PPAS 3135 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Financial Independence, Summary Offence
25 Jun 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
1
Week 3: Judicial system: The Structure of the courts in Canada
Structure of the Courts; is determined by the Constitution
Relevant Sections:
1. 91(27)-Criminal Law under the federal government
2. 92(14)-Administration of justice;
a. Establishing courts and organization
b. For both civil and criminal procedures
3. 96 (appointment of superior, district and county judges);
4. 99(removal of judges),
5. 100 (salary of judges)-Maintains judicial independence
a. Salaries are not subject to the government
6. 101 (the power of the Parliament to establish a court of general appeal and
any other courts for better administration of justice in Canada)
a. Federal authority.
Courts System in British North American Colonies:
1. Modeled on the British judicial system
2. Three tiers court system
a. Superior court-Highest court in the colony was binding and appeals
b. District/county courts-More serious criminal offences and civil cases
involving large sums of money
c. Inferior Courts-Lowest Court which dealt with the less-serious
offences
After Confederation:
Provincial Level
1. Provincial/Territorial Courts (inferior courts)
a. Judges are appointed and paid by provincial/territorial governments
b. Dealing with less serious crimes; family law cases (except divorce and
proceeding flowing from divorce)
c. YCJA offences; Small Civil Cases; Bail Hearing, Estate
2. Superior Trial court (District and County courts combined):
a. Judges are appointed and paid by federal government
b. Roles: Reviewing Administrative laws cases, appeal from lower courts
regarding summary conviction
c. Family law; divorce and proceedings flowing therefrom;
d. Provincial Administrative, Regulatory and Adjudicative tribunals
e. More serious cases or with monetary amounts over a threshold.(5K)
3. Provincial appeal court (Highest Provincial Court)
a. Judges are appointed and paid by federal government)
b. Hearing appeals from lower courts and is binding on lower courts
c. Receiving reference questions from provincial governments
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
2
c.i. Provincial Cabinet may request advice from the courts in
regards to policy or bills to validate their constitutional merit
Federal level
1. Federal Court; first established
a. Created to reduce the strain on Supreme Court
b. Hears cases regarding administrative law
c. Copyright, trademark and patent disputes.
d. Citizenship and Immigration appeals.
e. Civil cases against the federal government.
f. Appeals from regulatory and administrative tribunals
2. Tax Court of Canada
a. Dealing with tax disputes between CRA and Canadian taxpayers
3. Federal Court of Appeal
a. Addresses appeals from two lower federal courts, binding to those
courts
Unification at the national Level:
Supreme Court of Canada
1. History
a. Originally could be appealed by the JCPA until 1949
b. Was created by section 101 of BNA in 1875
2. Roles and Functions
a. Receiving appeals from lower courts
a.i. Appeal acceptance is based on Leave to Appeal
a.ii. Mandatory right to appeal: Acquittal Overturn, Acquittal due to
Insanity or difference in ruling by judges
b. Reference questions submitted by federal cabinet; they will ask for
guidance
b.i. This advice will include interpretations of the law as well as
attempt to reflect the mood of society, to create compromise
3. Reforming SCC
a. Entrenching the Supreme Court in the Constitution
a.i. Due to the fact that the Supreme Court was created by the
Federal government and is a mechanism of Parliament, it may
be subject to or have bias
b. Supreme Court appointments are conducted by the Federal
Government, with no provincial input
Appointments and Removal of Judges:
1. Federal Judges;
c. Partisan and Patronage was a dominant method of appointing judges
d. Major changes to appointment process since 1988
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Week 3: judicial system: the structure of the courts in canada. Structure of the courts; is determined by the constitution. Inferior courts-lowest court which dealt with the less-serious offences. Provincial/territorial courts (inferior courts: judges are appointed and paid by provincial/territorial governments, dealing with less serious crimes; family law cases (except divorce and proceeding flowing from divorce, ycja offences; small civil cases; bail hearing, estate. Provincial cabinet may request advice from the courts in regards to policy or bills to validate their constitutional merit. Supreme court of canada: history, originally could be appealed by the jcpa until 1949, was created by section 101 of bna in 1875, roles and functions, receiving appeals from lower courts a. i. Appeal acceptance is based on leave to appeal a. ii. Mandatory right to appeal: acquittal overturn, acquittal due to. Insanity or difference in ruling by judges: reference questions submitted by federal cabinet; they will ask for guidance b. i.
