After we introduced ourselves and tried to come to grips with the idea of "the law" and its relationship to business, we talked about the origins of English common law, and its development across time in Canada, the United States of America, and the Unied Kingdom. We learned new concepts such as the rule of law, habeas corpus, stare decisis and even Magna Charta - and how these old notions form the cornerstone of the legal systems of all common law countries around the world. We also touched on the difference between unitary and federal systems of government, decided that they represent two end-points on a continuum comprising many variations, and tried to think about where Canada, the UK, the USA and even the European Union fit along this continuum. And we briefly touched on the importance of having a written constitution and a charter of rights, such as the Bill of Rights in the USA or the Charter of Rights and Freedoms in Canada.
How do different countries, different courts, different judges think about and apply "the law"? Rather than attempting to provide a single definion of "the law", we took the time to examine different jurisprudential schools of thought - such as the Natural Law view, the Positivist view, the Historical view and the Legal Realism view. Although they all agree that law has to do with enforceable rules, they each differ about how law comes into being, when it is legitimate, and how it interacts with its social environment.
To illustrate this variety of views on the origins, nature, functions, and application of the law, we discussed the Case of the Speluncean Explorers. Although this case is fictional, we saw that similar cases did indeed occur in reality and saw how they were decided. We then split up in five groups, and each group received as assignment to study the opinion of one of the five fictional judges in the Speluncean Explorers case, identify the school of jurisprudential thought associated with each, explain that view in the context of this case and give our personal view on the judge's arguments and decision in this matter.
In the last hour of our session we discussed the vital relationships between the business person and the law, lawyers, and legal services. We tried to understand how to recognise legal issues and problems, when to deal with them on our own, when to contact qualified legal professionals -and the impact the information age and the internet have had on these matters . Most importantly, we all agreed that the notion of the "sophisticated client" lies at the core of the relationship between the business person and the legal world, and that one of the key aims of this course is to help us all become such sophisticated clients.
Finally, we briefly discussed how this course will be conducted over the length of this term, the importance of coming to class punctually and of participating actively in both in-class and out-of-class activities, and where this blog and accompanying wiki fit in our learning process and in the evaluation and grading of the students' performance. So please make sure you register both with the course blog and wiki as soon as possible and begin using them as indicated. The wiki in particular will be a daily working tool in this course. I am now in the process of setting it up and updating it; please make sure that every one of you will visit it tomorrow - Monday, July 14, 2008, and follow the guidelines and instructions you will find there. I look forward to spending this term with you and working together to learn more about Business Law in Canada and to ensure that each and every one of you will indeed become, at the end of it, a "sophisticated client".
I encourage each and every one of you to post your comments, questions, or anything else you may wish to say about this session and the materials we discussed in class here. As your class colleagues will start posting, you can even include in your own posts comments on their posts -whether you agree or disagree with them, and why. Contributing to this blog is an important part of your class participation and I hope you will all take the time to do it. In addition, starting with the next class, you will be divided into three groups of four students each (see also the wiki) and each group will be assigned three class sessions for which they will have to write a class summary blog (including links to new concepts) just as the one I have done today. So please make sure you read this blog carefully and get ready for it. And remember: this is your course - so make sure you participate and have fun with it!
