Nunavut Court of Justice

Nunavut Court of Justice
Arms of the Court of Justice
Established	1999
Jurisdiction	Nunavut
Location	Iqaluit
Composition method	appointed by the federal government
Authorized by	Government of Canada by Nunavut Act, 1993
Decisions are appealed to	Court of Appeal of Nunavut
Number of positions	5[1]
Website	http://www.nucj.ca/
Senior Judge
Currently	Mr Justice Robert Kilpatrick
Since	2009

The Nunavut Court of Justice is the superior court and territorial court of the Canadian territory of Nunavut. It is located in the Nunavut Justice Centre (Building #510) in Iqaluit. It was established on April 1, 1999 as Canada's only "unified" or single-level court. Prior to the establishment of Nunavut as a separate territory, justice was administered under the two separate bodies of the Northwest Territories - the Supreme and Territorial courts.^[2]

Besides court proceedings at the Nunavut Justice Centre, a circuit court travels to communities throughout the territory to conduct cases.

The current judges of the court are:

• Senior Judge, Madame Justice Beverly Browne (1993), originally a Territorial Court Judge in pre-division Northwest Territories, strong supporter of the Akitsiraq Law School program, leader in music education (Iqaluit Music Society), church organist (St. Jude's Anglican Cathedral) and responsible for the integration of Inuit elders into functions in the Nunavut Courts.
• Mr. Justice Robert Kilpatrick (1999), appointed at the creation of Nunavut,
• Mr. Justice Earle Johnson (2003), appointed in 2003 to support growing work of the Court,
• Mr. Justice Neil Sharkey (2009), first member of the Nunavut Law Society in 1999, first judge called to the bench from the Nunavut Bar

These judges are federally appointed. They have the authority of justices of the peace, provincial court judges and superior court judges. They reside in Iqaluit, Nunavut and also serve as members of the Courts of Appeal of the Yukon and Northwest Territories.

References

1. ^ http://www.nucj.ca/judges.htm
2. ^ Nunavut Court of Justice: About the Nunavut Court of Justice

External links

• Nunavut Court of Justice website