The origins of the Canadian legal system are clearly within the common law tradition, specifically that of the United Kingdom.

The founding document of Canada’s existence, the Constitution Act 1867, determined the federation, distribution of powers and justice system. In fact it’s original name before the 1982 consolidation was the British North American Act 1867.

Constitutional Reform in UK

Osgoode Hall’s blog, The Court, reported that there is currently dialogue within the UK over reevaluating the constitutional structure in the UK.

In contrast to Canada, the UK has no such written constitution, making for an often confusing hodge-podge of various documents going back as far as the Magna Carta of 1215, which has also led to some contemporary problems. There is no unanimous consensus in the UK as to what the constitution is, and there are also no formal human rights guarantees.

Guy Aitchison, explains,

Britain’s over-centralized state is antiquated and out-of-date. The much vaunted “flexibility” offered by Britain’s unwritten constitution, has, in recent years, permitted an ever greater concentration of power in the hands of the executive, and the gradual erosion of civil liberties, now accelerated in the name of a “war on terror.” These undemocratic developments, alongside a manifestly unfair electoral system, have contributed to historic levels of public disengagement, with turnout at the last two general elections hovering at around 60%.

They claim that if the UK does develop a written constitution, it will likely look to other Commonwealth nations for a template.

Perhaps an interesting case of the offspring teaching something to the parent.