across countries

• Purposes of environmental law
• Who develops and enforces environmental law
• Protecting shared natural resources
• Opposition to environmental agreements
• Environmental protection agreements

• Governments and workplace law
• Parties in workplace law
• Workplace safety and labour law violations

• Technology and the administration of justice
• International economic organizations
• International agreements and rights