There are three branches to government, the Executive, Legislative and Judicial. Where the Executive and Legislative branches are elected by the people, Members of the Judicial Branch are are appointed by the President and confirmed by the senate. When a legal dispute cannot be resolved outside the court system, the case “goes to litigation” or “goes to court” and after hearing all the evidence from the parties involved in the dispute, a judge makes a decision about the case, based on the law that applies to the facts.
How Canadian courts are organized
There are different levels and types of courts in Canada – they differ in their jurisdiction, that is, what issues they have the authority to decide. There are provincial and territorial courts, superior courts, courts of appeal, federal courts, and administrative tribunals (which are not part of the court system, but play an important role in dispute resolution).
These are the different levels of the court system:
Provincial:
- provincial and territorial courts
- provincial and territorial superior courts
- provincial courts of appeal
Federal:
- Federal Court
- Federal Court of Appeal
- specialized federal courts (e.g., Tax Court of Canada and Court Martial Appeal Court of Canada)
- Supreme Court of Canada
In addition to these courts, administrative tribunals are set up in the provincial or territorial and federal system to handle disputes relating to administrative rules and regulations.
The above chart sets out the basic organization of the courts, from the “lowest level” provincial courts and administrative tribunals (tribunals are outside the court system), to the “highest court,” the Supreme Court of Canada.
Federal courts
The federal court system runs parallel to the provincial and territorial court systems. In contrast to provincial or territorial superior courts, which have jurisdiction over most matters, federal courts can only deal with matters that are specified in federal legislation.
Federal Court
The Federal Court can hear cases about:
- disputes between the provinces or territories;
- disputes between a province or territory and the federal government;
- intellectual property (e.g., copyright issues);
- citizenship appeals;
- cases dealing with the Competition Act; and
- cases involving federal Crown corporations (e.g., Canada Post) or departments of the Government of Canada.
An appeal from the Federal Court goes to the Federal Court of Appeal, then to the Supreme Court of Canada.
Provincial and territorial courts
Every province and territory (except Nunavut) has a provincial or territorial court. (In Nunavut, all cases are heard by a superior court, called the Nunavut Court of Justice.) Provincial and territorial courts are sometimes referred to as the “lowest level” courts and they make decisions on disputes about provincial or territorial laws and some other matters that the federal government has given them the authority to decide. For example, provincial or territorial courts hear cases about most criminal offences, some family law matters such as child support (but not divorce), young offenders in conflict with the law, and legal disputes involving small sums of money (e.g., up to $25,000 in British Columbia).
The judges in provincial and territorial courts are appointed and paid by the provincial or territorial government.
The Supreme Court of Canada
The Supreme Court of Canada, located in Ottawa, is the highest-level court in Canada. It hears appeals from all lower courts in Canada, including the provincial and territorial courts of appeal, the Federal Court of Appeal, and the Court Martial Appeal Court.The Supreme Court of Canada has jurisdiction over disputes in every area of law, including constitutional law, administrative law, criminal law, civil law, family law, federal taxation, and military issues.
As we can see the Judiciary Branch plays a crucial part in our society. They are seen as the “mediators” that take on a neutral role when it comes to disputes and decision making. They cannot have pre existing biases and take on the role of a neutral party.
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