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→The law
==The law==
When lawyers talk about ''"the law'' " they're talking about two kinds of law, laws made by the government and the common law.
Laws made by the government are called ''legislation''. Important legislation in family law disputes includes the ''[[Divorce Act]]'', a law made by the federal government, and the ''[[Family Law Act]]'', a law made by the provincial government. The government can also make regulations for a particular piece of legislation which might contain important additional rules or say how the legislation is to be interpreted. One of the most important regulations in family law is the [[Child Support Guidelines]], a regulation to the ''Divorce Act''.
===Legislation===
Legislation, also called known as ''statutes'' and ''acts'', are the rules that govern our day-to-day lives. The federal and provincial governments both have the authority to make legislation, like the provincial ''Motor Vehicle Act'', which says how fast you can go on a highway and that you need to have a licence and insurance to drive a car, or the federal ''Criminal Code'', which says that it's an offence to stalk someone, to steal, or to shout "fire" in a crowded theatre.
Because of the ''[http://laws.justice.gc.ca/eng/Const/Const_index.html Constitution of Canada]'', each level of government can only make legislation on certain subjects, and normally the sorts of things one level of government can make rules about can't be regulated by the other level of government. For example, only the federal government can make laws about divorce, and only the provincial government governments can make laws about property.
===The common law===
The basic job of the courts is to hear and decide legal disputes. In making those decisions, the courts wind up doing a lot of different things. They interpret, and develop rules for interpreting:
#the words in any legislation that may apply to a dispute;
#the words in any contract that may be the subject of a dispute;
#the legal principles that may apply to a dispute.
...common law oes a bunch of things.
One of the court's more important jobs is to interpret and apply legislated laws. For example, the ''Divorce Act'' says this about orders for access: