The Court of Appeal for Nova Scotia (Nova Scotia Court of Appeal or NSCA) is the highest
appeal court
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 of ...
in the
province
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...
of
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland".
Most of the population are native En ...
, Canada. There are currently 8 judicial seats including one assigned to the Chief Justice of Nova Scotia.
[NUMBER OF FEDERALLY APPOINTED JUDGES AS OF JULY 1, 2018, www.fja.gc.ca](_blank)
/ref> At any given time there may be one or more additional justices who sit as supernumerary justices.
The court sits in Halifax, which is the capital of Nova Scotia. Cases are heard by a panel of three judges. They publish approximately 80 cases each year.
History
The Court of Appeal was established on 30 January 1993. From 1966 to 1993, appeals pursuant to Supreme Court cases were heard by the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court and, prior to 1966, by a panel of Supreme Court judges sitting ''en banc''. The Chief Justice of the Court of Appeal is the Chief Justice of Nova Scotia. Prior to the establishment of the Court of Appeal, the Chief Justice was the Chief Justice of the Appeal Division (1966–1993) and, before 1966, of the Supreme Court.
Jurisdiction
The court derives its power from legislation of the Nova Scotia legislature, the ''Judicature Act
Judicature Act is a term which was used in the United Kingdom for legislation which related to the Supreme Court of Judicature.
List United Kingdom
:The Supreme Court of Judicature Act 1873 (36 & 37 Vict. c.66)
:The Supreme Court of Judicature A ...
''. It hears appeals from the Nova Scotia Supreme Court
The Nova Scotia Supreme Court is a superior court in the province of Nova Scotia.
The Supreme Court consists of 25 judicial seats including the position of Chief Justice and Associate Chief Justice. At any given time there may be one or more addit ...
, Provincial Court of Nova Scotia, and various tribunals.
Only the Supreme Court of Canada
The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; french: Cour suprême du Canada, CSC) is the highest court in the judicial system of Canada. It comprises nine justices, whose decisions are the ultimate application of Canadian law, and grants permission to ...
has jurisdiction to hear appeals from decisions of the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal; in practice this happens a few times a year.
Judges
Supernumerary
Past judges
Chief Justice of Nova Scotia
The Chief Justice of Nova Scotia is the highest position in the Nova Scotia judiciary. Since the creation of the Court of Appeal, this title is held by the Chief Justice of the Court of Appeal. Prior to that the title was held by the Chief Justice of the Nova Scotia Supreme Court Appeal Division (1966–1993) or the Supreme Court (before 1966). For completeness the list includes Chief Justices of Cape Breton Island, which merged with Nova Scotia in 1820.
;Chief Justices of Cape Breton Island
* William Smith (1798 -)
* William Woodfall (1803 -)
* Archibald Charles Dodd (1806–1820)
;Chief Justices of Nova Scotia
* Jonathan Belcher
Jonathan Belcher (8 January 1681/8231 August 1757) was a merchant, politician, and slave trader from colonial Massachusetts who served as both governor of Massachusetts Bay and governor of New Hampshire from 1730 to 1741 and governor of New ...
(1754–1776)
* Charles Morris (1776–1778)
* Bryan Finucane
Bryan Finucane (before 1744 – August 3, 1785) was an Irish-born lawyer who served as Chief Justice of Nova Scotia from 1778 to 1785.
The only Irish-born Chief Justice of Nova Scotia, Finucane was born in County Clare sometime before 1744. He ...
(1778–1785)
* Isaac Deschamps
Isaac Deschamps (c. 1722 – 11 August 1801) was a Canadian judge, and politician.
Born in Switzerland or England, Deschamps came to Nova Scotia in 1749. He participated in the Bay of Fundy Campaign (1755) at Fort Edward to remove the Acadia ...
(1785–1788)
* Jeremy Pemberton (1788–1789)[Sir Joseph Chisholm, "Three Justices of Nova Scotia"; Hon. Charles Morris (1711-81), Hon. Jeremy Pemberton (1741-90), and Hon. Sampson Salter Blowers (1743-1842); Nova Scotia Historical Society, Vol. #28 (1949):by #28 (1949); pp. 10. Note. Pemberton's portrait hangs in the Nova Scotia Courts]
* Sir Thomas Andrew Lumisden Strange
Sir Thomas Andrew Lumisden Strange (30 November 1756 – 16 July 1841) was a chief justice in Nova Scotia, known for waging "judicial war" to free Black Nova Scotian slaves from their owners. From 1789 to 1797, he was the sixth Chief Justice ...
(1789–1797)
* Sampson Salter Blowers
Sampson Salter Blowers (March 10, 1742 – October 25, 1842) was a noted North American lawyer, Loyalist and jurist from Nova Scotia who, along with Chief Justice Thomas Andrew Lumisden Strange, waged "judicial war" in his efforts to free B ...
(1797–1833)
* Sir Brenton Halliburton (1833–1860)
* Sir William Young (1860–1881)
* James McDonald (1881–1905)
* Sir Robert Linton Weatherbe (1905–1907)
* Sir Charles James Townshend (1907–1915)
* Sir Wallace Nesbit Graham (1915–1917)
* Robert Edward Harris Robert Edward Harris (18 August 1860 – 30 May 1931) was a Canadian businessman, lawyer, and judge. He was the Chief Justice of Nova Scotia
The Court of Appeal for Nova Scotia (Nova Scotia Court of Appeal or NSCA) is the highest appeal court in th ...
(1918–1931)
* Sir Joseph Andrew Chisholm (1931–1950)
* James Lorimer Ilsley
James Lorimer Ilsley, (January 3, 1894 – January 14, 1967) was a Canadian politician and jurist.
He was born in Somerset, Nova Scotia, the son of Randel Ilsley and Catherine Caldwell. Ilsley was educated at Acadia University and Dalhous ...
(1950–1967)
* Lauchlin Daniel Currie (1967–1968)
* Alexander H. McKinnon (1968–1973)
* Ian Malcolm MacKeigan (1973–1985)
* Lorne Clarke (1985–1998)
;Chief Justices of the Court of Appeal
* Constance Glube (1998–2004)
* J. Michael MacDonald
J. Michael MacDonald (born 1954) is a Canada, Canadian lawyer who previously served as the 22nd Chief Justice of Nova Scotia from 2004 until 2019.
Early life and education
Raised in the Whitney Pier neighbourhood of Sydney, Nova Scotia, MacDonald ...
(2005–2019)
* Michael Wood (2019–present)
References
External links
Courts of Nova Scotia
{{Nova Scotia politics
Canadian appellate courts
Nova Scotia courts
1993 establishments in Nova Scotia
Courts and tribunals established in 1993