At the apex of the judicial system is the Supreme Court of Canada, which hears appeals from the provincial and territorial courts of appeal, as well as from the Federal Court of Appeal. All appellate court judges in Canada
Introduction to the Canadian Judicial System
Canada is a federation made up of 10 provinces and three territories, which all have primary constitutional jurisdiction over the administration of justice. The courts of the Canadian judicial system are organized in a hierarchy, in which the trial courts are subordinate to appellate courts. The lowest level consists of provincial and territorial courts, which have limited jurisdiction and whose judges are appointed by the provincial and territorial governments. The next level consists of the superior courts of each province and territory, which are of general jurisdiction. The judges of these courts are appointed by the federal government, although these courts remain the administrative responsibility of the provincial and territorial governments. The federal government also appoints the judges of the Federal Court, which is a court of relatively limited jurisdiction prescribed by statute (as described below). The next level consists of appellate courts: the provincial and territorial courts of appeal, which hear appeals from decisions of the superior courts; the Federal Court of Appeal, which hears appeals from decisions of the Federal Court and certain administrative tribunals. Finally, at the apex of the judicial system is the Supreme Court of Canada, which hears appeals from the provincial and territorial courts of appeal, as well as from the Federal Court of Appeal. All judges of the appellate courts are appointed by the federal government. The Federal Court has jurisdiction over claims against the government of Canada and civil actions in federally regulated areas such as admiralty, intellectual property and aeronautics, as well as challenges to decisions of federal administrative tribunals. The Federal Court has no general civil jurisdiction, unlike provincial and territorial superior courts. In Canada, there is a presumption that the provincial superior courts have jurisdiction to administer both federal and provincial law. As a result, some disputes fall within both provincial and federal judicial jurisdiction. With the exception of the province of Québec, all of the provinces and territories are common law jurisdictions. Québec is a civil law jurisdiction that modelled its first civil code after the French Napoleonic Code. The rules and procedures governing legal proceedings in each of the provinces and territories are similar, although there are some differences. This overview focuses on the rules applicable in Ontario (a common law jurisdiction) and Québec (Canada’s only civil law jurisdiction).
are appointed by the federal government.
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Doing Business in Canada
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