Lay Knowledge of Courts in Canada

Abstract

This study examines what Canadian post-secondary students, as lay persons, know about the law as it applies to the system of courts in their jurisdiction. The level of accurate knowledge of the courts is generally low. The authors argue that this lack of palpable familiarity with a pervasive social institution plays a role in their attitudes toward the resolution of civil disputes.…the truth is that the public has never held the judiciary in higher esteem. This is demonstrated by the fact that it turns to the judiciary more and more for the resolution of its problems… The new powers which the governments of our country conferred on the courts through the adoption of the Charter in 1982 represent nothing if not a vote of confidence in the Canadian judiciary. The increase in litigation in courts of all levels similarly attests to the confidence in which the general public holds the judicial system. (McLachlin 1993.)