A Bilingual and Bijural Court

What is bijuralism?

“Bijuralism” describes a legal system which relies on two legal traditions. In the case of Canada, the two legal traditions are the British common law and the French civil law.

Civil law is rooted in Quebec’s French heritage and applies to private law in that province. In other words, if the Court is deciding on a matter related to family law, commercial dispute, property dispute, or damage claims in Quebec, it will rule based on the civil law tradition, and particularly in alignment with the Civil Code of Quebec.

Common law, inherited from Britain, governs the rest of Canada and federal matters.

A bit of history

This bijural system stems from Canada’s colonial history. When Britain took control of New France in 1763, it initially imposed English common law throughout the new colony. However, in 1774, the Quebec Act restored French civil law for private matters in Quebec, allowing the Francophone population to maintain its legal traditions. English common law continued to apply to criminal law and public matters.