Substantive Procedural Law What is substantive law Substantive

Substantive & Procedural Law

What is substantive law? • Substantive laws establish your rights and obligations to society. These laws make up the “substance” or “body” of the law as a whole. These laws have nothing to do with procedures governing the conduct of police or judges. Instead, these laws establish boundaries of what is right (lawful) or wrong (unlawful). Law enforcement agencies use substantive law to determine whether a crime has taken place, e. g. murder, grand larceny, theft, etc.

Substantive Law at a Glance • According to the “substance” of Section 71 of the Criminal Code it is illegal to “duel”: • Duelling 71 Everyone who – Challenges or provokes another person to fight a duel – Accepts a challenge to fight a duel If found guilty is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years.

What is procedural law? • Procedural law explains what methods the courts, police and other law enforcement agencies, etc. have to follow in order to enforce the law, e. g. Miranda Act, habeus corpus, presumed innocent, right to privacy. • An easier way of looking at this is that “substantive law” is what you sue someone for or over; and procedural law outlines the process or method by which you would sue someone.

Procedural Law at a Glance • According to the “procedure” as outlined by Section 184. 4 of the Criminal Code, a police officer may intercept, by means of electro-magnetic, acoustic, mechanical or other device, a private communication if the police officer has reasonable grounds to believe that a). The urgency of the situation is such that an authorization [from a court] could not, with reasonable diligence, be obtained under any other provision; b). The interception is immediately necessary to prevent a offence that would cause serious harm to any person or to property; and c). Either the originator of the private communication or the person intended by the originator to receive it is the person who would commit the offence that is likely to cause the harm or is the victim, or intended victim, of the harm.