1. true crimes are usually more socially and morally condemned than regulatory offences.
2. regulatory offences are usually aimed at deterring harm to the public, rather than the individual.
3. regulatory offences are often part of a complex regulatory framework.
4. regulatory offences are not in the Criminal Code (R. v Wholesale Travel, 1993).

In the Canadian context, the most important distinction between regulatory offences and true crimes is the standard of fault (mens rea). For many reasons, including the lesser stigma, the lesser penalties, and the need for administrative efficiency, the courts may allow a lower threshold for regulatory offences than the usual subjective mens rea requirement needed for “true crimes”. In the past, many regulatory offences were “absolute liability” offences, meaning the Crown needed only to prove the actus reus, leaving the accused with no defence available. In the important case of R. v City of Sault Ste Marie, a third “compromise” position between absolute liability and full mens rea was invented: “strict liability”. In strict liability offences, there is prima facie liability assumed, however the accused then has the opportunity to show that he took all reasonable care, in which case the offence is innocent.

The current Canadian position vis-a-vis regulatory offences can be summarized as follows:

1. Strict liability is the default fault standard for regulatory offences.
2. Absolute liability only applies to regulatory offences where statute has made in explicitly clear that an absolute liability doctrine will prevail.
3. An offence that carries the possibility of imprisonment CAN NEVER be an absolute liability offence (see RE MVA Act BC, 1985).

The post Intro to Regulatory Offences appeared first on Anonymous Law Student.

It goes without saying, nowadays there are fewer and fewer people retiring with a mound of cash. Some of our elderly folks need to work well into their seventies, and even then they’ll end up racking up debt to stay afloat.

In a will a Executor is appointed over the estate to divvy everything up. But what happens when you have more debts than assets?

Well because wills are essentially gifts in kind you can’t really end up with a loss. Imagine that, grandma gives you her VISA bill for Christmas…… That’s not a gift. (That’s a hilarious grandma but not a Christmas gift, at least not in our house).

What will happen if there are debts against the estate is those creditors will be offered a pro rated share of the estate, and the remainder given to the beneficiaries. If the estate can’t cover debts, the estate would declare bankruptcy, but the Executor (recipients in the will) are never on the hook for the debts of someone else.

So go ahead, rack up your credit card bills before you die, nobody will have to pay…..Nah, just kidding, that’s terrible.

The post On the Hook for Debts of an Estate? appeared first on Anonymous Law Student.

-Filartiga: two Paraguayan citizens brought suit against Paraguayan police chief who was also living in USA. Plaintiffs alleged that the defendant had tortured and murdered a member of their family. The district court dismissed for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, holding that the law of nations does not regulate a states treatment of its own citizens. The US Court of Appeal reversed holding that the contemporary law of nations had expanded to prohibit state sanctioned torture. Court looked to universal declaration of human rights.

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That means the following concern should happen less in our digital age.

My attorney for 2 years has done nothing that I understand. I drive 80 miles one way for a meeting and we discuss options/strategies then I leave (after she charges 400.00) and she does not follow thru. The first year she did a great job but now the attorney spills her personal info about her own troubles. The type of battle I hired her is for a custody case where the father has been found in contempt, found to be lying to counselor about child. My attorney has stopped returning my calls or emails or texts and I think its because I told her I am broke (43,000 spent so far) I asked for a copy of my parenting plan and what does her office send – Counselor’s notes – I think I need to cut my losses and get another attorney.

Although attorney’s work for you, you do’nt have to put up with their personal life. It’s not a time for them to bruden you with their personal problems. After all you’re paying them top dollar to do a job for you in a professional and timely manner.

If the attorney you contact can’t return your calls at initial contact then what makes you think they’ll talk to you when you’re a client? Same goes for attorneys that no longer return calls. Cut you losses and move on, find someone who will do a more professional job.

The post Dime a Dozen for Attorneys – Do Your Research appeared first on Anonymous Law Student.

In Canadian law, the core of the system is the security interest. What is a security interest? A secured interest is Propriety interest in the debtors property. This allows assertion of the nemo dat principle. The secured creditor defeats anyone who thereafter who takes an interest in the property.

What kind of interest is it? Prior to 1980 (PPA Act), the interest was a chattel mortgage. The debtor transferred legal title to the creditor. For example, the bank took legal ownership of your car/house, etc. if you took a loan against it. It was a transfer of equitable title. A seller agreed to allow buyer to use chattel, but legal title remained with seller.

With the PPA, the Act vaguely refers to a security interest as merely an “interest”. We know the interest is propriety but the Act does not provide us with any kind of info vis a vis the kind of the interest. The analogy that law students learn is in Roman Law; Romans recognized a type of transaction called a hypothec. A hypothec is an agreement between creditor and debtor that creditor should have interest in assets of debtor. There is no transfer of title but merely a recognition that the interest exists. The hypothec was recognized by Common Law as an “equitable charge”. In other words we can say the vaguely defined “interest” in the Act is merely a recognition of an interest, but the interest itself is not and does not have to be defined.

The post Secured Financing Intro appeared first on Anonymous Law Student.

– Given the pandemic year, COVID-19 made a lot of anti-maskers and anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist search the web for legal options. “Anti-mask” law was a exponentially higher search term (that really didn’t exist prior to 2020).

– The term ‘martial law’ saw a one day dramatic increase on, you guessed it, January 6th, 2021, or Insurrection Day.

– Lastly, with the legalization of cannabis across states, many are searching for updates regarding both State level and federal legalization.

-Source all from Google Trends

The post The Most Popular Law Searches 2020-2021? appeared first on Anonymous Law Student.

A secondary criticism is that customary law doesn’t mean anything because such a disconnect between customary law and reality. There are many human rights norms for example that are part of customary IL, but they are continually breached. What is the weight of customary norms? Presumably not much because the impact on activities on the ground is minimal.

The post Critique of Customary International Law appeared first on Anonymous Law Student.

1. COEXISTENCE The main conclusion from this case is that the two sources of law can continue to co-exist. Just because a norm also exists in treaty law, does not mean that the source from customary law is not extinguished. For example the law of use of force flows both from treaty law and customary IL.

2. TREATY –> CUSTOM Treaty activity can constitute state practice for the formation of a customary norm. One has to be very clear in analyzing state conduct whether states are only acting under their treaty obligations or whether adherence to treaty obligations has grown to include opinion juris and broader state practice. A good example of this is UNCLOS (UN convention on law of high seas). A lot of UNCLOS provisions have become customary IL. States that are not part of UNCLOS are bound by some of the provisions of the Convention. For a treaty to create custom you need non treaty parties acting as if they are bound by the treaty.

3. CUSTOM –> TREATY custom can be restated in a treaty format. When a treaty codifies customary IL, the treaty is restating customary IL.

4. CONTRACT –OUT A treaty can be used to contract out of customary IL. There are however certain obligations that no state can contract out of i.e. jus cogens norms.

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There are certain times when you may seek counsel from a general practice attorney, or someone in a different specialization, but I would recommend keeping that consult as just that–consultation on what to do next. Be it insurance, real estate, traffic, family, estate planning, everything you need pretty much, there’s going to be specialized help.

For good reason too, law is not exactly a subject you can master, especially if you stretch beyond one or a few specializations. The intricacies of every discipline are all the more reasons to select someone who’s done more than scratch the surface of basic law in a particular area.

Experience matters, pay attention, and increase the chances of a positive outcome for your issue.

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