LJSO 3000

This course explores what ‘justice’ means, and the various mechanisms used to enact justice. The course takes a ‘law and society’ approach, meaning that legal developments, landmark cases, and the politics of legal reform are grounded in social and lived impacts. It introduces foundational theories of ‘justice’ before exploring various justice processes. These include criminal and civil justice systems, restorative justice, and insights from critical legal studies such as critical race, feminist, and abolitionist approaches. Both Canadian and international legal and justice processes are presented and considered. The course will also provide students with the tools to critically evaluate these processes in terms of access to justice, efficiency, fairness, and legitimate outcomes.