Public Law: Cases, Materials, and Commentary, 2nd Edition was designed to meet the core needs of first-year public law and legislation courses across the Canada. Using carefully selected case excerpts, it demonstrates concepts, principles, and theory to students in a direct and accessible manner. Cases are presented with insightful commentary by the authors, offering students a compelling, cohesive introduction to the subject of public law and legislation.

The author team consists of well-respected scholars from numerous Canadian law schools. To facilitate problem-based learning and to link otherwise disparate themes, they have successfully woven the example of federal human rights law into the framework of the casebook.

Drawing on expertise from across the country, this affordable text can be easily integrated into the curriculum of most law schools.

• Incorporates developments since the first edition in 2006, particularly in the area of administrative law
• Highlights relevance of institutional discussion with current examples, such as the 2008 "prorogation crisis"
• Gives students a bird’s eye view of law in Canada that provides context and meaning to everything else they will learn
• Uses case excerpts to demonstrate different judicial approaches, and to bring legal theory to life
• Provides context to students by discussing federal human rights examples in a theoretical framework
• Explores the interplay between power and accountability, and their manifestations within the Canadian legal system
• Contrasts public and private law, but also uses examples to show why these are not autonomous, and how government authority is fundamental to both public and private law
• Three part division of the materials provides a clear, teachable narrative arc
• Establishes the building blocks of Canadian public law, as taught in most Canadian law schools

Chapter 1: Introduction

Part I: Setting the Stage

Chapter 2: Nature, Divisions, and Sources of Law

• Legal Theory in Relation to Public Law
• Canadian Legal Inheritances

Chapter 3: Recurring Constitutional Principles in Canadian Public Law

• Constitutionalism in Canada
• The Exercise of Public Power in Canada
• Processes of Constitutional Amendment and Evolution

Part II: The Key Actors in Public Law

Chapter 4: Parliament and the Legislative Process

• Structure and Operation of Parliament
• Key Actors in Parliament
• Parliamentary Procedure

Chapter 5: The Exercise of Executive Authority

• The Rise of the Administrative State in Canada
• The Executive Branch Defined
• Sources of Executive Power
• Limits on the Exercise of Delegated Authority
• The Nature and Function of Delegated Powers

Chapter 6: The Courts and the Judiciary

• Structure of the Canadian Court System
• Judicial Appointments
• Judicial Independence

Part III: Interplay Between the Courts and the Political Branches of Government

Chapter 7: Statutory Interpretation

• Overview of Statutory Interpretation
• An Overview of the Rules of Statutory Interpretation
• Some Illustrations

Chapter 8: Constraints on Legislative and Administrative Action

• The Role of Constitutional Judicial Review in a Democratic Society
• Judicial Review of Administrative Action