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Find other options on the <a href="/eng/contact/index.html">Contact Us</a> webpage. </p> </section> </div> <nav id="wb-bc" property="breadcrumb"> <h2>Breadcrumb trail</h2> <div class="container"> <div class="row"> <ol class="breadcrumb"> <li><a href="/eng/index.html">Home</a></li> <li><a href="/eng/csj-sjc/index.html">Canada’s System of Justice</a></li> </ol> </div> </div> </nav> </header> <main property="mainContentOfPage" typeof="WebPageElement" class="container" id="main-content"> <div class="main-content"> <div class="provisional profile"> <div class="container"> <h1 id="wb-cont" property="name">Canada's System of Justice</h1> <div class="row"> <div class="intro col-md-7 col-sm-12 mrgn-bttm-md"> <p>The Canadian justice system is unique in the world. Two official languages (English and French) and two legal traditions (common law and civil law) co-exist within our system of justice. As Canadians, we are all responsible for understanding our rights and freedoms and our duties as members of society. Courts resolve disputes, and in doing so, they interpret and establish the law for all Canadians.</p> </div> <div class="intro col-md-5 col-sm-12 mrgn-bttm-md"> <img src="img/banner.jpg" class="w-100 img-responsive thumbnail" alt="" /> </div> </div> </div> </div> <section class="provisional most-requested-bullets well well-sm brdr-0" > <div class="container"> <div class="row"> <div class="pddng-r-0 col-md-3"> <h2 class="mrgn-tp-md">Most requested</h2> </div> <div class="col-md-9"> <ul class="wb-eqht mrgn-tp-md mrgn-bttm-md colcount-md-2"> <li><a href="/eng/laws-lois/index.html">How new laws and regulations are created</a></li> <li><a href="/eng/declaration/index.html">The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples</a></li> <li><a href="/eng/abt-apd/icg-gci/ihrl-didp/index.html">Learn about human rights in Canada: International Human Rights Law</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </section> <div class="container"> <div class="row"> <section class="gc-srvinfo col-md-12"> <h2 class="wb-inv">Services and information</h2> <div class="wb-eqht row"> <div class="col-lg-4 col-md-6"> <h3><a href="/eng/csj-sjc/access-acces/index.html">Access to Justice</a></h3> <p>The Department of Justice Canada considers access to justice to be a fundamental value of the Canadian justice system, flowing from our country鈥檚 respect for the rule of law.</p> </div> <div class="col-lg-4 col-md-6"> <h3><a href="/eng/csj-sjc/ijr-dja/index.html">Indigenous Justice, Recognition and Reconciliation</a></h3> <p>The Government of Canada is renewing the relationship with First Nations, Inuit and the M茅tis Nation based on the recognition of rights, respect and partnership.</p> </div> <div class="col-lg-4 col-md-6"> <h3><a href="/eng/csj-sjc/rfc-dlc/ccrf-ccdl/index.html">The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms</a></h3> <p>The <em>Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms</em> protects a number of rights and freedoms, including freedom of expression and the right to equality.</p> </div> <div class="col-lg-4 col-md-6"> <h3><a href="/eng/csj-sjc/pl/charter-charte/index.html">Charter Statements</a></h3> <p>On December 13, 2019, amendments to the Department of Justice Act came into force, creating a new duty on the Minister of Justice to ensure a Charter Statement is tabled in Parliament for every Government bill.</p> </div> <div class="col-lg-4 col-md-6"> <h3><a href="/eng/csj-sjc/ccc/index.html">The <em>Criminal Code</em> of Canada</a></h3> <p>The <em>Criminal Code</em> is a federal law that includes definitions of most of the criminal offences that the Parliament of Canada has enacted.</p> </div> <div class="col-lg-4 col-md-6"> <h3><a href="/eng/csj-sjc/just/index.html">About Canada's System of Justice</a></h3> <p>About Canada's System of Justice</p> </div> <div class="col-lg-4 col-md-6"> <h3><a href="/eng/csj-sjc/harmonization/index.html">Bijuralism and Harmonization</a></h3> <p>Canada is one of those rare countries where common law and civil law exist side by side and interact within the same legislative framework, reflecting Canada鈥檚 history and its legal and constitutional structure.</p> </div> <div class="col-lg-4 col-md-6"> <h3><a href="/eng/csj-sjc/pl/index.html">Proposed Legislation - Canada's System of Justice</a></h3> <p>Legislation is introduced in Parliament to amend or repeal existing laws or put new ones into place.</p> </div> <div class="col-lg-4 col-md-6"> <h3><a href="/eng/csj-sjc/pa-lprp/index.html">Privacy Act</a></h3> <p>The Privacy Act is federal legislation that protects the personal information of Canadians in the hands of federal public sector institutions.</p> </div> <div class="col-lg-4 col-md-6"> <h3><a href="/eng/csj-sjc/ccs-ajc/index.html">Canada's Court System</a></h3> <p>Understand how the courts are organized.</p> </div> <div class="col-lg-4 col-md-6"> <h3><a href="/eng/csj-sjc/franc/index.html">Justice in Official Languages</a></h3> <p>The Department's activities in matters related to justice in official languages are mainly directed towards two initiatives: the promotion of access to justice in both official languages and the implementation of Section 41 of the <em>Official Languages Act</em>.</p> </div> <div class="col-lg-4 col-md-6"> <h3><a href="/eng/csj-sjc/dualism-dualisme/index.html">Legal Dualism and Bilingual Bisystemism</a></h3> <p>In 2005, the Department of Justice adopted an action plan establishing a two-part mandate for the Legal Dualism Team.</p> </div> <div class="col-lg-4 col-md-6"> <h3><a href="/eng/csj-sjc/lcc-cdc/index.html">The Law Commission of Canada</a></h3> <p>The Law Commission of Canada is an independent body that provides non-partisan advice to the federal government on matters relating to the improvement, modernization and reform of Canadian laws.</p> </div> <div class="col-lg-4 col-md-6"> <h3><a href="/eng/csj-sjc/cria-erde/index.html">Child Rights Impact Assessment (<abbr title="Child Rights Impact Assessment">CRIA</abbr>) tool and e-learning course</a></h3> <p>In July 2023, Justice Canada launched the Child Rights Impact Assessment (<abbr title="Child Rights Impact Assessment">CRIA</abbr>) tool and e-learning course.</p> </div> </div> </section> </div> </div> </div> <div class="clearfix"></div> <div class="container"> <dl id="wb-dtmd" class="no-print mb-5 mt-3"> <dt>Date modified: </dt> <dd> <time property="dateModified"> 2023-07-11 </time> </dd> </dl> </div> <script src="https://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/2.2.4/jquery.js"></script> <script src="/themes-dist/wet-boew/js/wet-boew.min.js"></script> <script src="/themes-dist/GCWeb/js/theme.min.js"></script> </main> <footer id="wb-info"> <div class="gc-contextual"> <div class="container"> <nav class="wb-navcurr pb-4 pt-4"> <h3 class="mt-4">Department of Justice Canada</h3> <ul class="list-unstyled colcount-sm-2 colcount-md-3"> <li><a href="/eng/fl-df/index.html">Family Law</a></li> <li><a href="/eng/cj-jp/index.html">Criminal Justice</a></li> <li><a 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