Quebec Court of Appeal
Encyclopedia
Court
A court is a form of tribunal, often a governmental institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance with the rule of law...
in Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
Quebec City
Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
and Montreal. The quorum
Quorum
A quorum is the minimum number of members of a deliberative assembly necessary to conduct the business of that group...
of the Court of Appeal of Quebec is three judges.
As a "Superior Court" under section 96 of the Constitution Act, 1867
Constitution Act, 1867
The Constitution Act, 1867 , is a major part of Canada's Constitution. The Act created a federal dominion and defines much of the operation of the Government of Canada, including its federal structure, the House of Commons, the Senate, the justice system, and the taxation system...
, Court of Appeal judges are appointed by the Governor-General of Canada (in practical terms, the Prime Minister of Canada
Prime Minister of Canada
The Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...
). Appointees must be members of the Quebec Bar
Barreau du Quebec
The Bar of Quebec is the provincial law society for lawyers in Quebec, Canada...
, but need not have had previous experience as a judge. However, appointees almost always have some experience as a judge, usually on the Superior Court of Quebec.
Under the Code of Civil Procedure of Quebec and the Criminal Code of Canada
Criminal Code of Canada
The Criminal Code or Code criminel is a law that codifies most criminal offences and procedures in Canada. Its official long title is "An Act respecting the criminal law"...
, someone wishing to appeal a decision of the Superior Court of Quebec generally has 30 days to file an appeal with the Court of Appeal. Civil cases usually must have at least $50,000 in dispute to be heard. The Court of Appeal will overrule a lower court decision if it is "incorrect" on a question of law or "patently unreasonable" on an important factual finding. The Court of Appeal almost never hears witnesses, and lawyers' oral and written submissions are kept to strict maximum lengths. A normal case will take several months from filing of an appeal to a decision by the Court of Appeal, but the Court may hear a case within hours or days in an emergency.
Appeal
Appeal
An appeal is a petition for review of a case that has been decided by a court of law. The petition is made to a higher court for the purpose of overturning the lower court's decision....
s of Court of Appeal decisions are heard before the Supreme Court of Canada
Supreme Court of Canada
The Supreme Court of Canada is the highest court of Canada and is the final court of appeals in the Canadian justice system. The court grants permission to between 40 and 75 litigants each year to appeal decisions rendered by provincial, territorial and federal appellate courts, and its decisions...
, which is located in the federal
Federalism
Federalism is a political concept in which a group of members are bound together by covenant with a governing representative head. The term "federalism" is also used to describe a system of the government in which sovereignty is constitutionally divided between a central governing authority and...
capital of Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
. The Quebec Court of Appeal is overruled by the Supreme Court more often than the courts of appeal of other provinces; this has been speculated to be due to differences in legal culture between the two courts, but it may simply be a statistical anomaly due to the low number of cases heard by the Supreme Court from smaller provinces.
The ability of the Supreme Court of Canada, which has six of its nine justices from common law
Common law
Common law is law developed by judges through decisions of courts and similar tribunals rather than through legislative statutes or executive branch action...
provinces and only three from the civil law
Civil law (legal system)
Civil law is a legal system inspired by Roman law and whose primary feature is that laws are codified into collections, as compared to common law systems that gives great precedential weight to common law on the principle that it is unfair to treat similar facts differently on different...
province of Quebec, to overrule the Court of Appeal of Quebec has occasionally been raised as a political issue by Quebec nationalists
Quebec nationalism
Quebec nationalism is a nationalist movement in the Canadian province of Quebec .-1534–1774:Canada was first a french colony. Jacques Cartier claimed it for France in 1534, and permanent French settlement began in 1608. It was part of New France, which constituted all French colonies in North America...
, who worry that it erodes Quebec's distinctive legal culture. (In practice, issues of civil law are heard at the Supreme Court by its three Quebec members plus two of its common law members).
Perhaps the most (in)famous decision of the Court of Appeal was Morgentaler v. The Queen
Morgentaler v. The Queen
Morgentaler v. The Queen, [1976] 1 S.C.R. 616 is a famous decision of the Supreme Court of Canada where Henry Morgentaler unsuccessfully challenged the prohibition of abortion in Canada under the Criminal Code. The Court found the abortion law was appropriately passed by Parliament under the laws...
(1974), in which the Court of Appeal overturned a jury decision acquitting Montreal Doctor Henry Morgentaler
Henry Morgentaler
Henry Morgentaler, CM is a Canadian physician and prominent pro-choice advocate who has fought numerous legal battles for that cause.-Early life:...
of performing an abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
, despite Morgentaler publicly admitting that he had done so. This was the first time in Canada that a jury acquittal had been replaced by a conviction, on appeal, rather than a new trial being ordered. The Court of Appeal was overturned by the Supreme Court of Canada in 1975. Subsequently Parliament amended the Criminal Code of Canada
Criminal Code of Canada
The Criminal Code or Code criminel is a law that codifies most criminal offences and procedures in Canada. Its official long title is "An Act respecting the criminal law"...
removing the ability of provincial courts of appeal to substitute jury acquittals with convictions.
History
The Court was created on May 30, 1849 as the Court of Queen's Bench (in French, Cour du Banc de la Reine). In 1974 it was officially renamed the Quebec Court of Appeal.http://www.tribunaux.qc.ca/mjq_en/c-appel/about/fs_creation.htmlCurrent Judges
| Position | Name | Appointed | Nominated By | Position Prior to Appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chief Justice | Nicole Duval Hesler | November 22, 2006 October 7, 2011 (as Chief Justice) |
Harper | Quebec Superior Court Quebec Superior Court Quebec Superior Court is the highest trial Court in the Province of Quebec, Canada. It consists of 144 judges who are appointed by the federal government.Chief Justices : [partial listing]* Edward Bowen... Court of Appeal |
| Justice | Marc Beauregard* | May 1, 1980 | Trudeau | Quebec Superior Court Quebec Superior Court Quebec Superior Court is the highest trial Court in the Province of Quebec, Canada. It consists of 144 judges who are appointed by the federal government.Chief Justices : [partial listing]* Edward Bowen... |
| Justice | André Brossard* | June 30, 1989 | Mulroney | Quebec Superior Court Quebec Superior Court Quebec Superior Court is the highest trial Court in the Province of Quebec, Canada. It consists of 144 judges who are appointed by the federal government.Chief Justices : [partial listing]* Edward Bowen... |
| Justice | Jacques Chamberland* | June 10, 1993 | Mulroney | Deputy Attorney General for Quebec |
| Justice | André Forget* | May 9, 1996 | Chretien | Quebec Superior Court Quebec Superior Court Quebec Superior Court is the highest trial Court in the Province of Quebec, Canada. It consists of 144 judges who are appointed by the federal government.Chief Justices : [partial listing]* Edward Bowen... |
| Justice | France Thibault | December 1, 1998 | Chretien | Quebec Superior Court Quebec Superior Court Quebec Superior Court is the highest trial Court in the Province of Quebec, Canada. It consists of 144 judges who are appointed by the federal government.Chief Justices : [partial listing]* Edward Bowen... |
| Justice | Louis Rochette | February 1, 2000 | Chretien | Quebec Superior Court Quebec Superior Court Quebec Superior Court is the highest trial Court in the Province of Quebec, Canada. It consists of 144 judges who are appointed by the federal government.Chief Justices : [partial listing]* Edward Bowen... |
| Justice | François Pelletier | June 6, 2000 | Chretien | Quebec Superior Court Quebec Superior Court Quebec Superior Court is the highest trial Court in the Province of Quebec, Canada. It consists of 144 judges who are appointed by the federal government.Chief Justices : [partial listing]* Edward Bowen... |
| Justice | Benoît Morin* | December 4, 2001 | Chretien | Quebec Superior Court Quebec Superior Court Quebec Superior Court is the highest trial Court in the Province of Quebec, Canada. It consists of 144 judges who are appointed by the federal government.Chief Justices : [partial listing]* Edward Bowen... |
| Justice | André Rochon* | February 26, 2002 | Chretien | Quebec Superior Court Quebec Superior Court Quebec Superior Court is the highest trial Court in the Province of Quebec, Canada. It consists of 144 judges who are appointed by the federal government.Chief Justices : [partial listing]* Edward Bowen... |
| Justice | Pierre J. Dalphond | October 1, 2002 | Chretien | Quebec Superior Court Quebec Superior Court Quebec Superior Court is the highest trial Court in the Province of Quebec, Canada. It consists of 144 judges who are appointed by the federal government.Chief Justices : [partial listing]* Edward Bowen... |
| Justice | Yves-Marie Morissette | November 7, 2002 | Chretien | Professor at McGill Law McGill University Faculty of Law The Faculty of Law is a constituent faculty of McGill University, in Montreal, Quebec. Its graduates obtain both a Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Civil Law , concurrently, in three to four years, allowing them to practice in both the Canadian, U.S... |
| Justice | Allan R. Hilton | September 26, 2003 | Chretien | Quebec Superior Court Quebec Superior Court Quebec Superior Court is the highest trial Court in the Province of Quebec, Canada. It consists of 144 judges who are appointed by the federal government.Chief Justices : [partial listing]* Edward Bowen... |
| Justice | François Doyon | May 7, 2004 | Martin | Quebec Superior Court Quebec Superior Court Quebec Superior Court is the highest trial Court in the Province of Quebec, Canada. It consists of 144 judges who are appointed by the federal government.Chief Justices : [partial listing]* Edward Bowen... |
| Justice | Julie Dutil | September 24, 2004 | Martin | Quebec Superior Court Quebec Superior Court Quebec Superior Court is the highest trial Court in the Province of Quebec, Canada. It consists of 144 judges who are appointed by the federal government.Chief Justices : [partial listing]* Edward Bowen... |
| Justice | Marie-France Bich | September 24, 2004 | Martin | Professor at Universite de Montreal Faculty of Law Université de Montréal Faculty of Law The Faculty of Law at Université de Montréal was officially founded in 1892. It has consistently been in first position in Maclean’s magazine’s Canadian civil law schools rankings, until 2010. In addition to its civil law degree , the Law School offers a one-year J.D... |
| Justice | Paul Vézina* | February 25, 2005 | Martin | Quebec Superior Court Quebec Superior Court Quebec Superior Court is the highest trial Court in the Province of Quebec, Canada. It consists of 144 judges who are appointed by the federal government.Chief Justices : [partial listing]* Edward Bowen... |
| Justice | Lorne Giroux | February 25, 2005 | Martin | Professor at Université Laval Law Faculté de droit (Université Laval) The Faculty of Law at Laval University, founded in 1852, is one of the oldest institutions of its kind in North America. It hosts more than 1,000 students in its curriculum of first, second and third years, with more than 45 lecturers teaching and supervising research projects in most areas of law... |
| Justice | Jacques Dufresne | May 13, 2005 | Martin | Quebec Superior Court Quebec Superior Court Quebec Superior Court is the highest trial Court in the Province of Quebec, Canada. It consists of 144 judges who are appointed by the federal government.Chief Justices : [partial listing]* Edward Bowen... |
| Justice | Jacques A. Léger | January 22, 2009 | Harper | Quebec Superior Court Quebec Superior Court Quebec Superior Court is the highest trial Court in the Province of Quebec, Canada. It consists of 144 judges who are appointed by the federal government.Chief Justices : [partial listing]* Edward Bowen... |
| Justice | Nicholas Kasirer | July 31, 2009 | Harper | Dean of McGill Law McGill University Faculty of Law The Faculty of Law is a constituent faculty of McGill University, in Montreal, Quebec. Its graduates obtain both a Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Civil Law , concurrently, in three to four years, allowing them to practice in both the Canadian, U.S... |
| Justice | Guy Gagnon | September 29, 2009 | Harper | Quebec Superior Court Quebec Superior Court Quebec Superior Court is the highest trial Court in the Province of Quebec, Canada. It consists of 144 judges who are appointed by the federal government.Chief Justices : [partial listing]* Edward Bowen... |
| Justice | Jean Bouchard | October 1, 2009 | Harper | Quebec Superior Court Quebec Superior Court Quebec Superior Court is the highest trial Court in the Province of Quebec, Canada. It consists of 144 judges who are appointed by the federal government.Chief Justices : [partial listing]* Edward Bowen... |
| Justice | Richard Wagner | February 3, 2011 | Harper | Quebec Superior Court Quebec Superior Court Quebec Superior Court is the highest trial Court in the Province of Quebec, Canada. It consists of 144 judges who are appointed by the federal government.Chief Justices : [partial listing]* Edward Bowen... |
| Justice | Jacques R. Fournier | October 7, 2011 | Harper | Quebec Superior Court Quebec Superior Court Quebec Superior Court is the highest trial Court in the Province of Quebec, Canada. It consists of 144 judges who are appointed by the federal government.Chief Justices : [partial listing]* Edward Bowen... |
- *supernumerary judge
Previous Justices
- Julien ChouinardJulien ChouinardJulien Chouinard, was a Canadian lawyer, civil servant and Puisne Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada....
(1974 - September, 1979) - Claire L'Heureux-DubéClaire L'Heureux-DubéClaire L'Heureux-Dubé, served as a justice on the Supreme Court of Canada from 1987 to 2002. She was the first woman from Quebec and the second woman appointed to this position.- Personal history :...
(1979 - April, 1987) - Louis LeBelLouis LeBelLouis LeBel is a puisne justice on the Supreme Court of Canada.LeBel was born in Quebec City. He was the son of lawyer Paul LeBel, Q.C. He went to school at the Collège des Jésuites, graduating with a BA in 1958 from College des Jesuites. He earned his law degree at Université Laval in 1962 and...
(June, 1984 - January, 2000) - Morris FishMorris FishMorris J. Fish, is a judge of the Supreme Court of Canada.Born in Montreal, Quebec, the son of Aaron S. Fish and Zlata Grober, he received a Bachelor of Arts in 1959 and a Bachelor of Law in 1962 from McGill University.He practiced law mostly in Quebec for the law firm Cohen, Leithman, Kaufman,...
(June, 1989 - August, 2003) - Marie DeschampsMarie DeschampsMarie Deschamps is a puisne justice on the Supreme Court of Canada.-Education:She studied law at the Université de Montréal, graduating in 1974 and completing a Masters in 1983 at McGill.-Career:...
(March 1992 - August, 2002) - Jean-Louis Baudouin (May 1989 - 2008)