Glossary

A structured approach to prompt engineering, consisting of Prime, Prompt, Persona, Product, and Polish, by the University of Alberta.

Refer to Aboriginal peoples' historical occupancy and use of the land

A workplace policy that outlines permitted and prohibited uses of AI, along with clauses on privacy, liability, and disclosure.

are volumes of statutes that are accompanying commentary and case notes, written section by section of the statute, they often include relevant regulations throughout the commentary. (LibGuides: Legal Research and Writing: Annotated Statutes, n.d.). Annotated statutes serve as a secondary resource.

A party dissatisfied with the judgment or order of the trial-level court asks for a higher court to intervene and change the judgment or order of the first court . An appeal is not a new trial, instead it focuses on reviewing legal errors, procedural issues, or misinterpretations of the law (Côté, J., 2019).

The parties involved in the legal action must prove their facts on a 50% +1% balance that they are correct compared to their opposition (Bayda, n.d.).

Systematic error or skewed results generated by AI due to the nature of the data it was trained on.

A Bill is a proposed Law that is introduced to parliament. This Bill is not yet law and needs to be debated, voted on, and receive Royal Assent before it can officially become Law

An existing court decision that lower courts must follow if the case in question is exceedingly similar (Blatt & Kurtz, 2020, p. 86).

A pre-existing statute, regulation, or case law that must be followed by lower courts (Blatt & Kurtz, 2020, p. 86).

A type of search that employs keywords alongside search syntax such as AND, OR, and NOT, which define the relationship between keywords to help the computer identify relevant results.

Additional courthouse locations that offer most, but not all services as the base point locations.

Codification refers to the process of systematically organizing and consolidating laws into a formal legal code. In Canada, laws are often codified by subject, such as the Criminal Code (Department of Justice, 2021).

Coming into Force is the date on which a law becomes enforceable.

An enabling statute is a law that grants authority for regulations to be created under it (Queen’s University Library, 2025). It provides the legal foundation for subordinate legislation.

the formal process by which laws are approved and put into effect (Justice Laws Website, 2025).

Write freely to explore concepts in depth, focusing less on “perfection”

A type of artificial intelligence that creates new content such as text, images, or audio in response to a prompt.

The phenomenon where AI generates fabricated or inaccurate information, such as fictitious case law.

refers to what subsequent court decisions have said about a particular case. It also refers to what cases have said about statutes and sections of a statute. (LibGuides: Legal Research and Writing: Judicial Treatment, n.d.)

A keyword is a specific word or phrase used in a search query to retrieve relevant information or content. Keywords are essential in indexing and finding data in databases, search engines, and information systems, serving as the primary terms that describe the subject or focus of the search.

Sets out how facts are introduced and proven in a trial or a proceeding (Blatt & Kurtz, 2020, p. 5).

Granted permission based on whether the case in question fits the criteria of public importance or issue of law.

A legal professional’s duty to act competently, ethically, and in the client’s best interest.

a general term that is used to refer to laws, regulations and other official rules created by government bodies (Kwantlen Polytechnic University Library, 2025).

A nesting search, in research search queries, is a technique that uses parentheses to group related keywords and logical operators, such as AND, OR, and NOT, to structure the search logic.

Acts that are Not in Force are not yet enforceable and are waiting for any rule, order, regulation, or proclamation to bring them into force

The process of finding cases that have been applied or discussed based on a particular statute, regulation or section of either.

A type of search where a user inputs language into the search field in a manner that reflects natural speech or writing.

provides the purpose or intent behind the law.

An earlier event or action used as a guide for similar circumstances.

Primary sources of law consist of legislation, including statutes and regulations, as well as decisions rendered by courts and administrative tribunals. These primary sources establish and carry the full force of the law, making them the foundational materials upon which you will predominantly rely in legal writing.

A Private Act is a law that is aimed at a specific individual or private institution

Law that deals with legal relationships between individuals and/or businesses (Blatt & Kurtz, 2020, p. 17).

The body of law that sets out the rules for how a case gets before the court and how it makes its way through the legal system (Gulycz & Kelly, 2018, p. 7).

A Public General Act is a law that is universally applicable and is permanent. These Public General Acts on the books are periodically gathered, consolidated, and published as Revised Statutes

A group of laws that deals with individuals or businesses against the government.

similar to that of a judge; often used to describe the functions of a tribunal when it must make a decision regarding the substantive rights of a person (Nastasi et al., 2020).

The ratio decidendi (or ratio) is the “reason for deciding.” It is the most important element in a case for researchers – it is the law that is set out when the case is cited in research.

or "recidivist", meaning the tendency to relapse in previous behaviour; in convicted criminals, it would refer to reoffending (Merriam-Webster, n.d.). For example, this individual is a recidivist offender, meaning a ‘repeat’ offender.

Regulations are legally binding rules that explain how statutes are applied in practice (LawCentral Alberta, n.d.). The authority to create regulations is granted within the Act itself. Regulations carry the full power of law.

To repeal a law means to formally revoke or nullify it, removing its legal effect.

Royal Assent is the formal approval by Alberta’s Lieutenant Governor that gives a bill passed by the Legislative Assembly the force of law.

Refers to the doctrine of precedent formed by judges in previous decisions to be applied in similar cases to ensure consistency and certainty in the law

Also called legislation or acts - are written laws created by the federal Parliament or a provincial legislature.

The fundamental principle of statutory interpretation is that “the words of a statute be read in their entire context and in their grammatical and ordinary sense harmoniously with the scheme of the Act, the object of the Act, and the intention of the legislature.” (Principles of Interpretation - Criminal Law Notebook, n.d.)

also known as delegated legislation, refers to legal rules or regulations made under the authority of a statute (Kwantlen Polytechnic University Library, 2025; Queen’s University Library, 2025).

The body of law that sets out the rights and responsibilities of individuals that may be enforced by legal proceedings (Gulycz & Kelly, 2018, p. 7).

Rights set out in treaties entered into by the Crown and a particular group of Aboriginal people