One of the most important but least examined aspects of the Canadian judicial system is the dual structure of civil and criminal trial courts. Canada's Trial Courts examines the co-existence, in every province, of superior courts (presided over by federally appointed judges) and 'lower' courts (staffed by provincially appointed judges). Combining both political and legal analysis, this is the first book to provide an in depth study of the evolution and operation of Canada's trial courts.
This collection of essays begins with an exploration of the constitutional origins of Canada's integrated court system and the failure of federal and provincial governments to cooperate in its development. Following are discussions of a number of contemporary reform projects in various jurisdictions, including Quebec, Nova Scotia, Alberta, and Nunavut, as well as examinations of competing visions of how Canada's trial courts should be organized in the future. To put the issue in a comparative perspective, the concluding section provides examples of how trial courts have been restructured in the United Kingdom and the state of California. Proposing a range of practical alternatives to the present system, the volume offers a ground-breaking legal analysis that addresses constitutional obstacles to trial court reform, and assesses the political factors that influence reform at the judicial level.
Featuring distinguished contributors from a variety of disciplinary backgrounds, Canada's Trial Courts offers a comprehensive and up-to-date examination of an important but neglected issue that ultimately has a profound impact on the quality of justice that Canadians experience.
Authors
- Bibliography, etc. Note
- Includes bibliographical references
- Control Number Identifier
- CaOOCEL
- Dewey Decimal Classification Number
- 347.71/01
- Dewey Decimal Edition Number
- 22
- General Note
- Papers originally presented at a Conference on the future of the trial courts held May 2002 in Saskatoon, Sask Issued as part of the desLibris books collection
- Geographic Area Code
- n-cn---
- ISBN
- 9780802093233 9781442684119
- LCCN
- KE8200
- LCCN Item number
- C33 2007eb
- Modifying agency
- CaBNVSL
- Original cataloging agency
- CaOONL
- Physical Description | Extent
- 1 electronic text (x, 283 p.)
- Published in
- Canada
- Publisher or Distributor Number
- CaOOCEL
- Rights
- Access restricted to authorized users and institutions
- System Control Number
- (CaBNVSL)thg00602187 (OCoLC)753358151 (CaOOCEL)417271
- System Details Note
- Mode of access: World Wide Web
- Transcribing agency
- CaOONL
Table of Contents
- Contents 8
- Acknowledgments 10
- Introduction: How We Got Here 14
- Part One: Emergence of the Issue 34
- 1 The Provincial Court and the Criminal Law 36
- 2 Trial Court Reorganization in Canada: Alternative Futures 51
- 3 Superior Courts in the Twenty-first Century: A Historical Anachronism? 68
- 4 Constitutional Limitations upon the Allocation of Trial Jurisdiction to the Superior and Provincial Court in Criminal Matters 96
- Part Two: Contemporary Projects of Trial Court Reform 132
- 5 Reform of the Trial Courts in Quebec 134
- 6 Trial Court Restructuring: A Court Administrator’s Perspective 145
- 7 Trial Court Unification in Nunavut 154
- 8 Reforming Alberta’s Trial Courts 163
- Part Three: Competing Visions 172
- 9 The House of Justice: A Single Trial Court 174
- 10 Report of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice 192
- Part Four: Comparative Perspectives 226
- 11 Organizational Change in California’s Court System: Unification of Trial Courts 228
- 12 Trial Court Integration in England 245
- Conclusion: The Road Ahead 276
- Contributors 290