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GLOSSARY TERMS - BE SURE TO REVIEW BEFORE YOU DO EXAM
Completion requirements
accused
a person charged with a criminal offence - a defendantAct of God
an unforeseeable event brought about by natural causes - such as an earthquake or a tornadobylaws
laws passed by municipal governmentscivil disobedience
the deliberate refusal to obey a law in order to pressure the government to change the lawcivil law
private lawcommon law
the body of law that has gradually developed as judges have made decisions in cases they've heardconstitution
a law establishing the fundamental principles on which a nation is basedcriminal law
the branch of public law that sets out certain acts as crimes and punishes those actscrown prosecutor
a lawyer employed by the government to prosecute those accused of criminal offensesdamages
money awarded a plaintiff by a court to compensate for a wrong suffereddefendant
the party being sued in a civil suit; the party charged with an offence in a criminal casedue diligence
the defense that the defendant took all reasonable precautions but that some harm resulted anywayecosystem
a dynamic system made up of living organisms and their non-living environment that interact as a unitenvironment
everything that surrounds something or someoneenvironmental impact assessment
a formal evaluation of a project before it takes place to determine its potential environmental effects and to suggest safeguards or alternatives if necessaryenvironmental review
a process of assessing potential harm that a proposed project might do to the environment and weighing that harm against likely benefitsexpert witness
a witness called to give evidence in an area of technical expertise - such as a doctor, engineer, or scientistindictable offence
a serious criminal offenseinjunction
a court order directing a person not to do somethingjurisdiction
authority, such as the power to make lawslegislation
law that has been passed by a governing bodylegislators
the people elected to govern a country or some part of it (such as a province)liable
legally responsiblelobby
to present a specific viewpoint on issues to the government in the attempt to persuade it to create, repeal, or change laws so as to support the viewpointnegligence
the failure of a person to use reasonable care that results in an injury or loss to anothernuisance
one party's unreasonable interference with the right of another party to make use of his or her propertypatriate
return to one's countryplaintiff
the party bringing a civil suit against another partyprecedent
a court decision that lower courts must follow wen making decisions in similar casesprivate law
civil law - law that governs the relations between individualspublic law
criminal law - law that governs the relations between government (law) and private citizenspublic nuisance
a nuisance involving a large number of people or all the residents of an areaquash
to declare voidregulatory offence
an offence created by a regulation based on a statute rather than by a statute itselfrepeal
to withdraw a lawslander
to utter untrue statements that damage another's reputationstatute
a law passed by a governing bodystay
to stop something from happeningstrict liability
liability that results when a legal activity causes harm to another, even if no negligence was involvedsummary conviction offence
a relatively minor criminal offence that is tried quicklysustainable development
the use of natural resources that meets the needs of people today while conserving for the futuretort
a civil wrong other than a breach of contracttreaty
a contractual agreement made between two or more separate political authorities - such as sovereign nations or states/provincesto go onto another person's land without permission
ultra vires
a Latin expression meaning beyond the power - that is, beyond the authority a government has to make laws