Canada's System of Justice

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The Role of the Public

What are our duties under the law?

In Canada, law and justice is not only the business of Members of Parliament, judges, lawyers and police services. Each of us has a part in ensuring that the law works properly and justice is done.

Jury duty

Serving on a jury is one way a citizen can carry out his or her role. One of the oldest institutions of our justice system, a jury enables those who have been charged with a criminal offence to be tried by a group of fellow citizens. In Canada, a criminal law jury is made up of 12 jurors selected from among citizens of the province or territory in which the court is located. Generally, any adult Canadian citizen is qualified to be considered for jury duty. The provinces determine the precise way of selecting jurors.

A citizen who is called for jury duty must show up for selection. Being called for jury duty does not mean a person will be selected to serve as a juror. Some prospective jurors may not be required to do so by the laws of their province. Also, the prosecutor or the defence counsel may object to a particular juror if they believe there is a reason why he or she should be disqualified.

During the trial, jurors must not allow themselves to be influenced by anything except the evidence presented in court. Jurors must make up their own minds about the truth or honesty of the testimony given by witnesses.

Finally, after both sides have called all their witnesses and presented their arguments, the judge instructs the jury on the law and on what they must take into account when making their decision. Then the jurors meet by themselves in a room outside the courtroom to decide, in a criminal case, whether the prosecutor has proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused is guilty. In a civil case, they must decide whether the plaintiff has proven that the defendant is liable, or responsible, on a balance of probabilities.

All the jurors must agree on the decision or verdict – in other words, their decision must be unanimous. If they cannot all agree, the judge may discharge the jury and direct a new jury to be empanelled (chosen) for a new trial. After a trial, no juror is allowed to tell other people about the discussions that took place in the jury room.

A jury in a civil case is slightly different. It has, for example, only six jurors, and the decision does not have to be unanimous, as long as five of them agree on the verdict.

Testifying in Court

A person who has information that either party in the case believes to be useful may be called to give evidence in a civil or criminal trial. For example, someone might have witnessed the event, know something that is important to the case, or have a document key to the trial. People whose knowledge about a particular subject can help the court with answers to technical questions may also be called as an expert witness. Usually, though, people come forward voluntarily when they have information they believe is related to the case. If they do not, they can be summoned by “subpoena” to give evidence in court. A person subpoenaed must testify or face a penalty.

Witnesses’ testimony is taken under oath or by affirmation that they will tell the truth. Witnesses are required to answer all questions they are asked, unless the judge decides that a question is irrelevant or not necessary to the case.

Sitting on a jury or testifying in court gives citizens an opportunity to make sure Canada’s justice system is working as it should.

Knowing the law

People do not have to be experts in the law. However, in our system, ignorance of the law is no excuse or defence. If you are charged with an offence, for example, you cannot be excused by claiming that you did not know you were breaking the law (although the court will consider honest mistakes of fact). Because our laws are publicly debated before being passed in Parliament or a legislature, the public is expected to know what is permitted or legal and what is not.

The duty to know the law means that citizens should take steps to be sure they are acting legally. Information is available from federal, provincial and territorial government offices, public libraries, public legal education and information associations, and the police. If, after consulting these sources of information, you are still uncertain about the law, then you should consult a lawyer.

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