The Court of Appeal of Prince Edward Island (also known as the Prince Edward Island Court of Appeal, and as PECA in legal abbreviation) is the

appellate court 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. Appel ...

for the Canadian province of

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island is an island Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. While it is the smallest province by land area and population, it is the most densely populated. The island has several nicknames: "Garden of the Gulf", ...

, and thus the senior provincial court below the

Supreme Court of Canada The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; , ) 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 between 40 and 75 litigants eac ...

. As the number of appeals heard by the Supreme Court of Canada is extremely limited, the Court of Appeal is in practice the court of final appeal for most residents of Prince Edward Island. The Court is composed of three judges, led by the Chief Justice of Prince Edward Island, currently David H. Jenkins.NUMBER OF FEDERALLY APPOINTED JUDGES AS OF JULY 1, 2018, www.fja.gc.ca
/ref> At any given time there may be one or more additional justices who sit as supernumerary justices. The Court of Appeal derives its jurisdiction from Prince Edward Island's
Judicature Act
', enacted in its current form in 2008.

History and functions

Prior to 2008 reforms that were formally implemented in 2009, the senior appellate body in Prince Edward Island was the Supreme Court of Prince Edward Island (Appeal Division). With the passage of the ''Judicature Act'', the Supreme Court was stripped of its appellate functions, now assigned to the Court of Appeal, while the

Supreme Court of Prince Edward Island The Supreme Court of Prince Edward Island (also called the Prince Edward Island Supreme Court, or PESC) is the superior court of the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island. The Court is composed of five judges, led by its Chief Justice, curre ...

remained as a single-division

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 ...

. All members of the former Appeal Division became the justices of the Court of Appeal. The Court of Appeals hears appeals from the

Provincial Court of Prince Edward Island The Provincial Court of Prince Edward Island is the provincial court of the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island, established according to the ''Provincial Court Act''. The Provincial Court has three judges, who sit in Summerside, Charlotte ...

on indictable criminal matters as well as appeals from decisions made by the Supreme Court of Prince Edward Island. The Appeal Division sits in

Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island Charlottetown is the capital and largest city of the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island, and the county seat of Queens County. Named after Queen Charlotte, Charlottetown was an unincorporated town until it was incorporated as a city in ...

, in the Sir Louis Henry Davies Law Courts.Sir Louis Henry Davies Law Courts
Government of Prince Edward Island Directory. Pursuant to the ''

Constitution Act, 1867 The ''Constitution Act, 1867'' ( 30 & 31 Vict. c. 3) (),''The Constitution Act, 1867'', 30 & 31 Victoria (U.K.), c. 3, http://canlii.ca/t/ldsw retrieved on 2019-03-14. originally enacted as the ''British North America Act, 1867'' (BNA Act), ...

'', the Court of Appeal is operated by the provincial government, while its justices are appointed by the

Governor General of Canada The governor general of Canada () is the federal representative of the . The monarch of Canada is also sovereign and head of state of 14 other Commonwealth realms and resides in the United Kingdom. The monarch, on the Advice (constitutional la ...

, on the advice of the

Prime Minister of Canada The prime minister of Canada () is the head of government of Canada. Under the Westminster system, the prime minister governs with the Confidence and supply, confidence of a majority of the elected House of Commons of Canada, House of Commons ...

Current membership

Chief Justices of PEI

Note that one chief justice is missing from the above list.

References

External links

Prince Edward Island Courts
{{Courts of Canada

Prince Edward Island courts