The Manitoba Court of Appeal (french: Cour d'appel du Manitoba) is the court of appeal in, and the

highest court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

of, the

Canadian province Within the geographical areas of Canada, the ten provinces and three territories are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British Nor ...

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

. It hears

criminal In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in C ...

, civil, and family law cases, as well as appeals from various administrative boards and tribunals. Seated in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749 ...

, the Court is headed by the Chief Justice of Manitoba, and is composed of a total of 13 justices. At any given time, there may be one or more additional justices who sit as supernumerary justices. The Court hears appeals from the Provincial Court and the Manitoba Court of King's Bench, as well as certain administrative tribunals, including the Residential Tenancies Commission, the Municipal Board, and the Manitoba Labour Board, among others. Most cases are heard by a panel of three justices. A single justice presides over matters heard in "chambers", usually interlocutory matters or applications for leave to appeal. Proceedings before the court are governed by the Court of Appeal Rules.

Judges

Pursuant to ''The Court of Appeal Act'', the Court consists of a Chief Justice and 12 other judges, all of whom are federally-appointed pursuant to the ''Judges Act''. As a "Superior Court" under section 96 of the federal '' Constitution Act, 1867'', Court of Appeal judges are appointed by the

Governor-General of Canada The governor general of Canada (french: gouverneure générale du Canada) is the federal viceregal representative of the . The is head of state of Canada and the 14 other Commonwealth realms, but resides in oldest and most populous realm, t ...

(in practical terms, the

Prime Minister of Canada The prime minister of Canada (french: premier ministre du Canada, link=no) is the head of government of Canada. Under the Westminster system, the prime minister governs with the confidence of a majority the elected House of Commons; as su ...

). Appointees must be members of the Manitoba bar, but need not have had previous experience as a judge. However, appointees almost always have some experience as a judge, usually on the Manitoba Court of King's Bench. Under the ''Judges Act'',''Judges Act''
/ref> federally-appointed judges (such as those on the Manitoba Court of Appeal) may—after being in judicial office for at least 15 years and whose combined age and number of years of judicial service is not less than 80 or after the age of 70 years and at least 10 years judicial service—elect to give up their regular judicial duties and hold office as a

supernumerary judge A supernumerary judge or supernumerary magistrate is a judge who has retired from a full-time position on a court, but continues to work part-time. Generally, when a judge becomes supernumerary a vacancy is created, and the appropriate person or bod ...

. The first female appointed to the Court was Bonnie M. Helper, on 30 June 1989. The sons of two former Court of Appeal justices ( Samuel Freedman and

Alfred Monnin Alfred Maurice Monnin (March 6, 1920 - November 29, 2013) was a judge in Manitoba, Canada. He was appointed to the Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench in 1957 and to the Manitoba Court of Appeal in 1962. In 1983 he was appointed Chief Justice of Mani ...

) currently or have recently served as judges on the court (

Martin Freedman Martin H. Freedman, , was appointed a judge of the Manitoba Court of Appeal on July 16, 2002 and retired from the court in 2012. He replaced Madam Justice Bonnie M. Helper, who resigned. Mr. Justice Freedman received a Bachelor of Laws from the ...

, Michel Monnin, and Marc Monnin).

Current justices

Past justices

Chief Justice of Manitoba

The Chief Justice of Manitoba heads the Manitoba Court of Appeal. The Chief Justice is responsible for the judicial functions of the court, including direction over sittings of the court and the assignment of judicial duties. From 1872 to 1906, the Chief Justice was seated in the Court of Queen’s/King's Bench, which held

appellate jurisdiction A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much ...

. The appellate jurisdiction was transferred to the Court of Appeal upon its creation in 1906, and thereafter, the Chief Justice of the Court of Appeal has been the Chief Justice of Manitoba.

References

External links

Official webpagePublicly accessible court registry systemCourt of Appeal Rules
{{Courts of Canada Manitoba courts Canadian appellate courts 1906 establishments in Manitoba Courts and tribunals established in 1906