The Court of King's Bench of Manitoba ()—or the Court of Queen’s Bench of Manitoba, depending on the monarch—is the

superior court In common law systems, a superior court is a court of general jurisdiction over civil and criminal legal cases. A superior court is "superior" in relation to a court with limited jurisdiction (see small claims court), which is restricted to civil ...

of the

Canadian province Canada has ten provinces and three territories that are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Constitution of Canada, Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North Amer ...

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 ...

. The court is divided into two divisions. The Family Division deals with

family law Family law (also called matrimonial law or the law of domestic relations) is an area of the law that deals with family matters and domestic relations. Overview Subjects that commonly fall under a nation's body of family law include: * Marriag ...

cases including

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganising of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the M ...

s, guardianships,

adoption Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting of another, usually a child, from that person's biological or legal parent or parents. Legal adoptions permanently transfer all rights and responsibilities, along with filiation, fro ...

s and

child welfare Child protection (also called child welfare) is the safeguarding of children from violence, exploitation, abuse, abandonment, and neglect. It involves identifying signs of potential harm. This includes responding to allegations or suspicions ...

. The General Division deals with civil and criminal matters, including

civil trial In law, a trial is a coming together of Party (law), parties to a :wikt:dispute, dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence (law), evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to Adjudication, adjudicate claims or di ...

s, probate law,

indictable offence In many common law jurisdictions (e.g. England and Wales, Ireland, Canada, Hong Kong, India, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore), an indictable offence is an offence which can only be tried on an indictment after a preliminary hearing ...

s and applications for the review of decisions from certain administrative

tribunal A tribunal, generally, is any person or institution with authority to judge, adjudicate on, or determine claims or disputes—whether or not it is called a tribunal in its title. For example, an advocate who appears before a court with a singl ...

s. The current Chief Justice of the Court of King's Bench is Judge Glenn Joyal, who was appointed on 3 February 2011.

History of the Court

In May 1871, the legislature of Manitoba enacted ''The Supreme Court Act'' to establish a

with original and

appellate jurisdiction An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear a case upon appeal from a trial court or other lower tribunal. Appellat ...

in the province, called the Manitoba Supreme Court. The law provided:

There shall be constituted a Court of Justice for the Province of Manitoba, to be styled "The Supreme Court," which shall have jurisdiction over ail matters of Law and Equity, ail matters of wills and intestacy, and shall possess such powers and authorities in relation to matters of Local or Provincial jurisdiction, as in England are distributed among the Superior Courts of Law and Equity, and of Probate.

The Act also established inferior courts known as

Petty Sessions Courts of petty session, established from around the 1730s, were local courts consisting of magistrates, held for each petty sessional division (usually based on the county divisions known as hundreds) in England, Wales, and Ireland. The session ...

. In 1872, ''The Supreme Court Act'' was amended by the Manitoba Legislature to change the name of the court to "The Court of Queen's Bench," and the first Chief Justice was appointed in July that year. Also that year, the Petty Sessions were abolished and County Courts were established. In 1906, the appellate jurisdiction of the Court of Queen's Bench was transferred to the newly-established Manitoba Court of Appeal. In 1984, the County Courts were merged with the Court of Queen's Bench, and the judges of the County Courts became Court of Queen's Bench judges. Further, in 1984 the Family Division of the Court of Queen's Bench was established.

Divisions

The court is divided into two divisions. The Family Division deals with cases of

and

child protection Child protection (also called child welfare) is the safeguarding of children from violence, exploitation, abuse, abandonment, and neglect. It involves identifying signs of potential harm. This includes responding to allegations or suspicions ...

, including

s, guardianships,

s, and

. Judges of the Family Division sit in

Flin Flon Flin Flon (pop. 5,185 in 2016 census; 4,982 in Manitoba and 203 in Saskatchewan) is a mining city, located on a correction line on the border of the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan, with the majority of the city located withi ...

Morden Morden is a district and town in South London, England, now within the London Borough of Merton, in the ceremonial county of Greater London. It adjoins Merton Park and Wimbledon, London, Wimbledon to the north, Mitcham to the east, Sutton, Londo ...

, Selkirk, St. Boniface,

The Pas The Pas ( , ) is a town in Manitoba, Canada, at the confluence of the Pasquia River and the Saskatchewan River and surrounded by the unorganized Northern Region of the province. It is approximately northwest of the provincial capital, Winn ...

, Thompson, and

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

. The General Division deals with civil and criminal matters, including

s, probate law,

s and applications for the review of decisions from certain administrative

s. Judges of the General Division sit in Brandon, Dauphin, Flin Flon, Morden,

Portage la Prairie Portage la Prairie () is a small city in the Central Plains Region of Manitoba, Canada. In 2016, the population was 13,304 and the land area was . Portage la Prairie is approximately west of Winnipeg, along the Trans-Canada Highway (exactly ...

, Selkirk, St. Boniface, Swan River, The Pas, Thompson, and Winnipeg.

Judges

Current justices

Past justices

Past justices of the Court of King's Bench of Manitoba have included: * Gordon J. Barkman * Alexander Morris *

James Charles McKeagney James Charles McKeagney (1815 – 14 September 1879) was a Canadian lawyer, politician, and judge. Born in County Tyrone, Ireland, he moved to Nova Scotia with his family in 1822. He was educated in Baddeck and at McQueen's Academy in H ...

* Louis Betourney * Edmund Burke Wood * Joseph Dubuc (Chief Justice of Manitoba from August 8, 1903 until 1909) * James Andrews Miller * Lewis Wallbridge * Thomas Wardlaw Taylor * Robert Smith * Albert Clements Killam * John Farquhar Bain * Albert Elswood Richards * William Edgerton Perdue * Thomas Graham Mathers * Daniel Alexander Macdonald * John Donald Cameron * Thomas Llewellyn Metcalfe * James Emile Pierre Prendergast * Hugh Amos Robson * Alexander Casmir Galt * John Philpot Curran * Andrew Knox Dysart * John Evans Adamson * James Frederick Kilgour * William James Donovan * Percival John Montague * Fawcett Gowler Taylor * Ewan Alexander McPherson * William James Major * Esten Kenneth Williams * Arnold Munroe Campbell * Joseph Thomas Beaubien * John Joseph Kelly * Robert George Brian Dickson * John Alton Duncan * Richard J. Scott (currently serving as Chief Justice of the Manitoba Court of Appeal) * Michel A. Monnin (currently serving as a judge on the Manitoba Court of Appeal) * Freda M. Steel (currently serving as a judge on the Manitoba Court of Appeal) * Barbara M. Hamilton * Alan D. MacInnes (currently serving as a judge on the Manitoba Court of Appeal) * Lori Douglas * Robyn Diamond

References

External links

Court of King's Bench of Manitoba website

Recent judgmentsPublicly accessible court registry system

History of Manitoba Judges
{{Courts of Canada Manitoba courts

1872 establishments in Manitoba Courts and tribunals established in 1872