First published 10/1/2026, 11:39:15 PM · Last updated 10/1/2026, 11:39:15 PM

10. Disguising the dynamism of the law in Canadian courts: Judges using dictionaries

A 2017 De Gruyter book chapter analyzes how judges in Canada use dictionaries when interpreting the law. The supplied source data include only publisher, content type, and publication date and provide no further event details.

Illustrative image: Lower Bankhead , Bankhead, Banff National Park , Alberta , Canada Banff National Park in the Canadian province of Alberta was founded in 1885 and is Canada’s oldest national park. Its creation dates back to the discovery of hot springs on Sulphur Mountain, after which the area was placed under protection. Today, the park covers around 6,600 square kilometers in the Canadian Rocky Mountains and is part of the UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site “Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks”. The landscape is cha — Dietmar Rabich/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Categories: politics-and-governance

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Confidence: 4/10How certain the assessment is based on the clarity and evidence in the cited reporting.
Geographic reach: 4/10How widely the event reaches, from a local area (1) to worldwide impact (10).
Global importance: 2/10The event's broader significance, from limited importance (1) to major global importance (10).
Impact magnitude: 2/10The scale or severity of the real-world impact, from minor (1) to extreme (10).
Positivity: 5/10How harmful or beneficial the event is, from strongly harmful (1) to strongly positive (10).
Urgency: 1/10How time-sensitive the event is, from low urgency (1) to immediate attention needed (10).

Why it matters

The chapter concerns judicial interpretation practices in Canadian courts and is relevant to understanding legal decision-making.

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Sources

10. Disguising the dynamism of the law in Canadian courts: Judges using dictionaries

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