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Full-Text Articles in Jurisprudence
Language's Empire: A Counter-Telling Of Administrative Law In Canada, Nicholas Hooper
Language's Empire: A Counter-Telling Of Administrative Law In Canada, Nicholas Hooper
LLM Theses
This thesis renders the unstated assumptions that animate statutory interpretation in the administrative state. It argues that the current approach is a disingenuous rhetorical overlay that masks the politics of definitional meaning. After rejecting the possibility of structuring principles in our (post)modern oversaturation of signs, the thesis concludes with an aspirational account of interpretive pragmatism in the face of uncertainty.
On The "Poverty Of Responsibility": A Study Of The History Of Child Protection Law And Jurisprudence In Nova Scotia, Ilana Luther
On The "Poverty Of Responsibility": A Study Of The History Of Child Protection Law And Jurisprudence In Nova Scotia, Ilana Luther
PhD Dissertations
This thesis presents a history of child protection law and jurisprudence in Nova Scotia. The thesis begins by examining the development of the first child protection statute in Canada, the Nova Scotia Prevention and Punishment of Wrongs to Children Act in 1882. The Act was developed amidst a climate of reform in late-19th century Halifax, at the urging of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The Act, along with a number of other pieces of “domestic relations” legislation at the time, was focused on protecting children in poverty. With the passing of the Act, the legislature not …
Reforming Testamentary Undue Influence In Canadian And English Law, Fiona R. Burns
Reforming Testamentary Undue Influence In Canadian And English Law, Fiona R. Burns
Dalhousie Law Journal
The traditional doctrine of testamentary undue influence developed in nineteenth century England. Its utility, however, is limited since the doctrine requires the person alleging undue influence to provide direct proof of coercion according to a high standard. In England the doctrine has remained static and there have been calls for reform. In Canada, some courts have ceased to apply the traditional doctrine so that today there is no one consistent and coherent doctrine of testamentary undue influence. This article explores two possible reforms of the doctrine both of which are evident in recent Canadian case law: a presumption of testamentary …
Contextualism: The Supreme Court's New Standard Of Judicial Analysis And Accountability, Shalin Sugunasiri
Contextualism: The Supreme Court's New Standard Of Judicial Analysis And Accountability, Shalin Sugunasiri
Dalhousie Law Journal
Over the past few years, the "contextual approach" to law has acquired considerable cachet in juridical discourses across the country. In the Supreme Court of Canada, contextualism is now the new standard of judicial analysis and accountability This article analyzes a decade of Supreme court jurisprudence on Charter interpretation, statutory interpretation and the common law in order to fully explicate what contextualism in law is, where it came from, and how it has achieved its current pre-eminent status. The future promise of the contextual approach is also here canvassed through a dialectical engagement with postmodernist concerns respecting inherent legal indeterminacies.
Consideration And Estoppel: Problem And Panacea, Bruce Macdougall
Consideration And Estoppel: Problem And Panacea, Bruce Macdougall
Dalhousie Law Journal
In his book, The History of the Common Law of Contract, A.W.B. Simpson demonstrates that consideration originally seems to have meant the "matter of inducement" - the "why" of entering a promise.' He writes: "The essence of the doctrine of consideration, then, is the adoption by the common law of the idea that the legal effect of a promise should depend upon the factor or factors which motivated the promise. To decide whether a promise to do X is binding, you need to know why the promise was made."2 In modem terms, according to Simpson, a promise which lacks any …
The Democratic Intellect: The State In The Work Of Madame Justice Wilson, Philip L. Bryden
The Democratic Intellect: The State In The Work Of Madame Justice Wilson, Philip L. Bryden
Dalhousie Law Journal
It is a great honour to have been asked to provide an essay for this volume of reflections on the contribution Madame Justice Bertha Wilson has made to the development of law in Canada. To a certain extent, this is a matter of pride in finding my own name associated with that of the very learned and respected individuals who have set out their thoughts in this collection of articles. In the main, however, the honour comes from the opportunity to make a public statement of my own respect and admiration for Madame Justice Wilson and the significant role that …
Approaching Aliens: A Plea For Jurisprudential Recovery As A Theoretical Introduction To (Ex)Socialist Legal Systems, Ivan L. Padjen
Approaching Aliens: A Plea For Jurisprudential Recovery As A Theoretical Introduction To (Ex)Socialist Legal Systems, Ivan L. Padjen
Dalhousie Law Journal
It might be wise to stop here. Even a reader who is sympathetic to jurisprudential imagination must regard the communicable part of my title with considerable misgiving. For he or she can hardly be unaware of the double jeopardy in which the general theorist of law places himself when dealing with socialist legal systems. The first has been aptly described by Alasdair MacIntyre in his parable of a man who aspired to be the author of the general theory of holes.' The moral of the story, that the concept of a hole is a poor foundation for a general theory …
Of Persons And Property: The Politics Of Legal Taxonomy, David Cohen, Allan C. Hutchinson
Of Persons And Property: The Politics Of Legal Taxonomy, David Cohen, Allan C. Hutchinson
Dalhousie Law Journal
To talk of law without politics or history is nonsensical. All lawyers must concede that what they do takes place in historical circumstances and has political consequences. Every piece of law-making and law-application is a governmental act; it relies on political authority and claims binding force. Moreover, all legal activity occurs within a particular historical context; it is intended to respond to or influence a past, existing or anticipated state of affairs. This means that the study of law must concern itself with politics and history generally: it must not confine itself to only the politics and history of law. …
The Legal Point Of View, L. C. Green
The Legal Point Of View, L. C. Green
Dalhousie Law Journal
What is Law? By what criteria do we recognize valid law? These questions have exercised the minds of distinguished jurisprudential thinkers of the past. Every solution that has been propounded, whether in terms of natural law theory, command models, norm or rule models, seems to have been defective in one way or another. The main thesis of this book is that every attempt to find some "essence of law" - whether in terms of commands, rules or whatever - is bound to fail. The reason given is that there is not one and only one "true" conception of law. There …
The Legal Point Of View, L. C. Green
The Legal Point Of View, L. C. Green
Dalhousie Law Journal
What is Law? By what criteria do we recognize valid law? These questions have exercised the minds of distinguished jurisprudential thinkers of the past. Every solution that has been propounded, whether in terms of natural law theory, command models, norm or rule models, seems to have been defective in one way or another. The main thesis of this book is that every attempt to find some "essence of law" - whether in terms of commands, rules or whatever - is bound to fail. The reason given is that there is not one and only one "true" conception of law. There …