Rule of Law and Democracy
Paper details:
Complete all of the following three questions. Answers should be in sentence form with
appropriate references from course readings and lecture notes. Please do NOT use any
external sources to complete this assignment. Note that there is a word count associated
with each question. Part of the task of this assignment is to stay within this word count.
That means that each sentence should be carefully thought through and edited in order to
maximize the amount and quality of information you are communicating to your reader.
However, you may be 10% below or above the overall word count without being penalized.
YOU MUST FINISH YOUR ANSWER BY INDICATING YOUR WORD COUNT FOR EACH
QUESTION. Please do not duplicate material in your answers – demonstrate your breadth of
knowledge. An outline of the evaluation scheme is included in your syllabus (see p. 6).
Remember that you are to use the McGill Guide to Legal Citation for your references.
Assignment:
Drawing on course lectures and assigned readings only, answer ALL of the following questions:
1. Outline Canada’s constitutional arrangement. Give a robust and well-supported
explanation that outlines its historical origins, principles, and key legislation. (300 words)
2. What is the liberal idea of the rule of law? Give a robust and well-supported explanation
that outlines its historical origins, principles, Canadian context, and critiques. (300
words)
3. “A political system must also possess legitimacy, and in our political culture, that
requires an interaction between the rule of law and the democratic principle… It would
be a grave mistake to equate legitimacy with the ‘sovereign will’ of majority rule alone,
to the exclusion of other constitutional values” (“Analysis of the Constitutional
Principles”. In: Reference re Secession of Quebec, [1998] 2 S.C.R. 217, 247-263).
Drawing on this quote from Reference re Secession of Quebec, write a
short essay arguing whether or not there is adequate interaction between
the rule of law and democracy in the decision in Canada (Citizenship
and Immigration) v. Harkat, 2014 SCC 37. Using the Harkat case and
any other content from our course as your source material, give a robust
and well-supported argument for your answer. In your response be sure
to demonstrate your ability to construct a thesis statement and carry out
a sustained argument, as well as use appropriate and correct facts from
Harkat with proper referencing. (900 words)

Rule of Law and Democracy
Paper details:
Complete all of the following three questions. Answers should be in sentence form with
appropriate references from course readings and lecture notes. Please do NOT use any
external sources to complete this assignment. Note that there is a word count associated
with each question. Part of the task of this assignment is to stay within this word count.
That means that each sentence should be carefully thought through and edited in order to
maximize the amount and quality of information you are communicating to your reader.
However, you may be 10% below or above the overall word count without being penalized.
YOU MUST FINISH YOUR ANSWER BY INDICATING YOUR WORD COUNT FOR EACH
QUESTION. Please do not duplicate material in your answers – demonstrate your breadth of
knowledge. An outline of the evaluation scheme is included in your syllabus (see p. 6).
Remember that you are to use the McGill Guide to Legal Citation for your references.
Assignment:
Drawing on course lectures and assigned readings only, answer ALL of the following questions:
1. Outline Canada’s constitutional arrangement. Give a robust and well-supported
explanation that outlines its historical origins, principles, and key legislation. (300 words)
2. What is the liberal idea of the rule of law? Give a robust and well-supported explanation
that outlines its historical origins, principles, Canadian context, and critiques. (300
words)
3. “A political system must also possess legitimacy, and in our political culture, that
requires an interaction between the rule of law and the democratic principle… It would
be a grave mistake to equate legitimacy with the ‘sovereign will’ of majority rule alone,
to the exclusion of other constitutional values” (“Analysis of the Constitutional
Principles”. In: Reference re Secession of Quebec, [1998] 2 S.C.R. 217, 247-263).
Drawing on this quote from Reference re Secession of Quebec, write a
short essay arguing whether or not there is adequate interaction between
the rule of law and democracy in the decision in Canada (Citizenship
and Immigration) v. Harkat, 2014 SCC 37. Using the Harkat case and
any other content from our course as your source material, give a robust
and well-supported argument for your answer. In your response be sure
to demonstrate your ability to construct a thesis statement and carry out
a sustained argument, as well as use appropriate and correct facts from
Harkat with proper referencing. (900 words)