Understanding the Criminal Justice System

The Youth Criminal Justice Act sets out the law as it applies to youth in the criminal justice system. There are important differences in the law where youth are concerned. We do not discuss these differences on this site but you can learn more by going to ycja.ca. 

The laws we talk about here that make up the Canadian criminal justice system are:

• federal or provincial laws 
• laws made by a government or organization who has been given the power under federal or provincial law to make their own laws (like bylaws)
• law made by judges through their decisions

We do not cover Indigenous law, meaning the Indigenous legal orders that have existed and continue to exist within the area called Canada since Indigenous Peoples lived on these territories. Those laws exist independently of Canadian law.

The use of Indigenous law together with Canadian law when Indigenous people encounter the criminal justice system is currently the subject of a lot of interesting discussion. People are thinking about how these two legal systems might coexist together. It is important to make sure this happens in a respectful way that does not change or misinterpret Indigenous laws. 

There are many Indigenous law scholars and knowledge keepers involved in keeping and revitalizing Indigenous legal orders. 

See our new print resources under "Legal Information for Indigenous Communities" at Order Resources.