page_title: Supreme court
section_title: Canada
hierarchical_section_title: Supreme court / Mixed-system jurisdictions / Canada
caption_attribution_description: English: The highest court in the land. The courtroom of the Supreme Court of Canada. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
context_page_description: The supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in many legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of a supreme court are not subject to further review by any other court. Supreme courts typically function primarily as appellate courts, hearing appeals from decisions of lower trial courts, or from intermediate-level appellate courts.
  However, not all highest courts are named as such. Civil law states tend not to have a single highest court. Additionally, the highest court in some jurisdictions is not named the "Supreme Court", for example, the High Court of Australia. On the other hand, in some places the court named the "Supreme Court" is not in fact the highest court; examples include the New York Supreme Court, the supreme courts of several Canadian provinces/territories, and the former Supreme Court of Judicature of England and Wales and Supreme Court of Judicature of Northern Ireland, which are all subordinate to higher courts of appeal.
  The idea of a supreme court owes much to the framers of the Constitution of the United States.
context_section_description: Canada is a bi-jural country. Nine of the provinces use the common law, while the province of Quebec uses the civil law.  Federal public law is based on the common law, but federal statute law must take into account both legal systems.
  The Supreme Court of Canada was established in 1875.  It is defined by the Constitution Act, 1867 and by the Supreme Court Act as a "General Court of Appeal." As a result, it can hear appeals on any legal issues considered by lower courts, on issues of constitutional law, federal law and provincial law.  It can hear appeals involving the common law and the civil law, and has full authority to rule on those issues.  The Court can hear appeals from the courts of appeal from the provinces and territories, and also appeals from the Federal Court of Appeal. The court's decisions are final and binding on the federal courts and the courts from all provinces and territories.
  The Court is composed of the Chief Justice of Canada and eight puisne justices.  Three of the nine justices are required to come from the Bar or superior courts of Quebec, to ensure the Court has a strong membership in the civil law of Quebec. The remaining six justices come from the rest of Canada, traditionally three from Ontario, two from the western provinces, and one from the Atlantic provinces.  The Court is institutionally bilingual. Parties can argue their cases in either English or French, and file written materials in either language.  The Court will provide simultaneous interpretation for counsel and members of the public.  It issues its judgments in both languages simultaneously.
  Although created in 1875, the Supreme Court was not originally the final court of appeal.  Canada was part of the British Empire, and appeals initially lay to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council from the Supreme Court, and also from the provincial appellate courts, by-passing the Supreme Court.  In 1933, the federal Parliament abolished such appeals in criminal matters.  It was not until 1949 that all appeals to the Judicial Committee were abolished, although appeals which were pending could be decided by the Judicial Committee.
caption: The Supreme Court of Canada
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