Court_of_Appeal_for_Alberta

Court of Appeal of Alberta

Court of Appeal of Alberta

Canadian appellate court


The Court of Appeal of Alberta (frequently referred to as Alberta Court of Appeal or ABCA) is a Canadian appellate court that serves as the highest appellate court in the jurisdiction of Alberta, subordinate to the Supreme Court of Canada.

Quick Facts Established, Jurisdiction ...

Jurisdiction and hierarchy within Canadian courts

The court is the highest in Alberta, Canada. It hears appeals from the Alberta Court of King's Bench, the Provincial Court of Alberta, and administrative boards and tribunals, as well as references from the Lieutenant Governor in Council (essentially the Alberta Cabinet). Some administrative appeals may bypass the Court of King's Bench, commonly orders made by professional discipline boards under the Medical Profession Act,[1] the Legal Profession Act,[2] but also under the Energy Resources Conservation Act.[3]

Appeals from the Court of Appeal lie with the Supreme Court of Canada, Canada's court of last resort. Other than certain criminal matters, appeals to the Supreme Court of Canada are heard only by leave of that court. Since the Supreme Court denies leave in most cases, the Court of Appeal is the final court for most matters originating in Alberta.

Unlike the Court of King's Bench, the Court of Appeal has no inherent jurisdiction and therefore requires a statute to grant it the power to hear a matter before a panel is convened. As a court of a province, it is administered by the provincial government. Hearings are held exclusively in Edmonton's Law Courts and the Calgary Courts Centre. Unlike other provinces (except Newfoundland and Labrador and Ontario), the Alberta Court of Appeal displays a different coat of arms than its lower courts: the coat of arms of Canada.

History

The court originated from the old Supreme Court of the Northwest Territories which was replaced by the Supreme Court of Alberta in 1907 (shortly after Alberta became a province in 1905). The new Supreme Court of Alberta comprised a trial division and an appellate division (essentially, brother justices of the Supreme Court sitting en banc with a quorum of three).

The second chief justice of Alberta, Horace Harvey, supported an independent appellate court designed only to hear appeals. The Judicature Act enacted these changes in 1919, and it was proclaimed in 1921.[4] It was not until 1979 that the court changed its name to the "Court of Appeal of Alberta" through the Court of Appeal Act,[5] at the same time that the Supreme Court Trial Division and the District Court were amalgamated and renamed the "Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta".

Composition

There are 14 official positions on the bench[6] including the chief justice of Alberta, who is the highest judicial officer in the province. At any given time there may be several additional judges who also sit as supernumerary justices.[6] As a Section 96 court, the justices are appointed by the federal government and may hold office until the age of 75. Some of the justices have elected supernumerary (part-time or semi-retired) status. Occasionally, justices of the Court of King's Bench of Alberta sit on appeals. This is done at the request of a justice of the Court of Appeal. When this happens, these justices are sitting ex officio, but they have the same powers and duties as other justices of the Court of Appeal.

Most cases are heard by a panel of three justices, although the chief justice may convene a larger panel in exceptional circumstances. A single justice presides over matters heard in chambers, usually interlocutory matters or applications for leave to appeal.

Association with the Northwest Territories

Justices of the Court of Appeal for the Northwest Territories are selected from the justices of the Court of Appeal of Alberta, Court of Appeal for Saskatchewan, and the judges and ex officio judges of the Supreme Court of the Northwest Territories. The current acting chief justice of Alberta, Frans Slater, is also the chief justice of the Northwest Territories. Hearings are held in Yellowknife, but may be heard anywhere in the territories or in Alberta.[7]

Current judges

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Former chief justices of Alberta

Previous judges

See also


References

  1. Medical Profession Act, RSA 2000, c. M-11, Part 4
  2. Legal Profession Act, RSA 2000, c. L-8
  3. "History of the Court of Appeal". Albertacourts.ca. Alberta Court of Appeal. Retrieved August 5, 2018.
  4. Court of Appeal Act, RSA 2000, c. C-30
  5. Canada, Office of the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs (March 31, 2007). "Federal Judicial Appointments - Number of Federally Appointed Judges in Canada". www.fja.gc.ca.
  6. "Northwest Territories Courts". www.nwtcourts.ca. Archived from the original on June 27, 2007. Retrieved September 23, 2009.
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  18. "Alberta Judicial Appointment Announced". Archived from the original on November 11, 2003. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
  19. "David Cargill McDonald | The Canadian Encyclopedia". www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
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  21. "(no title)". Edmonton Sun. {{cite web}}: Cite uses generic title (help)
  22. "Alberta Law Reform Institute". Archived from the original on April 24, 2013. Retrieved November 4, 2009.
  23. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on June 11, 2011. Retrieved October 9, 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  24. Lumley, Elizabeth (April 2005). Canadian Who's Who 2005. University of Toronto Press. ISBN 9780802089076.
  25. "John D. Bracco History". Archived from the original on July 6, 2011. Retrieved September 27, 2009.
  26. "ADR Chambers International - Panel Member". Archived from the original on September 5, 2008. Retrieved September 28, 2009.
  27. "ADR Chambers International - Panel Member". Archived from the original on September 5, 2008. Retrieved September 28, 2009.
  28. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on July 6, 2011. Retrieved November 4, 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  29. "ADR Chambers International - Panel Member". Archived from the original on September 5, 2008. Retrieved September 28, 2009.
  30. "ADR Chambers International - Panel Member". Archived from the original on December 4, 2008. Retrieved September 28, 2009.
  31. "LG - 404 Error". www.lieutenantgovernor.ab.ca.
  32. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on July 25, 2011. Retrieved October 9, 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  33. McDonell, James K.; Campbell, Robert Bennett (1997). Lords of the North. GeneralStore PublishingHouse. ISBN 9781896182711.
  34. Johns, Walter Hugh (1981). A History of the University of Alberta, 1908–1969. University of Alberta. p. 363. ISBN 9780888640253. Hugh John MacDonald Justice Alberta.
  35. History, Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal; Alberta, Legal Archives Society of; results, search (December 1, 1995). Northern Justice: The Memoirs of Mr Justice William G. Morrow. Univ of Toronto Pr. ISBN 0802007880.
  36. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on February 15, 2010. Retrieved November 4, 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

Sources


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