Supreme Court Act

Supreme Court Act

The Supreme Court Act is an Act passed by the Parliament of Canada which established the Supreme Court of Canada. It was originally passed in 1875 as the Supreme and Exchequer Courts Act. At the time, the Supreme Court was not the supreme authority on Canadian law, as Supreme Court cases could still be appealed to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.

The Supreme Court Act is not a part of the Constitution of Canada but rather was merely within Parliament's ability to pass by virtue of section 101 of the Constitution Act, 1867. The Supreme Court Act also was not named as part of the Constitution during patriation in 1982, although the Court itself is mentioned in the amending formula. As the Court is defined in a regular statute, in theory, the Court could be abolished by an act of the federal government. However, in practice, the Court is so well entrenched into the fabric of the government that jurists see the abolition of the Court to be unlikely.

ection 53

Section 53 give the government the ability to submit Reference questions. This has been controversial as the Constitution Act, 1867 provides for a general court of appeal, but not for a court that may receive reference questions; however, this provision has been upheld as constitutional.

In "Reference re Secession of Quebec", the Supreme Court examined the applicability of section 53. The Quebec government argued that the right to secede was an invalid basis for a reference question, but the Court disagreed.

ee also

* History of the Supreme Court of Canada

External links

* [http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/S-26/ text of the act]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Supreme Court Act 1981 — The Supreme Court Act 1981 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (citation 1981 c. 54); the long title of which is An Act to consolidate with amendments the Supreme Court of Judicature (Consolidation) Act 1925 and other enactments… …   Wikipedia

  • Supreme Court of Canada — Cour suprême du Canada Logo of the Supreme Court Established …   Wikipedia

  • Supreme Court of New Zealand — Kōti Matua o Aotearoa Established 1 January 2004 Jurisdiction New Zealand …   Wikipedia

  • Supreme Court of New South Wales — Established 1823 Jurisdiction …   Wikipedia

  • Supreme Court of Victoria — Arms of the Supreme Court of Victora Established 1852 …   Wikipedia

  • Supreme court — For specific national supreme courts, see List of national supreme courts. A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of many legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, instance court,… …   Wikipedia

  • Supreme Court of Norfolk Island — The Supreme Court of Norfolk Island hears certain cases in the Australian territory of Norfolk Island. It is the superior Court of Norfolk Island. Appeal lies to the Federal Court of Australia.Legal BasisThe Court was established by the Norfolk… …   Wikipedia

  • Supreme Court of Nepal — The Supreme Court of Nepal is the highest court in the Nepalese judicial system. Composition The Supreme Court is composed of the Chief Justice of Nepal, fourteen Justices and ad hoc Judges. The Chief Justice is appointed by Prime Minister of… …   Wikipedia

  • Supreme Court of South Australia — The Supreme Court of South Australia is the superior court for the Australian State of South Australia. It has unlimited jurisdiction within the state in civil matters, and hears the most serious criminal matters. The Supreme Court is the highest …   Wikipedia

  • Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory — The Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory is the superior court for the ACT. It has unlimited jurisdiction within the territory in civil matters (although it usually only hears matters involving more than AUD 50,000), and hears the… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”